The night Nathan proposed on the Charles River felt suspended in time, as though the snowflakes themselves had paused to witness it.

They rowed back to the dock slowly, hands linked over the oars, laughter and happy tears mingling with their breath in the cold air. Inside Nathan’s apartment, they didn’t speak much at first—just held each other by the window, watching the snow blanket Boston, letting the weight of forever settle gently between them.

They made love that ...