We initially met in freshman year at Boston University when Peter delivered Isabelle sushi and Starbucks as part of Big-Little week (her sorority "big sister" was captain of his mock trial team). It wasn't until sophomore year that we reconnected and discovered we lived across the street from each other. Our first date was in Boston's North End for pasta at Bricco and cannolis and coffee from Modern Pastry. We spent the rest of our semesters cheering at hockey games, working out at the BU gym (the FitRec) and sharing plates of fries at the dining hall.

Once summers came around, we FaceTimed each other between internships and LSAT prep. In his last summer before law school, Peter drove up almost every weekend from Centreville, DE to Medford, MA to see Isabelle - even popping a tire on the way. It was all practice for the real long-distance—Peter graduated a year early and moved to Washington D.C. to start law school while Isabelle finished up her senior year in Boston. After graduating, she moved to Philadelphia for her first job and spent weekends on the Amtrak to D.C.

We closed the distance four days before the pandemic shut down the world. With the help of her future in-laws, we moved all of her stuff to Foggy Bottom as Peter started virtual classes and Isabelle began a new job remotely. We kept our sanity with hours of video games, bugging each other throughout the day, and walks along the Georgetown Waterfront. Peter proposed on a spontaneous walk along the National Mall after Isabelle came home from visiting her family in Vietnam. He was waiting for the perfect moment while Isabelle kept running around the D.C. War Memorial, trying to read the inscription. We still go on walks together, now with the addition of our dog, Orzo.