It was a post-storm evening in Bethany Beach in the summer of 2020. Desperate and lonely from Covid isolation, Kyle decided to take a stroll and meet babes on the beach. Little did he know, the beach was completely empty after the downpour. He sat down and waited for a babe to arrive, but no one came. Eventually, his parents joined him on the beach, but Kyle decided to call it a night. As he was walking home, his parents called to say the girl he was going to meet up with was sitting exactly where he had been 15 minutes ago. His interest was piqued, mainly because, despite his parents thinking he had gone down to the beach to see a girl, there was no girl... yet. Kyle ran back to the beach and found his parents setting up their chairs... right next to the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. It's worth noting that no one else was on the beach... just Kyle, his family, and Martha. Kyle's mother had strategically placed the chairs close to Martha and even laid out a beach towel for Kyle to sit on (within social distancing limits) in hopes he would say something. She waited but knew he would have a hard time - because, well... he's a bit shy. Meanwhile, Kyle's cousin was surfing the post-storm waves, also likely trying to pick up babes. Kyle and Martha watched him surf together, and watched him wipe out many, many times. Little did they know, the laughs they shared would be the first of many, many more. All it would have taken was a simple "Hello!" or an introduction... but Kyle didn't make the move. Seizing the moment, Kyle's mother, feeling she had to do God's work, then said "So do you know ..[a particular cousin]?" Martha warmly responded with a "no", seeing what the cool but slightly meddling (in the best way) mother was up to. Kyle's Mom then said, "ThIs iS mY sOn kYlE"... And the rest was history... We started talking about school, life, Covid, likes and dislikes and more. Martha even shared her sketchbook with Kyle's family, and they were more than impressed. Kyle (or rather, his mother) had found him an artist! All he needed to do was ask her out to dinner... ...but then Martha said... "Want to get a drink with me?"

We feel it is necessary to explain the tagline here before the story. Yes, Kyle has proposed multiple times and yes, Martha has said yes every time. Why has Kyle proposed multiple times you ask? Was the first proposal so perfect that Martha wanted to relive it over and over again? Probably not... It was a Friday in April we'd been looking forward to for months. We both took off work and planned to spend the day playing tourist in DC, walking and seeing the Cherry Blossoms. The power was out because a storm knocked down a tree onto our power lines the day before. Kyle and Martha had to get ready for their day out in the dark. As Kyle tried to rush Martha, who is always slow in the morning, out the door and into the car, she dragged her feet begging to get coffee first. What Martha didn't know is that Kyle had secretly hired a photographer and planned to propose under the Cherry Blossoms at sunrise. On the drive, the photographer told Kyle that where they planned to meet was closed off. Kyle, running late, driving, and in a panic responded, "go to Hains Point", not knowing exactly where that was. Upon arriving to Hains Point, Martha and Kyle came to find that most of the blossoms had fallen in the storms the day before. Trying to stay calm, Kyle saw and moved toward the photographer, who was hooded and hiding behind trees, trying to be stealthy. Martha also saw this hooded figure and said to Kyle, "I think we're about to get mugged." Romantic! Kyle waved the photographer over, and Martha immediately knew what was going on. Kyle got on one knee and began to profess his love for her. She was absolutely shocked... She had no suspicions whatsoever that Kyle was going to do this. Turns out Kyle is reeealllyyy good at secrets. After all that had gone wrong that morning, Kyle did something that would shock her (and him) even more. Halfway through the proposal he pointed out a HUGE catfish head right behind her... Don't worry folks, Martha still said yes. ----Redemption---- The next day, we drove to Bethany Beach to share the news with Martha and Kyle's Grandparents. After dinner, Kyle took Martha to the exact spot where they met 5 years before, and with a bit less adrenaline and a lot more heart, he told her how much she means to him. After everything that had gone wrong the day before, she gave him the ring back so he could make some revisions to his original proposal. This time it went something like this: "Bethany Beach means so much to us both, we each grew up coming here every summer. The fact this exact spot is where our story began is so meaningful to me. Summer, at this beach, is when I am happiest, but ever since I met you here Martha, I get to take that with me wherever we go. I know that my proposal wasn't perfect, but please allow me to offer this amendment. Wherever you go, I will follow, because you are the love of my life. Will you marry me?"