It started with a typical girl’s night in. There was wine, gossip, and The Bachelor on TV. What seemed like any other evening suddenly sparked a conversation that would change both Traci and Eric’s lives. Traci and her friend Amy were hanging out when the topic of Traci’s love life came up. At that moment, Eric happened to text Amy (Amy is married to Eric’s best friend, Nick). Right then, Amy realized how serendipitous this was and immediately told Eric and Traci about one another. Eric texted Traci immediately, but Traci was hesitant to meet yet another guy. On January 31, 2019, Traci and Eric had their first date. With a low of 18°, they both considered canceling the date, but the forces of the universe had other plans. As she walked into Sophia’s wine bar, Traci hoped this was different. It was in the way he looked at her, his attentiveness, and the way he found meaning in relatively meaningless conversation, that she knew there was something special. For Eric, it wasn’t just her beautiful eyes that made him take pause, but the intricacies in her personality. Like the way Traci cut their charcuterie board—making sure they each had the same bite. He knew he was in trouble. One date turned into three which turned into 12. And then Eric made the move, he asked Traci to be his girlfriend the night seeing her eat to her heart’s content at her favorite restaurant, Kotobuki. If he could get through that, they both knew the love was real. In early 2020 they moved to Hoboken together. From walking down Washington Street, running together on the Hudson, and finding hidden gems throughout town, their appreciation for their quaint new home brought them even closer together. Then came Cooper and quarantine. They knew if they could get through a lockdown and raising a puppy together, they could get through anything. On October 24th, 2020, Eric popped the question! While Traci answered back with “Are you sure?” Eric knew he was never surer about anything in his life.