Since our story differs depending on who you ask, this is how it goes with a combination of our points of views. Once upon a time 🙂… Ephraim had always been interested in Mary but didn't think he stood a chance, especially since she was his sister, Jonah’s best friend. According to E, his quiet crush began all the way back to high school (Mary denies meeting him at this time). Life took them in different directions - E focused on nursing school and Mary worked toward her Biology degree. When in 2017, they unexpectedly ended up in the same class at Long Beach City College. It seemed like the perfect opportunity… except nothing really happened. One moment Ephraim will never forget was when Mary asked him for homework after arriving late then walked away without even saying goodbye (Mary was just perpetually shy, she didn’t really know E then so asking him for homework already took all of the social courage she had 😂). At that point, he was convinced it wasn’t going anywhere. But that crush never really went away. In 2018, Ephraim heard that Mary had seen his Instagram and said he seemed like a “good brother.” From then on, he leaned into posting more about family and nursing school, hoping she might notice. Meanwhile, Mary was busy with work, school, and family responsibilities, and their conversations remained occasional at best. From 2018 to 2022, they stayed loosely connected through holiday greetings, milestones, and the occasional nursing school advice until Ephraim finally decided to take a chance. On November 19, 2022, he asked Mary out on their first date at Disneyland (which to Mary was just a hang out between friends hahaha) and everything changed. And one month later, on December 20, 2022, they made it official… proving that sometimes, the best love stories are worth the wait.