“Gage and I met in the most modern way—on Hinge. It was right after I finished marathon weekend in Pittsburgh. I was still riding that post-race high when we matched and started talking. Naturally, running came up right away. I told him about the marathon, and funny enough, I was already scheduled for surgery because of—what else—running.

From the start, Gage was shy—sweet, but definitely quiet. But there was something about him that made me feel at ease, like he wasn’t just listening—he really cared. And it turned out, I wasn’t wrong.

Not long after we met, I had my surgery and ended up unable to walk for about six weeks. Honestly, that’s when I really saw who Gage was. He showed up for me—helping me, caring for me, making me laugh through the frustration of being stuck on the couch. He was my own personal chauffeur and snack holder. But he turned what could have been a really difficult time into something surprisingly comforting.

Then a little over a year later, we were going on vacation in the Outer Banks with his family. We got to the rental only to have been told they weren’t ready for us quite yet, so we drove around and did some exploring. Granted, I was very much ready to go take a shower and a nap. But we parked back outside the rental, and he told me, “Let’s go for a walk.” I did protest a little because I was hot and didn’t want to get out from the ac again, but I did give in. One thing about him and me is he is over 6 feet, I’m barely 5 feet, he just has a longer stride, but this time he walked behind me, and I was like, “This is odd.” We got to the dune and ended up at the top, busy watching the water and about to tell him about something when I found him on one knee behind me. I did at first think he was joking because he loves a good joke on me, but nope, he was in fact not joking. That right there was the start of my forever. He has always brought me so much joy and love in everything he does for me and us.”

-Ava