We're getting married!

Lauren and Pierce met in the modern fashion: on the internet. Sure, they knew of one another through a friend, but that only got them so far. Pierce enjoyed a book and offered, via social media, to send a copy to anyone. Lauren, and only Lauren, responded. They then began, and have not stopped, talking and amassing books. It's fortunate they had the internet to facilitate their growing affection. Pierce was living in Arlington and Lauren called Costa Mesa home. Video chatting was wonderful, as were updates on the formidable Orange County Women’s Chorus, but the chats seldom began before midnight Pierce’s time. Soon enough, Lauren made her first trip East and Pierce hastily made plans to go West. Going West was foundational, from the mundane moments to the, well, magical, typified in their trip to Disneyland. Here were two not very Disney-centric adults spending 14 hours in Anaheim, voluntarily, with ears on. Could it have been the Christmas-fied It’s A Small World? Maybe, but it was probably more the ineffable quality of finding someone who makes life exponentially richer. Pursuing that life together (and an eventual return to Disneyland) became their shared goal. The coast-to-coast travel did become too much, so they packed up Lauren’s CR-V and drove East. This is an enjoyable thing you need do only once. If nothing else, I-40 will make you appreciate the privilege of living near stores with fresh produce. The irony of the trip was a flight in which they carried on an air mattress. For future guests. It was February 2020. The abrupt change from not just “more” moments together but “all” could have been disastrous. Rather, it was quite the opposite. They explored Arlington with constitutionals, Pierce pointing out all the places he’d hoped to take her. They watched gobs of movies, including everything Marvel and nearly everything Hitchcock. It was an extraordinary time, and there could not have been a better way to learn how to support one another. Lauren, meanwhile, busied herself applying to Social Work programs. Such as it was, their next journey would be to a “football school”: the University of Georgia. Moving back to Atlanta was extremely appealing to Lauren. For Pierce, someone who had spent every moment of his 29 years with a Virginia address, he wanted nothing more than to be where Lauren was (inside the Perimeter or nothing, he was told, whatever it meant.) So since July 2020 they’ve happily called Atlanta home. Amazingly, they’ve spent the last two years surrounded by future therapists and epidemiologists. What could be better than that? There are way fewer consultants in Atlanta, that’s what. Yet, something was missing. Pierce desperately wanted a dog and Lauren, ever the selfless one, committed to allergy shots so that could be a reality. In October, they adopted a rescue dog, Rooney. Their constitutionals improved dramatically. Of course, an apartment was not an ideal space for a puppy (or their unseemly collection of books and mugs.) Accordingly, they begin the search for the last great tax haven: a home. They found one in February of 2021 and have been planting, cooking, and playing fetch there since. Between those two Februarys, everything and nothing changed. They went from coast to coast to forest, but their comfort and ability to communicate was a constant. They helped one another become more confident in themselves. Pierce instilled in Lauren that, truly, she’s doing great and he will keep reminding her because it’s worth being proud of. For Pierce, Lauren scrubbed the Beltway off and convinced him that doing nothing is perfectly acceptable if it makes you feel better. Their eagerness to lift each other remains their strongest expression of love. So, after three years of books, coffee, and bread, Lauren and Pierce have decided it’s time to celebrate their love, in the traditional fashion. They’ll see you, in real life, in October.