Well, I didn't mean to make her fall head over heels in love with me during my introduction. A brief bit of questioning determined that I do, in fact, go by "Bob", and that was that. Months later I became aware that Tiana had just had a surgery and was having trouble sleeping and keeping her head from leaning, so I did what I considered to be the ultimate sign of interest - I bought her a neck brace. Brand new even. Some more time passed, and I received a text from an unknown number asking if I am hungry for ramen- which I always am- so we met up. At this point, the unsolicited text for ramen had my interest. Then, Tiana started telling about the town of Alpine, CA that she grew up in as though I had never heard of it. That, friends, is when she had my complete and undivided attention. She didn't know yet that I grew up in the next town over, at roughly the same exact time. Is this real? Could this girl be serious? Had she been stalking me for the better part of 29 years? The only way to know for sure was to stay close to her, which brought me closer to her daughter Ava as well. I have since stopped trying to figure out Tiana and her ways. I find myself only trying to figure out how to make her happy and give a thriving future to this little family unit we accidentally created. Once I realized this, I thought it only right to ask this beautiful, ramen-loving lady to go on the scariest and most fun ramen date of all- for the rest of her life. thanks for reading. -B

It was a Monday, January 11 of 2016 to be exact. I remember the date because it was my first day working as the new Events Manager at Juniper and Ivy, this bougie restaurant in SD. I'm in the kitchen area saying hi to a friend and former co-worker (bridesmaid Scarlett) and in he walks. Hair slicked back, wearing a black tee, and black denim jeans, with an annoyingly charming smile on his then bearded face as he approached for introductions. Really didn't expect his name to be Bob... hence the "Bob. Your name is Bob," intro. Maybe Brad, Chad, Matt, or Riley... but certainly not Bob. Fast forward three months, Bob offers me a neck brace to help alleviate some aches and pains following thyroid surgery. Truth be told, I had zero interest, nor need, in this suggested neck brace. None whatsoever. However, seeing it waiting for me beneath my desk the next Monday morning, with a note scribbled "For Tiana" was a uniquely, sweet gesture. So there you have it. He used a neck brace to land on my radar, which kicked into gear two weeks later along with a severe craving for ramen noodles. Folks I really love ramen. So I reach out to a mutual coworker, get his number and text him about getting that ramen. Thirty minutes later he's at my door taking me to get ramen in north park, and about an hour later I'm caught completely off guard by the many things we have in common. Why is this Bob person obliging me with random requests for noodle soup, and proceeding to check-off the boxes of personality traits deemed necessary in my ideal life partner? Like whoah, sure didn't see that coming, I just really had a craving for ramen. Also now's really not the right time for me to meeting my person. Except, it totally was...