We’re getting married!

Once upon a time it was Halloween and I showed up to work dressed as Justin Bieber. You’d think it would be a recognizable costume, but when you mostly serve coffee to people born before 1970, not so much. Spirits were dwindling. I felt like a fool dressed as a teenage boy. Then Mitch came in. He recognized my costume instantly, hyped me up and made me feel like a creative genius. Mitch worked at the bike shop around the corner and was a regular at Kono’s. I always looked forward to his visits, whether we were chatting over the counter, crossing paths at the bike shop, or running into each other on my way out to surf. Slowly our friendship blossomed into something easy and familiar. One day he came in wearing a Pierce the Veil shirt, from their concert the night before. They were playing three nights at Soma and I had really wanted to go but it was sold out. I complimented the shirt and made my jealousy very known. A couple hours later he messaged me: he had tickets to the final show. Did I want to come? Oh, and it happened to be New Year’s Eve. We danced and sang along with his friend Mars, and at midnight I kissed him on the cheek. After that we started seeing each other outside of work. Skates on the boardwalk, poke bowls, birthday parties. Just friends though, I pinky promise. We might have kissed a couple times but friends kiss, right? Eventually we stopped lying to ourselves and made it official. It just clicked. We moved into an apartment by the beach, and a little after our first anniversary we found out we were expecting Opal. On January 2nd, 2025, he proposed while tide pooling at sunset, surrounded by some of my closest friends. We can’t wait to celebrate with you!