How We Met
Kevin and I met in the most ~college~ way imaginable. We were both attending the University of Massachusetts Amherst; he was in his junior year and I was in my sophomore. It was about a month into the fall semester of 2011 when we bumped into each other at a party off campus. I had been persuaded to attend by my best friends and he was encouraged to go by his roommate, Nick. I remember locking eyes with him from across the room when we first entered the basement of the house and my friend Catie said “oh look those guy are our dorm neighbors Kevin and Nick!” My group of friends walked over to them to introduce ourselves and say hi. Kevin was quiet and awkward – you could tell he needed to loosen up a bit. As the night went on (and with some liquid courage) both he and I hit it off really well – although he was really friendly and personable with all my friends, so it didn’t seem that special. Nick, Kevin, and my group of gals ended up walking home together back to Patterson Hall where we all had dorm rooms. We ended the night all dancing and hanging out in Nick and Kevin’s room. I remember thinking how fun both Nick and Kevin were and how cute Kevin is! I never wanted the night to end.
After meeting at the house party, we made it a point to hang out every weekend (and then weekday) during that fall semester at UMass. We exchanged a few flirty tweets with each other (so millennial of us), and then we finally started texting. The moment we started texting was the moment our friendship just clicked. We talked ALL DAY EVERY DAY. I don’t know how I got anything done! Throughout the fall 2011 semester, I grew really close to both Kevin and Nick. I became a third roommate…sorry Nicky P! Kevin and I watched movies together, ate meals together, did homework and studied together. We became inseparable and best friends. By winter break, it felt very obvious that our friendship was a lot more…but we both didn’t want to ask the question “what are we?!” We just went with our gut and continued talking to each other 24/7.
During our winter break in December 2011/January 2012, I was on the phone with Kevin and his best friends from home. This had become a regular routine. Kevin and his friends loved calling me and asking questions (interrogating) me about…anything and everything! During this call, I was talking to the four of them while they were sitting at the beach in their hometown of Falmouth, MA and I was laying on the ground in my living room in good ole Ellicott City, MD. The five of us had been talking for hours and it was around 1 AM. During the conversation, his one friend pulled the phone away and whispered to me that Kevin really really liked me. “Ok…” I said. And then a little scuffle of the phone later, Kevin got on alone and asked me to officially be his girlfriend. I laughed and said “OF COURSE!”
how they asked
Each summer, my family goes to Block Island, Rhode Island for a week of vacation. This tradition started waaaaayyyyyy back in the ancient times when my grandparents took my Mom and Uncle to the island as children. There was a hiatus, and then my grandparents and parents brought the tradition back to our family in 2003 when I was 10 and my brother was 7. We have gone every summer since and the trip has become a staple in my life and such a special time to look forward to. The island is my second home.
When Kevin and I started dating, I made it very clear that Block Island is EVERYTHING and he quickly was welcomed into our family tradition. He learned right away how special this island is to me and my family (even though it looks and feels exactly like his hometown of Falmouth, but what evs). This summer started out like every other one – we left super early in the morning to catch a ferry from Point Judith, Rhode Island. We got to Block Island around 11 AM and made our way to our favorite restaurant, The Oar, where we have lunch as the first meal on the island. During lunch, my Mom mentioned that there were some shark sightings off the coast of the island right by the Southeast Lighthouse and my shark aficionado boyfriend instantly perked up and asked to look later. After eating, we spent some time unpacking the car and getting the house ready for a week of relaxation and bliss.
After unpacking, my Mom asked my brother and I to go to the island grocery store because we needed wine. Begrudgingly, we drove to the store and walked around a bit before getting wine and leaving. After I got back, Kev asked if I would like to walk to the lighthouse to look for sharks. I said….”uh…sure…?” (because, truthfully, I did NOT want to go do that). I grabbed a towel and started on my walk with Kevin up the hill to the lighthouse – which is about .25 miles from the house we rent. Poor Kev, I complained the entire walk up. My stomach hurt from lunch, I was hot and sweaty and bloated and felt DISGUSTING. He seemed too cheery to notice. We got to the lighthouse and started walking towards the edge where the fence meets the ocean. Kevin gave me the binoculars he borrowed from my grandfather and asked me to take a look out into the ocean. I put them up to my face and after 30 seconds, put them down and looked over to Kev to say ” I can’t see any th….” Kev was on his knee and was asking me to marry him. Cue the tears! I grabbed my towel and shoved my face into and just cried. I think I said yes? I think I nodded?
Kev led me over to a giant rock by the lighthouse and there was a blanket spread out with music and champagne. Little did I know that my Mom rushed over to set this up while I was getting the (totally unnecessary, but extremely necessary) wine. We celebrated just us two for a little bit and then my family met us to hug and celebrate. It was the best day ever!
