Life has a funny way of surprising us—you can never really plan how things will turn out. Nestor and I had been friends of friends for many years and had small interactions from time to time—the most memorable is my criticizing of his Old Fashion making skills. One night he sends out a group text for a meetup to our friends chat and the least person he thought was going to show up did – me. He was having a drink with a friend, and I showed up excited at the fact that I had a Friday night plan. His friend ended up leaving 10 minutes after I arrived, and I could tell he awkwardly did not know what we were going to have to talk about together. We did what anyone else at Fritz and Franz would do... order a beer. The conversation flowed effortlessly. There was no pressure, no small talk filler—just two people genuinely enjoying each other’s company. One beer turned into two. Then we headed to another bar, and we even danced salsa. That night felt so easy and natural. At some point, I mentioned my birthday was coming up in a couple of weeks, and that I didn’t really have anything planned. Without hesitation, he planned a boat day with a barbecue to celebrate. And to my surprise, he even remembered that I’d once told him my favorite bourbon was Angel’s Envy. From that night on, Nestor continued to show me nothing but kindness and care. I didn’t realize it then, but those were exactly the qualities I was looking for in a life partner. It took another eight months before we officially started dating, but even before that, I loved having him in my life. From that very first night—just the two of us—I knew there was something special.

Our story is the proof that life and God always gives you what you need and when you’re ready, not what you want and whenever you want it. Through positive and negative experiences, I’ve learn an incredibly valuable lesson: You need to learn and genuinely love yourself before you can fully love anyone else. If you don’t love yourself, your so called “love” for your partner is dependent and you are clinging onto each other for survival. I’ve learned how beautiful it can be when you apply this and you unite your life with someone that shares the same philosophy. With that mentality, with my parents’ guidance, with God’s blessings and challenges I am who I am today. Enter the “Law of Attraction”, enter Betty. This is my side of our awesome story: I somewhat knew Betty for years, having met a couple times in a friends group. If you are looking for that romantic fantasy from Disney of love at first sight blah blah blah, then look elsewhere (LOL). I knew who she was, but didn’t get a chance to really know her. It was the same for Betty. So one day, in this friends group chat I sent out a general text asking if anyone was down to meet up for a beer. I mentioned I was going to one of my favorite watering holes: Fritz and Franz in Coral Gables. All I got back were crickets lol. So I went about my own plans with another friend. He needed to leave by 10pm so I thought it would be an early night for me. When I was at the beerhouse, I finally get a response in the group chat and from who was it? Betty, the one person I barely had any relationship with! She asked if I was still there and that she was down. I think well that’s random but I went with it as I do with everything. Betty mentions she is on her way so I get another beer. About 30 minutes pass when someone taps me on the shoulder and I turn around and there she was, my future wife: crazy hair, barely any makeup; sweating and in scrubs. Betty shows up, coming directly from her job. And the clock happens to strike 10pm so my friend leaves. Great…. Betty goes to freshen up in the bathroom, my friend leaves, and there I am, me and my German beer, thinking: “well, this is awkward.” Awkward, however, was the last thing on our minds that night. I don’t remember what we talked about, it probably wasn’t important. All I know is that we have another 3 rounds at Fritz and Franz, then we go to a bar where they were playing Salsa. It was completely empty so I start talking up the bartenders and we end up having our own personal DJ, dancing the night away. Long story short I did not get home until 4am. That’s what I love about our relationship: everything has always came so natural. I was not looking for anything or anyone. I was in no rush to get into anything serious. And that’s when Betty came. She didn’t come when I was actively looking for something serious, she came when I realized I am enough, she came when I needed her to come, when I deserved for her to come. She came when I realized that I don’t NEED anyone else, I would simply just WANT someone to share life with, and that woman will come in due time. And she did. Our beginning had it’s rocky moments because of how set in my ways I was and how she was. I knew this could be something special and I wanted to make sure she was as ready like I was. Because of this, rocky moments came but it ended up being a blessing. For me, marriage is a one time deal. So it didn’t take that long for me to realize that Betty was the women that I can share my life with. To grow together and do this Life thing together. Life and God gives you what you need when you need it. Do good, work hard and love yourself. Do that and what you need will simply come to you. Law of attraction works so obviously! I became a person that I can be proud of and that’s what I attracted. Betty’s amazing personality attracted me as well. Now? Bring it on life!....Together.