Nothing quite ignites a flame like seeing your future sweetheart bagging groceries on a quiet afternoon at Wegmans in Johnson City. That’s where it all started—two colleagues, Meg and Michael, friendly coworkers sharing shifts and small talk among shelves and shoppers, never quite imagining what lay ahead. Their friend, Meg K, was planning a small wedding during the uncertain times of COVID, and she invited both of them. Michael would muster the courage to ask Meg to be his date, and sparks flew that evening… until, in a twist that no one saw coming, Michael stepped back and ghosted Meg for a few months. But life has a funny way of bringing people together. As fate would have it, Meg was promoted, and soon she and Michael found themselves working the same role, often scheduled side-by-side on quiet Sunday evening shifts. There, in the lull of slow shopping hours, they began to rediscover the connection they had almost missed. Meg, who eventually took over writing their department’s schedule, may have “accidentally” aligned their working hours more closely. With a wink and a bit of calendar creativity, the two kept overlapping in each other’s days and conversations. Soon, occasional after-shift meetups at the Old Union Hotel became a habit. Drinks at the Union morphed from a casual way to unwind into a ritual they both looked forward to. One lime White Claw and one Yuengling at a time, they built a new comfort with each other—easy laughter, lingering goodbyes in the parking lot, and that warm feeling of something real taking shape. Eventually, Michael found his courage once more. This time, with the memory of that initial spark still fresh, he officially asked Meg out on a real date—no half-measures, no backing away. And this time, there would be no ghosting. This time, the spark would catch and grow into something more enduring. The rest, as they say, is history: a love story that began in the grocery store and grew stronger shift by shift, date by date, until it became a bond worth celebrating for a lifetime.