When we left for spring break in the spring of 2020, we both had high hopes for what our friendship might eventually become. Abbie was reading Lewis’s Till We Have Faces, upon Matt’s suggestion, and knew that finishing the book would give her a reason to text him over the break. Spring break, however, ended up being much longer than either of us anticipated…

Over the next few months of lockdown, even with Matt in North Carolina and Abbie in Texas, our friendship continued to blossom. We talked on the phone for hours, finding things to do together virtually - folding origami, playing board games online, listening to music, and reading short stories. Despite the chaotic uncertainty of that time, we both look back on it with great fondness. Through the many letters and phone calls, we knew our friendship had become something more. When Matt finally returned to Waco, TX in August of 2020, he drove up to visit Abbie in Amarillo only a few days after moving into his new apartment.