This is a story of a modern love set in the New York City…area By: Philip Landicho April 12, 2023 We have interesting ways of learning what love is. In the beginning, we learn from our traditional children’s stories that you find the love of your life and stay with them in a happy family forever. Over time, we learn that it’s hardly so easy. We use things like dating apps to help us find a connection, maybe a friend, hopefully a romance, and if we’re so lucky, true love. This story begins on the dating app, Hinge. Candice is a Midwestern, black, international business woman, who moved to New York City looking for change. She had recently gotten out of a long term relationship, wondering if she was meant for a storybook romance. She had strong roots in Chicago, grew up there, went to business school at the University of Chicago, and had family and friends there. On a whim, Candice and her best friend Denna decided to move to Brooklyn to part from their Chicago life and find something new in New York. At the time, Candice was really into Hamilton. In the song “Helpless,” it has the line “in New York, you can be a new man.” Maybe there something to that lyric. Phil is a Jersey boy, with Filipino roots and had made a life as a school psychologist in Harrison, NJ. Phil was yet to find love in his life, but had just rediscovered Hinge after taking a hiatus during the pandemic. While on Hinge, he found that it was hard to find people to truly connect with. Often times there would be friendly in-person, but it would not manifest into a meaningful relationship. The tri-state area had become tiresome and he found himself yearning for connection, and thought that the tri-state area was not meant for him. One day, when Candice was scrolling through her many likes on Hinge, Candice happened upon Phil. She considered swiping left on him, but decided to give him a chance based one of the cutest nieces in the world. She couldn’t help but swipe right. Candice had every intention on dating someone who lived in New York City, believing that a commute would be too difficult to sustain a relationship. Little did she, know she had included Harrison, NJ in her radius. Like her move to New York, Candice found herself taking a chance on someone decidedly different. Phil was from a different ethnic, professional, and geographical background than Candice had ever dated before. Phil was old-fashioned so he proposed to have a phone date. At that time during the pandemic, Phil was cautious about who he broke his six-foot bubble with. Candice obliged, being a classic woman herself. During their phone date, the two talked for over an hour, feeling like they had known the other for years. Little did they know, Phil and Candice would continue to talk to each other for about an hour a day, finding joy in connecting with each other on a daily basis. It became as part of their ritual to emotionally connect with each other. Although they were different, they both recognized the love and emotional warmth with the other, and they become to love that warmth. So much so that whenever they do connect, they state three things they are grateful for, knowing that they were grateful for just having the other in their lives. They would even send each other Bitmojis at least twice a day. So much so that it became one of their love languages. Sometimes there was just a perfect image for their messages.