This Must Be The Place

Kendal and Steve met at film school through mutual friends while in long-term relationships. Then they went their separate ways. The end. Well, actually, those relationships didn't work out but Steve and Kendal remained friends and eventually became coworkers at Alamo Drafthouse Littleton. Steve frequently closed, didn't have a car, and would often sleep at the train station until trains started running again. Kendal wasn't a fan of this, so she started insisting on picking him up. They'd typically hang out until the sun came up, sparking the feeling of really just wanting to be together as much as they possibly could. It didn't take long for Steve to ask her out, right before going to an already planned trip to one of Danny Ramos' improv shows, making that their first date.

Fast forward a few years later. Kendal and Steve are just... exhausted. In a much-needed trip out of town, Kendal and Steve head to Telluride during one of the town's infrequent quiet weekends. Having spent quite a bit of time in Telluride during the film festival, they had a list of essential activities already on the books. Most important on this list: getting big donuts at Baked In Telluride and riding the gondola at night ALONE (difficult to do during most of the festival). The gondola at night feels like you're floating in pitch blackness. It's dead silent with only the twinklings sparks of light from buildings and homes in town that fall far below you as you lift up the mountain. It's serene in its solitude but also slightly terrifying, which makes it better. It's the perfect time to talk freely and openly. Kendal and Steve ate their big donuts and talked about their lives, their hopes, things that made them sad, and more. They often talked about being together forever, but in like a soupy romantic way. This evening, as they talked once again about being together forever, Steve felt something new. It was time to make it official. No ring, no plan, no fuss. Just two idiots eating big donuts in the dark on a gondola, ready to spend the rest of their lives together.