When Lexi Edmondson finished her Master's Degree, Jimmy McIntosh insisted they celebrate.
The pair had met about a month earlier at a surf lifesaving course, and realised they lived just a street apart.
"He was really funny," Lexi told Mamamia. "He came in with this real nonchalant attitude."
Jimmy, 46, and Lexi, 35, had both passed the lifesaving course just a week before she graduated.
On Sunday, December 14, the two friends headed to Bondi for drinks to mark the milestones.
But as they walked along the beach, two gunmen opened fire on a nearby Jewish celebration.
Watch: The symbolism of Bondi Beach | Mamamia Out Loud. Post continues after video.
Jimmy and Lexi were heading towards the surf club when the first gunshot rang through the air.
Pine trees blocked their view of the shooter, and Lexi assumed the noise came from fireworks.
"We had no idea what was going on," she told us.
Soon, the sounds of terror became hard to ignore. And Jimmy sprung into action.
"He realised it was live fire, so he grabbed me and ran me down the stairs," Lexi recalled.
"He hid me in this small crevice next to one of the metal bins that's on the promenade."
The pair stayed like that until the shooting stopped. Then they split up to help the wounded. They weren't the only ones.
"Many of the people who rushed to help that day were volunteer lifesavers from Bondi and North Bondi Surf Clubs," Jimmy told Mamamia.
"It just so happened that both clubs had their annual Christmas party nearby, which meant a lot of members were already together and able to respond quickly with defibrillators, oxygen and first aid."
While Jimmy went to source supplies, Lexi ran to a man named Andrew, who had been shot in the leg.
Intercepting a lifeguard, she requested he remove his shirt to stem the bleeding.
"I tied it around his leg, put his legs up on a chair and told someone to get a tourniquet," she recalled.
She then turned her attention to a woman who had been shot in the groin and abdomen.
"I was asking people for their belts and clothes to pad her wounds, but everybody was in shock," Lexi said. "I knew she was going to require way more attention, so I was signalling for supplies."
As others rushed in to help, Lexi approached another victim, 20-year-old Rabbi Leibel Lazaroff, who had been shot while helping an injured police officer.
After putting pressure on the bleeding, Lexi reunited with Jimmy. Together, they decided to drive Andrew to the hospital.
Andrew remained in the hospital for three or four days, and couldn't walk for six weeks afterwards. But he is now recovering, and recently reunited with Lexi and Jimmy at a Jewish dinner.
The evening of the attack, Lexi and Jimmy didn't want to be alone.
"A few of us got together. We were so wired and trying to figure out what had happened," Lexi said.
In the chaos, Lexi had left her belongings at the beach.
"I'd lost everything that night, including my shoes, because I just dropped everything and ran," she said.
"Jimmy came around the next day because he was really aware I didn't have a phone. I didn't have anything. He came and checked on me."
That day, during a debriefing session at their surf club, Jimmy made a speech that Lexi will never forget.
"He stood up and said how sorry we were not just about yesterday, but for not taking action to protect [the Jewish community]. It just lifted the mood so much. And I had this real deep respect for him," she said.
After the session, one of the club members invited everyone back to their house.
Even though she wasn't hosting, Lexi was "hellbent on cooking for everybody." And Jimmy insisted on helping.
"He came with me to the shops and that's when he was like, 'Wow this is so comfortable, it feels really coupley going to the shops," she said.
"We had a lot of fun cooking. You don't expect lightness after what we've been through."
That night, they carpooled to their respective homes.
As they pulled to a stop, something shifted.
"There was this awkward energy," Lexi recalled. "When we got out of the car, there was this long, intense look. And I was like, 'Oh my god, do I like him?'
"He leant in and kissed me on the side of the cheek, and then we looked at each other, and then he leant in again and kissed me on the side of the cheek."
Lexi went to bed confused.
The next day, she offered to drop the 46-year-old to an appointment in the city. Her mum was visiting at the time, and bonded with Jimmy in the car.
