To Tippett and beyond

Dallos POV: We met when we were about 7 years old in Fayetteville, NC, when my aunt, who was babysitting me, sent me outside to play, and his foster care mother, my aunt’s next‑door neighbor, sent him outside to play as well. We became best friends instantly and spent weeks playing outside, skipping rocks, and doing whatever unattended 7‑year‑olds do, until one day he just disappeared. As foster children often do, he moved, and at the time I understood it because of my grandfather, Byron Barnwell, who was a social worker at the Department of Social Services. He was a dedicated caseworker and an amazing grandfather who explained to me his situation and the situations of many other kids. I didn’t see him for years. I heard about him from friends in school as the years passed. I saw him on social media and in the local news when we were in high school, but we were never able to communicate due to being children and life’s circumstances being out of our control. Still, I thought of him often. Finally, we connected as adults, and it was as if we’d never stopped communicating since we were kids. We picked up right where we left off and maintained a long‑distance friendship over the years that gradually grew into the deepest and best connection I’ve had in my adult life. We decided that as soon as the time was right, we would meet again in person. A few short weeks later, the flight was booked a four‑day round‑trip ticket, really just to see if the chemistry was real or if we were both just caught up in the excitement of long distance. He never left. The trip turned into forever, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. Dustins POV: Let’s take a trip through time. I was freshly entered into foster care, and I always felt like an outsider wherever I went. That all changed when I met this joyful, fiercely loyal girl next door. At a time when all the other kids would just stare or keep their distance from this odd white kid who was new to the neighborhood, Dallos embraced me and made everything seem normal. We were a mischievous little bunch, who could sometimes be found throwing rocks at passing cars off Southview Circle. I’d like to say we met each other at a time in life when we both desperately needed a friend, but I can certainly say that is true for me. Fast forward some years, we have now been separated. This is quite normal for a foster kid; we tend to bounce around from home to home wherever someone is willing to take us. Somehow, Dallos and I were able to keep in contact over the years, which eventually led to us reuniting. We planned a time for me to come out to Texas to see each other, and it felt like all of the stars aligned and my life was perfect. I was only supposed to stay here for three days, but we both decided that we never wanted to be apart again. I left North Carolina to start a new life, a beautiful life, with the woman of my dreams.