Love Behind the Mask
I
Scales and Hodson will wed this spring
STORY BY BETSY ILER PHOTOS COURTESY OF BROCK HODSON
walk through Russell Forest. Scales toured her new “I hope she’s as beautiful under the mask,” friend around the lake and showed him all of her Ohio’s Brock Hodson thought the first time he saw favorite places in the area where she grew up. Alexander City native Hayden Scales peering at him “We ate at Kowaliga,” she remembered. over a desk at the entrance to Russell Medical. It only made sense, then, that the lake played an A masked Scales was taking temperatures and important part in Hodson’s proposal plans early last screening hospital employees for COVID-19, and fall. Originally, he planned to propose on the golf Hodson, an athletic trainer at Total Fitness, was course, but like the couple’s first checking in for his shift. About a date there, that did not work out. week later, he saw her again. Hodson secretly turned Instead, he planned a sunrise “I was training for a half maraon his cellphone's video coffee cruise and let Scales’ best thon and injured my knee, just camera to capture the proposal friend, and her sister, Ryley, in overworked it, and my boss told on the secret. me I probably should go have With the sun coming up just it looked at,” Scales said. “So as the boat cruised by Kowaliga, I went in to have him look at it the site of their first date, Hodson and give me some tips to help it pretended to take a photo of the heal.” morning sky. Instead, he turned Like Hodson, Scales was on the video recording and immediately attracted to her propped his phone up in a cup trainer and looked forward to holder to capture Scales’ reaction actually seeing his face. That day when he got down on one knee came shortly after their meeting, and popped the question. as during another training ses“I knew it was coming eventusion, they mutually agreed that ally, but I was really surprised the masks could be removed. when he did it. I had thought it “It was a very weird feeling,” was just going to be a boat day,” Hodson admitted, but to his relief Scales said. and delight, the woman behind When they arrived at the the mask was even more beautidock later that morning, Ryley ful than he had hoped. snapped a photo of the newly Hodson grew up in Ohio, and engaged couple, and they celebrated on the dock with as long as he could remember, he had intended to champagne. move to the South upon his college graduation. Still determined to celebrate on the golf course, “I wanted to live south of Charlotte,” he said. the pair will be married at Willow Point Golf and He took a job at Russell Medical right out of college and had been in Alexander City only a short time Country Club on June 4 with lots of Scales’ favorite flower, blue hydrangeas, in attendance. before meeting Scales. Masks will be optional. The couple planned their first date on a golf course, but when that did not work out, they took a
16 LAKE
FEBRUARY 2022
