Feb 4: My phone vibrated – it was a text from one of my best friends, Tyler. He had organized a dinner earlier that day to celebrate his then-fiancé/now-wife Diana’s birthday. I wasn’t able to go – I was at work. However, Tyler invited everyone over to their house after dinner to continue celebrating. I was disappointed in myself for missing the dinner, so I wasn’t going to miss the afterparty. Little did I know that night would change the course of the rest of my life – in the best way possible. Another text message came through in the group chat from an unknown number, “on my way,” – it was Barbara. She had also worked that day but half-way home the same feeling surged through her – she had to celebrate her best friend’s birthday. Barbara hit a U-turn and was off to Tyler and Diana’s home. Barbara had arrived before I did. She ran to her friend, gave her a hug, and immediately started asking about Tyler and Diana’s upcoming wedding where she was to be one of Diana’s Maids of Honor. Diana and Tyler’s wedding was in September 2023 – 7 months in the future in this story. This may seem random but keep it in mind – it is important later. “Who am I going to walk down the aisle with?” Barbara asked. After going down the list of a few names, they finally got to me. “Okay, but who’s Aaron?” Barbara asked again. Right on queue, I walked through the front door. “That’s Aaron!” Diana motioning over to me. Barbara turned to look to see if she should be excited or disappointed. We made eye contact. To this day I cannot explain why, but there was something different about the way she looked at me. A look that lasted half a moment longer than usual. As the number of people began to fade, we started talking. We discussed everything under the sun. Before we knew it, the sun was peeking through the windows. We both had work that day – Barbara’s shift started at 8am. Feeling bad for preventing her from getting any sleep, I left to get her caffeine. I returned to Tyler and Diana’s house, energy drinks in-hand, and found Barbara in the living room. This is the part where you expect me to ask for her number, on a date, or do literally anything to express my interest in her. Instead, I handed her the energy drinks and said, “Well, I guess I’ll see you in 7 months,” and left. Still oblivious, I didn’t notice the sadness in her eyes as she replied, “I hope it’s sooner than that.” I barely made it 7 hours before I reached out to Barbara later that day to ask her on a date. Feb 10: The day of our first date. I spent every ounce of my free time thinking of how to make this the best date ever. I wanted it to be a night she would never forget but instead we went to a decent restaurant, and I had her home by 9pm. Thankfully Barbara called me out for having her home so early. We ended up talking through the night – not a moment of silence between us until the birds started singing. I dropped her off at home closer to 9am this time. Feb 15: Our 2nd or 3rd date. Overall, it was a pretty normal night – until I said, “I have something I want to tell you, but I’m afraid I’ll scare you away.” Barbara, being the comforting person that she is, encouraged me to say what was on my mind. “I love you.” Yes, you read that correctly -- 5 days after our first date. Later that night Barbara, asked me, “You love me, but do you even know my last name?” … “Nope.” Mar 2: We had seen each other just about every day since our first date (less than a month ago). We were both at work but exchanging text messages about our date the night before. “Something I didn’t tell you last night is that I’ve already made the decision that I’m going to marry you.” And the rest is history – our history, our story. But more importantly our future and the chapters we have yet to write.