In the summer of 2021, we both headed to Nantucket: Olivia as a last stop in seasonal hospitality before moving to Boston that fall, and Alex returning to the island he called home for many summers to find his strength and recover from ACL surgery after a bad ski accident. They were both hired as bartenders and assigned to live in the same dorm at Sankaty Head Golf Club. Alex arrived a few days before Olivia and had already begun opening the bar, which is where the two first met. He was polishing glassware when a group of new hires, including Olivia, joined the cleaning crew. Alex, wanting to say something–ANYTHING–to this girl made a joke which was immediately returned to him in kind. From that moment, Alex was intrigued to get to know the young woman who responded to his wit with equal sass. A few days later, staff started to arrive in droves. In rare form, Alex decided to spend time outside his room greeting everyone, feet up on the patio listening to music and working on a crossword puzzle. As he was deep in thought pondering the answer to a clue, out of nowhere this bombastic woman snatched the paper from his hands and immediately started in on the puzzle: “You’ve missed a few… Don't worry, I’ll do it!” She also called him out and told him he should spend more time outside his room. Taking her advice, Alex suggested a private tour of Nantucket as a chance to show off the island and get to know one another away from the college kids who were slowly taking over. Off they drove to every corner of the island, Alex sharing what he learned through his 10+ summers living and working there. Olivia was subjected to music that she describes as “all sounding the same” in her not-so-subtle tone and too coy to tell him she had to use the bathroom for over an hour! Throughout the summer, Alex and Olivia would continue to get to know each other, routinely spending late nights at Low Beach stargazing, talking until the sun came up, and decompressing after long work weeks. Olivia even went so far as to help Alex’s mother plan and execute an epic surprise 40th birthday all while keeping the friendship growing. It was at this birthday celebration that Alex finally realized the woman he had befriended had become a special part of his life. They met up in Florida for a few days that November before Alex ventured back to Montana and Olivia’s plans for moving to Boston shifted to a winter in Aspen. Life and work would eventually get in the way and the two drifted apart, but intermittent texting and a missed phone call would reconnect Alex and Olivia the following spring. In May 2022, Olivia returned to Nantucket after hiking part of the Camino de Santiago, Alex eagerly awaiting her return. On a chilly night during Nantucket’s Wine Fest, they met up in Town and began to rekindle their friendship behind The Club Car, listening to the screeches of out-of-tune karaoke singers and laughing with every note belted. Eventually, Olivia and Alex would add lunch and dinner dates and more strolls around Town, with Alex wooing Olivia at every turn. Their relationship evolved over that summer and they moved in together that fall. After enjoying an off-season without tourists, strolling hand-in-hand along the cobblestone streets and feeling like the only two souls on island, Olivia found a new job in 2023, and Alex returned to work at Sankaty, but these two lovebirds would still find time to spend time together, “touristing” around Town and always returning to their favorite spot at Low Beach. It was this fateful beach that Alex would finally find the courage on a sunny day in November 2023 to ask Olivia the most important question he could. Getting down on one knee and spilling his heart out, Alex asked Olivia for her hand in marriage, and luckily she said YES! In total Olivia fashion, she quickly quipped, “It's beautiful out, and I love you, but I’m freezing. Can we go home?!” Thus capping off a most wonderful chapter in the story of Alex and Olivia.