Let’s take it back to Fall 2009. Liz was attending a Loyola women’s volleyball game to receive the coveted title of Miss Greek. She came to the game in full Loyola glory, with her face painted and outfitted in all maroon and gold. As a men’s volleyball player, Tommy was required to attend the same event. He noticed Liz and was immediately struck by her energy. Tommy began to see Liz around campus and after some comprehensive Facebook due diligence, he realized he shared a class with one of her friends. Then came Loyola’s President’s Ball in November of 2010. Tommy did enough sake bombing before the event to muster up the courage to grab a fork off a table and poke Liz with it. Zero words were exchanged. Liz laughed. Mission accomplished. The next week, Tommy was in a class with Liz's friend and got her phone number. Tommy wasted no time and asked Liz out to Carmine’s — a famous Italian joint in the Gold Coast (thanks Todd Becker for financially sponsoring the dinner). During the date, Tommy casually mentioned that his family owned a bakery. She thought he was lying to impress her. She thought it was too good to be true. After dinner they didn’t want the date to end, so Liz suggested walking over to Timothy O’Tooles to watch a stand up comedy show called, “Comedians You Should Know.” Over the next few weeks they spent a lot of time getting to know one another. With the holidays fast approaching, Tommy figured he had to lock it down before they parted ways for school break. He asked, she said yes, and Facebook statuses were updated. The next year they spent all their time together, which included a trip to MI to visit the Lightbodys and two trips to LA so Liz could enjoy being on the best coast. They went to concerts, had beach days on Lake Michigan, and enjoyed Chicago like twenty-somethings do.

After both graduating in Spring 2011, Tommy decided to do a victory lap (fifth year of college) and Liz dove head first into the corporate world. These two decisions pushed them in very different directions, which led to the infamous break up. :( They parted amicably and kept in touch. They even exchanged letters and emails regularly. About a year later, Tommy moved back to LA to be closer to his family after spending six years in Chicago and Liz moved to New York City not long after that. For three and a half years, they had little to no contact, besides the occasional Instagram stalk. Hang in there, it gets better.

Fortunately, Liz and Tommy’s mom stayed in touch over the years and Brigid would not let Tommy ever forget about the little Lizard, as if he ever could. Fast forward to one early morning in April 2017. Tommy received a text from his mom that he would never forget. “You’re not gonna believe this… Liz reached out to me on Facebook. She is single! Go get her! - Mom.” Tommy vigorously rubbed his eyes to make sure he was reading the text correctly and when he realized it was real, he immediately slid into Liz’s Facebook inbox. This was his chance to go get “the one who got away.” After a few messages, texts, and video calls they decided they needed to meet up as soon as possible. In May 2017, Tommy flew to NYC for a weekend to see Liz in person for the first time in four years. Within 24 hours of arriving, they decided they could never be apart again. A month later, Tommy moved to NYC. All the stars aligned for this to happen, including his boss offering him a position in the New York office a month prior to him and Liz reuniting. The universe was telling him to go. For nine months they lived their best lives in NYC, dining at some of the top restaurants, frequenting legendary night spots, and taking in all the city had to offer. One night they had a moment of clarity and realized they were constantly surrounded by drunk 25 year-olds in NYC, and it was finally time to pick up their things and head west. So they moved to LA in March of 2018. Within two weeks of being in LA, Liz had landed an amazing job and they found their dream apartment in Venice.

Jump to October 2018. Tommy told Liz that there was an awesome outdoor concert at the Griffith Observatory in Hollywood, a place he had taken her seven years prior on her first trip to LA. Upon arriving at the observatory, Liz quickly became skeptical as live music was nowhere to be heard. Tommy scrambled to find an open space with a view before the plan was foiled. He handed her “her ticket”, which was actually a heartfelt letter. He got on one knee and proposed. Liz said yes and the rest of the evening is a blur. THE END.