Laurie and Thomas first met in January 2021 when both were working part-time at a used book store in the Kansas City area as the world came out from quarantine. They became fast work friends whose connection grew as the months went on. But in May, Thomas was leaving to work a seasonal job as a Park Ranger halfway across country in one of the most remote sections of California — the deepest canyon in North America, in fact. They promised to stay in touch and remain friends, even if Thomas' new home would be an hour's drive from cell service. Luckily for both, the laundry room in park housing had a landline phone, and Thomas used it to call Laurie several times a week.

In one of their conversations, Thomas decided to invite Laurie to California for a social event he and his coworkers were putting on: Ranger Prom. He didn't really expect her to make such a trek, but she surprised him by hopping on a train and riding the rails across the southwest to attend. This was proof that a relationship like this could stand the test of time. Over a year and another long-distance summer season later (this time in Alaska), and life was about to change for them both in a bigger way: Laurie was accepted into her dream graduate program at Emerson College and was preparing to move to Boston. Tired of the long distance, Thomas decided to move there with her when he got back from the last frontier and continue his ranger career there. They lived in the Boston area for a year together, loving their first shared home.

Then, in December 2023, Thomas took Laurie to a typewriter shop in Cambridge to pick up her Christmas present. To her surprise, a proposal was already typed into the Royal typewriter that she had sat down to try out. As a couple whose passions are publishing and telling stories, the written word has always been an important part of their lives. They hope that you'll join them to start off the next chapter in their adventure.