We met in 2007 at a mixer of sorts when I was teaching English in Spain. Dani offered to buy me a drink. I asked for a ride to the beach instead. We spent the next year dating in Spain and across the Atlantic. But distance in the age before WhatsApp was difficult, so we said “adiós.” In 2021, we reconnected over rooftop Riojas when I was traveling through Spain. One trip to Tarifa, several trips to the States, three years of WhatsApp calls later, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Tuesday started with a broken water heater. Somewhere between bailing water and emptying buckets, the ring arrived. Dani was eager to pop the question. I was sad I was missing Mardi Gras because I was in Spain. Dani ordered pick-me-up sushi and flowers. Somewhere between episode 5 of Machos Alphas, the last bucket of bailed water, and Fat Tuesday turning into Valentine’s Day in Spain, I said “Si.” The first person we told was my grandmother, Rose. We celebrated that weekend in Cadiz with a mini-Mardi Gras and complimentary croquetas.