Sam was new to town and looking to make friends when Gina Shannon invited him to Communitas, a conversation group that met bi-weekly at the Stone House on Ambleside's campus. Monica was exhausted after a long day teaching her 4th and 5th grade students and had just gotten back from a run when she saw Gina walk up with a handsome, lanky stranger. Communitas had been meeting for weeks in the space below her on-campus apartment and she had been determined to skip this meeting, spend a quiet evening inside, and go to bed early. However, after some encouragement from Gina, Monica decided to join the group downstairs. During a lull after a long discussion about the benefits and struggles of habit formation, Sam and Monica found themselves alone together, refilling their drinks in the kitchen. Sam revealed that he was a reporter who had just moved to Fredericksburg to get a taste of life at a small-town, weekly newspaper. They talked about photography, running goals, Monica's passion for education, and the lack of affordable housing in Fredericksburg (he had spent his first months in town living in his cousin Delesa's upstairs guest room, while Monica rented a small apartment from her school). Long after the meeting had adjourned for the evening, Sam asked for Monica's number and left for home. In the coming days, they began running, hiking, exploring and dreaming together. By the end of October, on Halloween night, Sam asked Monica to hike with him to the top of Enchanted Rock where he officially asked her to be his girlfriend and to keep their relationship "going for a while longer."

When Monica looked down at her cellphone one Friday in early May and saw a text that read: "BREAKING NEWS: I bought the ring and I'm proposing on May 29th!" she knew that she had seen a message that was not intended for her eyes. Sure enough, within moments, Maggie Murphy came running into her classroom, demanding that Monica hand over her phone. "I know why you're here! I've already seen it!" Monica exclaimed. "Well, that's a problem, because you have one stressed boyfriend who thinks I'm about to delete that text before you ever see it. What am I supposed to tell him?" After several minutes of intense debate, Monica decided to simply tell Sam the truth. She picked up her phone and replied to his text: "I'm all in." Within seconds, Sam called her phone. The only question Monica had for Sam was whether or not he wanted to go through with the proposal on the 29th. He was adamant about following through on his plans, so they both agreed that they wouldn't talk about the unfortunate text or the upcoming proposal again till the 29th of May at the peak of Enchanted Rock... Then the rain came. And the rain poured and poured and poured. There clearly would not be a proposal at Enchanted Rock on May 29th. Sam, ever quick on his feet, adjusted his plans. As soon as the rain finally cleared, he drove Monica to Cross Mountain where they met up with his friend Justin, who had initially been invited as a decoy to distract Monica from the pending engagement. They giggled their way to the peak, remembering all the ways that 2020 and 2021 had taught them to expect the unexpected. They had navigated more disasters together than most couples do in 20 years. They were no longer disappointed by a change of plans; they were just happy to have someone to stand beside, and to laugh with, during life's many storms. When they reached the peak of Cross Mountain, Sam got down on his knee and asked Monica to marry him. She cried and unreservedly said, "Yes!"