Love is in bloom

The kind where you don’t expect to meet your forever person, but Nora knew something was different the moment she walked in and heard Billy Joel playing over the speakers on that fateful night in 2019. The guy on aux? Jake Pie. That detail alone would’ve been enough to win her over (she was raised on the likes of the Piano Man, after all), but it didn’t hurt that the renowned 'Pie' was also very cute. Jake, for his part, was equally smitten - especially on their first date when he watched Nora polish off an entire pizza without hesitation. Soulmates come in many forms - sometimes they just happen to share your music taste and your appetite. From that night on, they were inseparable, spending the rest of senior year making memories, skipping study sessions for late-night walks to The Chocolate Moose, and falling in love. Then came real life: graduation, long distance (Bloomington for Nora’s master’s, New York for Jake’s new job), and too many FaceTime calls to count. It wasn’t easy, but they both knew it was worth it. Eventually, they reunited in Chicago, traveled coast to coast, and finally put down roots together in New York. It was there that together they made their first home, explored the city with their feet (and stomachs), and discovered new hobbies like running, vinyl record collecting, and cooking. Then, in September 2024, Jake got down on one knee in their favorite place - Central Park. These days, you can usually find them walking hand in hand, discovering still-new corners of the city - and if you listen closely, they’re humming a Billy Joel tune...