"Jimmy was talking to my mum about how amazed he was about everything I did during the Bondi attack," Lexi said.
"He was like, 'She's just so strong, you've raised her so well,' and talking about my strength."
That moment, Lexi felt "comforted" in a way she'd "never felt before."
"I was so calm with Jimmy there, sitting next to me, he is such a calming presence," Lexi explained.
Once they had dropped Jimmy off, Lexi's mum wasted no time in sharing her thoughts.
"Jimmy's so lovely. He's quite attractive as well, isn't he?" she asked her daughter.
But Lexi "shut her down" immediately.
"I was like, I am not in the headspace for this. Even though a part of me was like, 'Oh, that's so cute.'"
That afternoon, Lexi picked Jimmy up on her own. Deciding they needed a break from Bondi, the pair headed to the Botanic Gardens.
As Lexi was about to exit the car, Jimmy stopped her.
"Can I kiss you?" he asked.
"Yes," she replied.
Listen below: A Sunday Evening At Bondi Beach. Post continues afterwards.
There was clearly something between them, but they agreed to take things slow.
Both Jimmy and Lexi had planned separate trips for the holiday season, which would give them some time to think.
But when Lexi, who had listed her apartment on Airbnb, decided she didn't want to leave Bondi. Rather than cancelling her bookings, Jimmy offered up his place while he was away.
He was due to leave town that week, but kept delaying his trip to honour the victims.
"There were so many things that were so beautiful and meaningful for the community," Lexi said, referencing the Paddle Out for the victims on December 19th, and the lifesavers' Shoulder to Shoulder the following day.
Jimmy eventually left Bondi the following week, but cut his trip short.
"He wasn't feeling settled, so he flew back on Boxing Day," Lexi said. "And then I was like, guess we're living together."
It was an easy transition for the couple.
"We just had so much fun and got to spend a lot of time together," Lexi said.
"There were just all these beautiful moments where I saw how loving and giving he is, and it just made me fall more and more in love with him."
Soon, they were planning a future.
"I really wanted to get married before having kids, and he was really eager to have kids in the next 18 months," Lexi said. "It became really apparent to both of us that this was kind of it. This is the person I want to have kids with. It's just so, so easy."
Lexi found out about the engagement by accident.
She and Jimmy were planning a trip to Mexico in February, and were using AI for ideas.
"I was asking ChatGPT about our suggested itinerary, and it came up on one of the days that this would be a good day to propose," she said.
Lexi immediately apologised to Jimmy, and told him there was "no pressure" to propose in Mexico. But when they arrived at their luxury hotel, it became clear that his plans hadn't changed.
The day of the proposal, however, came with more speedbumps.
"The photographer that Jimmy had organised, he'd accidentally given him the wrong number, so he called me instead," Lexi said.
Then, as they were walking on a secluded area of the beach, where Jimmy planned to propose at sunset, another issue arose.
The 46-year-old intended to pop the question on a beach at sunset. But when they were walking to the secluded area, another couple appeared.
"A gorgeous couple was walking beside us, and Jimmy ended up having to go up to the photographer and be like 'this isn't them,'" Lexi recalled.
As the cherry on top, when the 46-year-old got down on one knee, the ring box got caught in his trousers.
"It was just these comedy of errors," laughed Lexi. "But he gave me this beautiful speech as to why he wanted to marry me, and how he's never been so sure of anything in his life, and so sure of anyone."
The wedding is planned for November, and the couple have been invited to have the nuptials at Central Synagogue.
"It's something we feel deeply honoured by," Jimmy, who works in video production, told Mamamia.
"We've been incredibly moved by the support from the Jewish community in Bondi. They are a very real part of the fabric of our local community, including within the surf clubs themselves, and they've very much been in our thoughts throughout all of this."
He added: "If our story can play even a small role in bringing people together or strengthening the sense of community during a difficult time, that would mean a lot to both of us."
Feature Image: Supplied
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