The year was 2017 and like most Millennial couples, we met on a dating app. It was a new platform for gay men called Chappy, and its allure was that every time you opened the app, you had to answer the question: "Are you looking for Mr. Right, or Mr. Right Now?"

In late April 2017, we both logged on and answered: Mr. Right.

We quickly got the whole "is it weird we have the same name?" thing out of the way, and the witty back-and-forth that followed evolved into plans to grab drinks at a West Village wine bar called Gottino a few days later. There, the conversation was your typical first date fodder—Hollister told Polino he saw himself becoming a stay-at-home dad who coached soccer, and Polino told Hollister he could see himself pulling an Amy Dunne one day. It was clear from that evening that openness and humor would be a driving factor of this love story.

The summer of 2017 will always be remembered for its amazing music and the beginning of The Joeys. As months turned into years, we checked off every box required of budding relationships built to last—moving in together, traveling to meet each other's families, and discovering we could spend unlimited amounts of time together via 2020's COVID lockdowns in New York City. We supported each other during times of loss and growth, expanded our family of 2 by adopting our beloved pup Rooney, and decided that after nearly 10 years in New York, it was time to lay down roots someplace closer to family—ultimately settling on Polino's hometown of Buffalo, New York.

But before we could make the cross-state move, Hollister devised a plan to make an honest man out of Polino.

(Please excuse the shift in tense from 2nd to 3rd person.)

In the weeks leading up to November 5, 2022, Polino decided to do something very out of character and took 2 weeks off of work to decompress and creatively reset. This became a bit of a problem when, four days before Hollister was to propose, Polino decided he hated the layout of their apartment and rearranged all of the furniture without warning. Fearing Polino would find the engagement ring, Hollister suddenly announced he had "a lot of meetings" and locked himself in their bedroom, hoping Polino's burst of home decor inspiration would disappear before the end of business that day.

Narrator: it did.

A few days later, they had reservations for dinner at Le Fanfare—a neighborhood restaurant that had recently received a Michelin mention, and was also the site of Hollister's introduction to his future mother-in-law some years earlier.

Polino was under the assumption that the reservations were just standard Friday night date-night plans. However, from the start, all of the signs were there that the night was more than just a standard entry in their Friday routine. If only Polino had noticed them...

When their cocktails and starters arrived, Hollister began nervously commenting that it felt like the restaurant was rushing them.

Polino furrowed his brow and said he disagreed.

When Hollister pointed out that there was tiramisu on the menu, he did so in the hope that Polino would jump at the chance to have his favorite dessert. Hollister wanted to slow things down because at their apartment a few blocks over, a plan had been set in motion and he needed to time their arrival.

Polino, though, was painfully oblivious and said he'd prefer to grab a pint of his favorite Van Leeuwen ice cream from the bodega on the way home for them to share while they watched The Good Fight.

Upon arriving home, Polino commented on the "random" flower petals discarded on the stairs leading up to their apartment, adding "that's so weird," as he passed them.

Hollister was uncharacteristically quiet.

Reaching the door, he turned to Polino and said "Now, don't worry... Rooney's safe."

Narrator: if you know Joey Polino, you won't be surprised to learn he reacted with shock, quickly unlocking the door and searching for the pup who always greeted them with excitement, missing the scene in front of him.

What he missed by searching for the beloved pup was the apartment filled with flowers and lit tea candles, as arranged by Hollister's Uncle Tim and Aunt Heather. He'd earlier tried to slow down their dinner because Tim & Heather had been stuck in traffic as the cocktails and starters arrived at their table an hour earlier. They were now sitting two blocks away with Rooney safe and sound, waiting for the news of what was to happen next.

Hollister led Polino to their couch and got down on one knee.

"Oh boy," Polino breathed.

Neither of them remembers what Hollister said when he took the ring box out of his pocket. What they do remember is Polino deadpanning: "Did you ask my parents?" as Hollister opened the box.

He said yes and then Polino said yes, and then Hollister asked him to confirm that yes every twenty minutes for the next several hours.

Registry