It was a lovely morning at the University of Central Florida in January 2016. The smell of formaldehyde perfumed the air. Nobody was consciously looking for love. Everybody was focused on dissecting the brachial plexus. Except maybe Jack, who couldn’t keep his eyes off of Ashley’s beautiful… dissection. Such a beautiful dissection she had. He spent as much time at Ashley’s dissection table as possible, even though he was routinely reminded that his assigned table was on the other side of the laboratory. The next month was fast-paced. Jack asked Ashley out to dinner for the second Sunday in February. That happened to be St. Valentine’s Day, but introverted Jack didn’t mention that for fear Ashley would reject him for a first date on such a romantic day. Jack planned a long drive to New Smyrna Beach so they could have quality conversation in his old Ford pickup truck. Family, food, and future goals were natural topics. Dinner was at The Garlic, a Tuscan restaurant with a wood-fired Il Forno. After the roasted elephant garlic appetizer, dinner was hard to remember with how deep their conversation became. Feelings flourished in the cadaver lab over the next few weeks. A kiss or two may have been snuck in the large, walk-in cadaver freezer. Only two Sundays later, Ashley called Jack and asked him if he wanted to go to Europe. Flights were booked in short order, the first of many spontaneous adventures together. Neither of them had been to Europe, and the itinerary included Lisbon, Barcelona, Santorini, and Zurich.

Fast-forward to June 16, 2016. Ashley and Jack went swimming together at Santorini’s Red Beach, where Jack professed his love and desire for Ashley to be his girlfriend. Ashley and Jack then became a unit. The vacation was incredible. There was only one minor caveat: Jack had to move to Miami in a few short weeks to start medical school. Ashley and Jack entered their relationship committed to growing together while knowing they would be living apart for several years. Ashley was working in Orlando and applying to PA school. Through Jack’s first year in Miami, they traded time between Orlando and Miami. Before Ashley moved to start PA school at Rutgers, the two took a trip to France to celebrate success in their ongoing professional goals. By summer 2017, Ashley moved to New Jersey. Soon the young couple began scheduling flights every 5-6 weeks to visit. New Jersey became like home for Jack, and he spent time with Ashley and her grandparents many times he came to visit. The next three years were a whirlwind of fast-paced clinical education and weekends together trading places between Miami and New Jersey. Their favorite places to explore were new restaurants in New York City as well as small vineyards in The Poconos. Both Ashley and Jack graduated from school in spring 2020. Jack’s residency was set to begin in Miami, so Ashley made the trek south. After three years apart, Ashley and Jack made Coconut Grove their home. Ashley has been incredibly supportive of Jack throughout his surgical residency all while cultivating her own successful career in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. Their main priorities have been learning to cook worldwide cuisine together, embracing their tropical neighborhood by raising a tropical garden, and continuing to travel together. Their most recent trip made it a priority to visit each other’s homeland. Jack and Ashley are German and Italian descent, respectively. Jack made it through TSA with some hidden metal in his sport coat pocket that thankfully went unnoticed by the airport scanners. In the coming days, his sport coat never left his sight when traveling between Roma and Napoli.

On September 11, 2023, Ashley and Jack rented a car and journeyed further into rural Campania on one jam-packed travel day. The goal was to end up on the Amalfi coast that evening. They started by visiting a water buffalo farm in southern Campania where they learned how Mozzarella di Bufala cheese is made. They drove along scenic sea-side cliffs to reach Amalfi town for a late lunch. Positano should’ve only been a short drive further, where Jack had arranged a sunset boat cruise for that evening. Nonetheless, a rockslide had shut down the most direct route to Positano and locals needed to redirect us over the Sorrento peninsula mountain range on a detour to reach Positano. The sunset cruise was particularly important to Jack, so he sped along the narrow winding roads to ensure he would reach the reservation timely. And no, there was no time to change clothes from the water buffalo farm. And no, there was no time for doing hair or makeup. Jack was hell-bent on making this sunset cruise. They abandoned the car 10 minutes before their boat was scheduled to leave. Jack fumbled through his sport coat pockets and grabbed his camera before taking off down the thousand stairs that are carved into the Positano cliffs along the path down to the marina. A wave of relief washed over Jack when they found their captain for the sunset cruise. The charter began and Jack was particularly concerned with where to get the best photos of the sunset. And at sunset, just offshore from Positano, Jack bent his knee, and looked at the Italian captain to say, “Please take lots of photos.” Jack then looked into Ashley’s eyes to explain to her why he felt so compelled to bring her back to the Mediterranean Sea. They had started their committed relationship in the same way in Santorini back in 2016. Jack had rehearsed excerpts prepared from a 1962 John F. Kennedy speech about the importance of the sea to humanity. These rehearsed words came out all butchered and by this time both Ashley and Jack were both excited and crying. He asked her to marry him and she said, “YES OF COURSE!” Thank God the captain of the boat was still rapidly shooting photos at this point. And no, the captain had no idea Jack was going to propose. Jack didn’t have any contingency plans either, for foul weather or any other plot twists which may have befell them on that day. Typical Jack planning. The remainder of their trip included Capri, Florence and Chianti country, Venice, and a drive through Brenner Pass and Austria to reach Munich for Oktoberfest. They shared their first Oktoberfest with good friends Glenn and Sofia before returning to Miami. Ashley and Jack are happy to be planning their wedding in Italy. They are looking forward to returning Tuscany to share a beautiful celebration with family and friends who have watched them grow along throughout their relationship.