Hailey and Max grew up orbiting each other. Middle-school Max and Hailey were friendly acquaintances but would have been floored to learn that they would grow up and get married (weird!). After middle school their lives took them in separate directions and the first time they came back into each other's orbit, Hailey was spending a summer at home and waiting to move to China. Hailey and her mom were scrolling through Tinder for entertainment when Max's profile came up. Tamica was immediately obsessed with Max. At the time Hailey was mid-packing for her move abroad and was like, "Mom, relax, I'm not moving back to Vermont to marry some hometown boy." As the year went on, from time to time Tamica would call Hailey just to ask, "What about that boy from the First Stop Board Barn?" to which Hailey would respond with an audible eye roll. Fast forward one year to February when Hailey was visiting home for 10 days with only a backpack. Hailey got off the plane in NYC and thought, "huh, weird" when she saw all these people wearing hazmat suits. Over the coming days and months, China would close its borders, and soon after Covid-19 would roll the world over, effectively leaving Hailey stranded in limbo and living in her parent's house, wearing her 16-year-old brother's clothes (fun). The day that Max and Hailey met for real, Hailey and Hailey's mom (Tamica) and stepdad (Eric) decided to go boating at Woodward Reservoir. When they got there they were disappointed to find they had remembered to bring the boat but forgot the paddles and lifejackets at home. Guess which local boating goods store owner was sitting in his truck with an extra set of paddles? When Hailey saw Max she immediately decided to ignore him (who wants to engage in an awkward conversation with someone from middle school?!). Max says Hailey's name lept out of his mouth. He had been following her travels in Asia on Instagram and had developed a bit of a crush from afar. As soon as they started talking it was instant chemistry. All Hailey could think was "Oh, wow, he's really cute. He's really, really cute." There was something about Max that felt familiar to Hailey. She knew instantly she wanted to see him again. Oh, and both Tamica and Eric were standing right there the whole time. Tamica remembered exactly who Max was and was smugly enjoying every second. She said, "you guys should go out sometime." To which Max's reply was, "I've been trying." So what happened next? Well, Max ghosted Hailey for a few days. Hailey had to call their mutual friends and ask, "What's going on with this guy?" But she would not be deterred so easily. She knew this guy was special and made it a point to be very clear about how she felt. Then came four weird (Covid) but blissful months. Hailey was going back to China as soon as her government permission letter came in but in the meantime, Max and Hailey fell hard and fast in love. Max and Hailey spent their days sailing, biking, paddle boarding, and hiking together. They saw what a future of adventure and straight-up joy would look like if they could figure out a way to be together. By the end of that four months, Hailey was ready to leave all her stuff in her apartment in China and just stay in Vermont. Max was ready to leave his life in Vermont and move to China. They met somewhere in the middle. Max got his ESL certification over the course of the next long-distance year and worked on his visa to come to be with Hailey. Max and Hailey had incredible adventures in China, but with the Zero-Covid regulations, ultimately ended up making a very high-stakes evacuation. They always knew they wanted to come home to Vermont (though with Covid that happened sooner than expected!). Now they feel like they are exactly where they belong, skiing, mountain biking, and cuddling by the fire with their two rescue cats from Beijing and their very floofy roofer.