Oops, I've Fallen

And with Carly busy at the shop today, I’ve spent most of my time packing up whatever belongings we don’t need for the next few weeks—but we need long-term—from the kitchen, living room, and guest bedroom.

Yesterday, she tried to work her way through our closet, but when I walk into our bedroom and take in the outrageous mess, it’s more than apparent that my girlfriend’s packing abilities are downright atrocious. Her clothes are spread across the floor and dresser and armoire and pretty much every surface of the room. Honestly, it looks more like a crime scene than anything else.

Oddly enough, though, this is a perfect example of why I love her so much.

She’s the funny chaos to my predictable order.

The wild to my rule-following.

The impulsive to my cautious.

She is everything I didn’t know I needed, and now that I have her, I can never go back to my old life.

I need her spontaneity, her rebellion, and her gorgeous wild hair.

I need her big blue eyes and infectious laughs and her zany antics and her ability to make a quiet night turn into sneaking over to Brody and Nina’s house to build obscene snowmen in their front yard.

I need all of her. All day. Every day. For the rest of my life.

Over a year ago, I interrupted my father’s wedding to tell Carly that I was in love with her. That I wanted to be with her. And that I couldn’t see a future without her.

The mere thought of that day makes me grin, and I head to my nightstand, stepping over Carly’s packing disaster, and open the drawer. Inside, nestled in the far back, is a little Tiffany blue box. I pull it out and flip open the top, and there it sits—the ring. The one I spent months searching for, researching, seeking out, and didn’t stop until I was certain I’d found it.

A beautiful, two-carat round diamond shimmers and shines from the center of a rose gold band. It’s simple and understated, yet big and bold at the same time.

One-hundred-percent Carly.

It’s crazy how just two years ago, I was single, living in New York full time, and solely focused on my career. And now, I’m splitting my time between Vail and New York, in a full-fledged relationship with the most amazing woman I’ve ever met in my life, and work, while still a priority, isn’t my sole focus.

Of course, I still work incredibly hard, but I don’t worry about the fact that I’m completely virtual during ski season. Sure, every once in a while, I have to take the occasional flight to New York for an important meeting, but mostly, I’m just here, with my girl.

Life is good.

My phone chimes from my back pocket again, and I fully expect another middle finger emoji from my dad, but I’m pleasantly surprised to find the message I’ve been waiting on all day.

Brody: We’re a go, bud. She’ll be there in an hour.

Me: Fantastic. Thanks, man.

Ever since Carly and I have become a package deal and started sharing our time between our two states, I’ve become close with Brody—one of Carly’s dearest friends and store manager. Though, now that Carly is living in New York part time, he’s more than just the store manager. About six months ago, she officially promoted him to CEO of the Carly Can Ski brand. Which, with some strategic technology expansion and less time spent dilly-dallying under Carly’s brilliant but distracted managerial style, is a brand now grossing over seven figures a year. The company has become a huge success in the virtual world, offering online lessons and health and exercise advice, all revolving around Carly’s love for skiing.

Ironically enough, even her mom Stella’s insane following on TikTok—now over two million fucking followers—was utilized to help give the Carly Can Ski brand a significant boost.

Sometimes, it’s truly insane how things come full circle.

But now isn’t the time to think about any of that.

Now is the time to get Carly to agree to spend the rest of her life with me.

I can’t wait.

I stare out toward the horizon, and the sun is just starting to make her descent over the mountains across the way. This is, hands down, one of the best views in Vail, and over the past year, this has become Carly’s and my spot.

Last year, after trying to do long-distance for a few months, this is where we both decided that we needed more. That phone calls and FaceTime and the occasional cross-country trip to see each other for a week at a time weren’t enough. We both wanted to be all in to our relationship, to move in together, and to split our time between Vail and New York.

And this, right here, is our spot. Our mountain.

It’s perfect to ski from, perfect to cuddle up together in a big blanket and enjoy a cup of coffee while watching the sunrise on the weekend, perfect to have insanely hot sex in the middle of a blizzard—it’s a long story, and I blame it all on Carly—and it’s perfect to tell the woman I love that I want to be with her forever.