"... 'til there's no one left who has ever known us apart..."

Flashback to 2006, St. Pius V Catholic School, Classroom: 4B. Mrs. Sierra’s fourth grade class was tasked with implementing a modern twist on old nursery rhymes. Cue the Little Red Riding Hood classroom skit. Enter stage left, a small, rambunctious Dane Cecil. Much to our dismay, Dane was NOT cast as Little Red. However, he did play a pivotal role as The Big Bad Wolf. Enter stage right, the actual Little Red of the day, a young, overachieving Christine Alba. With ardent fervor, Christine took it upon herself to provide the most authenticity to the class assignment that she could. She roped her poor, unassuming mother into baking banana bread for Little Red’s basket. She even went so far as to “borrowing” her Lola Mona’s pantulog (pajamas) for the costume department (a.k.a. herself). And though this story seems irrelevant, this is where our love story begins. It was during this classroom skit, that Dane put on Christine’s Lola’s pajamas, and fell face first in front of the entire fourth grade class. It was also during this time that Dane developed a hankering for Mrs. Alba’s banana bread. And so blossomed a beautiful, radiant, fruitful ACQUAINTANCE-ship for the next two years…

Two years later, Dane and Christine got into a relationship… with each others’ best friends. Now it was this time, dating other people the way only Catholic middle-schoolers could (a.k.a. sitting together at recess and hoping for a handhold during the ‘Our Father’ at mass and morning prayers) that allowed Dane and Christine to actually get to know each other. Years later, Dane revealed that he knew even then that he had chosen the wrong girl, and Christine was the one for him (except Christine is the one writing this and she isn’t sure how true that statement is!). Summer between sixth and seventh grade came and went, and so did Dane and Christine’s first relationships. But what remained was a true friendship between our two lovebirds, specifically for Christine who only saw poor Dane as a friend. As months went by and bills racked up due to late night hours of dueting “Don’t Stop Believing” to each other over the phone, Dane fell harder and harder for the girl who still only considered him a friend.

Seventh grade turned into eighth, and by this time Dane and Christine were pretty inseparable. Much to the dismay of his buddies, Dane spent most lunches with Christine. Every day they would eat in the same spot underneath a tree in the greenfield. Dane would share his pizza and Christine would share her ham sandwiches (care of Mrs. Alba, another one of Dane’s favorites). Slowly but surely, Christine’s cold heart thawed for this fiery boy. Did it require a little jealousy? Maybe so, but eventually Christine realized she was not so opposed to having Dane around. It was around this time that Dane gifted Christine a small, crystal rose. He was very nonchalant about it, made it seem unimportant. And so, Christine took it and thought nothing of it at the time. A few weeks later, Dane had a birthday party. Fourteen, the golden year of tween-hood. Christine attended his birthday party, and it was at this party that she agreed to be his girlfriend. Two days later, on Monday, Christine’s heart froze over again, and she broke up with Dane. ON HIS ACTUAL BIRTHDAY. There isn’t enough room on this website for Christine to spew her excuses, so you’ll just have to ask her in person. Anywho, thus began a rollercoaster of emotions for the two (but mostly Dane).

For a while thereafter, Dane and Christine would only speak every two years or so. Each time, they would start again just as friends, until Dane realized he still had feelings for Christine (resilient one, eh?). And Christine STILL friend-zoned him. So Dane would disappear for two years, only to return and begin the cycle all over again. Until eventually, Dane stopped reaching out. In her junior year of nursing school, Christine realized how much she missed having Dane around (still as her friend; she’s a stubborn one, okay?). So she reached out to him. It took a few months, but eventually they were able to meet up. All the years of friendship flooded back, and it was like no time had passed. But things were different. Both Dane and Christine were grown, matured. And as Christine looked at Dane in this new light, her ice-cold heart melted for good. Thus began a beautiful relationship. This time, it didn’t end. And lo-and-behold, that small, crystal rose Dane gifted Christine so many years ago? She could never bring herself to throw it away and still has it to this day.

On September 5, 2021, a day short of their four-year dating anniversary, Dane managed to surprise Christine (a very hard thing to do). They attended Sunday mass at their childhood church, where they did hold hands during the “Our Father.” After mass, he took her back to that greenfield, where they used to share lunches together. And though their tree was long gone, he set up a beautiful teepee, with candles and twinkle lights, right where they sat so many years ago. In that teepee, laid a silver rose, reminiscent of the small, crystal rose Christine cherishes so deeply. As Dane fell for the last time (this time gracefully, and onto one knee), he opened the silver rose to reveal the ring of her dreams symbolizing her commitment to the man of her dreams. And though, this has been long-winded, I hope you enjoyed our story as much as we have. Without it, we would not be celebrating with you all. Praise be to God.