To be completely honest, I can't remember much about our first date other than the fact that we talked for hours about anything and everything. It felt like I had known him for years.
 


We started hanging out regularly and going to the gym together every night after work. My family and friends started calling him my boyfriend, but let's be clear... he was JUST A FRIEND.


 
In December of 2021, I was living at home for my gap year when my family got COVID. I was one of the only ones to stay clear of it, so I decided to pack my bags and stay with Charlie for two weeks so I could keep working without risking getting anyone sick. It was right around Christmas when I started missing the plethora of holiday decorations my mom has all over the house. Charlie took me to cut down our very own Christmas tree, watching me wander the tree farm for almost three hours to pick out just the right one. I picked one clearly too big for the apartment, so he decided to cut the tree half way up so it would be the perfect height. I was so embarrassed, but this moment led me to realize he had many similarities to my father.
 


In February of 2022, Charlie insisted on taking me to Florida for a vacation. I was hesitant, but a week off of work sounded pretty nice. He took me to Clearwater Beach where we spent the week reading books together while staring out into the beautiful, calm waters. I, again, saw my father in him. Someone who was intelligent and valued a simple setting of togetherness. One evening, he took me on a sunset Catamaran tour. I could tell he was nervous. Sweaty hands and stuttering words proceeded the first time he ever told me he loved me.... and I smiled politely and said Look! There's a dolphin! Because HE WAS JUST A FRIEND. And a best friend can love you? Right?
 


March of 2022 brought the most exciting news that I had gotten into my top choice vet school: University of Tennessee! I started looking for housing and furniture, finding some of the pieces that *spoiler* now reside in OUR home. I asked Charlie to help me pick up a couch because he had a big enough car to get it back to my house. On the way home, he turned to me to ask what he was supposed to do with his own couch now. I told him that it would stay in his apartment because I was moving to Tennessee on my own. Not because I didn't want to see him anymore, but because I was so excited to be entering this new chapter in my life as a strong and independent woman. Little did I know that life knows exactly what you are going to need before you do. So, after WEEKS of consideration, I said he could move to Tennessee as long as it wasn't in the same house as me. This was around the same time my dog, Eno, had to have surgery. I packed my things once again and headed to Charlie's apartment for 8 weeks while his mom watched his dog so that Eno could recover in solitude away from my parent's dog. We quickly realized living together felt like a never-ending sleepover and that we weren't quite ready to live apart, and so we signed the lease to our first home together.
 


In May of 2022, I told him I loved him. It was pointless to continue as just friends when there was absolutely nothing more I could want in a man that I was moving in with. He was selfless, kind, intelligent, hard-working, and optimistic. Every day he challenges me to be better than I am the day before. Every day he shows me his commitment to bettering himself. Seeing qualities of both my grandfather, Frank, and my papa, Larry, in him reassured my choice.
 


A year of hiking, reading, movie watching, animal acquiring, studying, and just existing together followed. To some it may sound mundane, but those are some of my favorite moments with Charlie. Those moments allow me to see our future together. We will kiss when we clean the kitchen, hold hands walking our dogs, and look into each other’s eyes as we cook dinner for the rest of our lives.
 


On August 13, 2023 Charlie took me to the Knoxville Zoo on a private tour. They led me up to the Red Panda exhibit and asked if I wanted to feed them. If you don't know, Red Pandas have been my favorite animal for as long as I can remember, and I could spend hours watching them sleep in the trees. Tears welled in my eyes as I watched Willow the Red Panda eat grapes from my hands. I was already crying like a baby as I rounded the corner after walking out of the enclosure to see a path of rose petals. Charlie walked me to the end of the path and asked me to marry him with the most beautiful ring I have ever seen.




A lifetime of adventures and happiness awaits us.