In the beginning of December 2021, Maria was taking her lunch break in Minnesota. She was was craving a new adventure and environment. Within her short 30 minute break she searched for jobs throughout the United States that seemed interesting to her. She applied for different counseling positions in Portland, Seattle, and Memphis. The next day she had 3 different virtual interviews for each city she applied for. She told her parents about the news. They were not surprised by her sense of adventure but were shocked to hear they were all in cities she has NEVER visited before. She stated she was excited for any of the opportunities and that she will accept the first one that contacts her. Two days later the position in Memphis called her and she accepted the job. Then, not even an hour later, the other two companies called also offering jobs but by that time she decided Memphis was the one for her. The adventure she always wanted was now starting, she signed a one year contract and planned to move the first week of January.

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While Maria is settling into her new apartment, Ethan is relaxing at home with his dogs, Sadie and Maverick. He goes onto his phone and decides to look into a dating app. After scrolling he see's a profile of a girl that displays pictures of snow, lakes and a location that reads, "Minnesota." Intrigued, he decides to shoot his shot by saying, "Are you from TENNESSEE, cause you're the only TEN-I-SEE." The next morning, Maria wakes up and starts her day with coffee and scrolling through her phone. She realized she didn't delete her dating apps yet since she wasn't planning on dating throughout her one year contract. She clicked on the app and saw a goofy pickup line from Ethan. Maria laughed and thought to herself, "Well, I haven't had anyone truly show me Memphis yet, maybe he can help." She messaged him back and the first "date" was planned.

Ethan and Maria had their first few date attempts cancelled due to bad weather and power outages. A few days later, Maria was busy with paperwork and building her apartment furniture when Ethan decided he couldn't wait anymore. He texted her and asked if he could come over and help her with whatever she needed, whether it was making dinner, building furniture or just some simple company. She exclaimed that she was hungry but did not get groceries yet that week. Within an hour, Ethan was on his way to her apartment with a cooler full of food and a plan to make her dinner as she worked. During dinner at her apartment they planned their first official date at Slider Inn Downtown. After that, Ethan and Maria spent more time together. They watched church services, went out with friends, took walks around town, drank gallons of coffee while playing Yahtzee, and really found any reason to spend time together. Then on March 31st, Ethan decided to ask Maria to be his girlfriend. She of course said yes and let her friends and family in Minnesota know that she no longer thought she was in Memphis just for a job. But she was drawn to Memphis to meet the love of her life and partner, Ethan.