Kelvin’s Side: Dougie and I met over a decade ago, and so much has changed since then; the price of eggs, the loss of my hair, the death of my sister, us raising my niece, and us making the decision to become one. Our meeting was like any other, through our mutual friend, Adam (we listen, and we don’t judge, LOL). He and I had a courtship that took a “double take”. The first time we dated ended when I relocated back to ATL, but we still kept in touch. One of the most memorable “dates” we shared in MD started one morning when I was working from home. He and I were on the phone, and I said I hadn’t eaten yet and I was hungry and didn’t know what I was going to eat. We got off the phone and shortly after, he showed up at the house with a meal from Ms. Shirley’s, a restaurant we went to before and he remembered the exact meal I ordered! He came down to ATL for his best friend’s wedding within six months of my relocation and we hung out and had a good time; it reminded me of the times we shared. After a few years, he, to my surprise, decided to relocate to ATL after his retirement. He and I began to hang out and I learned more about the man that I eventually fell in love with. During the many experiences we shared, there were a few instances where I felt like the spark ignited years ago might still be there. As we continued to spend time together, along with a few firsts for us. As it does to us all, life happened, and I lost my only sister. He was there for me in a way I didn’t know I needed. Most weekends from March to September of that year, we were out of town on a trip. On one of our trips, we were in a cabin, and we had an entire conversation without saying a word to each other; it was about the swimming pool at this cabin, LOL! A few months later, on a trip to Denver, we had a conversation and realized we might be a little more than friends. That conversation led us to realize that neither of us had been dating anyone else, and we were equally interested in dating each other exclusively, officially. Since then, we have grown together as a couple mentally, emotionally, and physically. He has become such a major part of my family, and they all love him and support us unconditionally. Over the years, we have christened two children together and talked about adopting a child; meanwhile, my youngest niece was making up her mind that she wanted to come and live with us, so we have all been living together since January. The most important part of our story is that we still like each other. Anyone who knows me knows I love easily, for God is Love, but for me to like a person is another story, but I do, I DO! Dougie’s Side: Kelvin and I both met through Adam, a mutual friend. Adam attempted to set up a blind date. I was not cool on blind dates and neither was Kelvin. He and I began texting and he mentioned exchanging pics and I was not fond of that either. We eventually decided to CAM. We said our hellos, and agreed to meet at happy hour. I got there early & went to wash my hands. As I was leaving, he was walking in. We had the same jacket and even in the same color. We said hello and met at the bar. We talked over drinks, and during our conversation we both knew this date was not going to end how we both expected. Kelvin suggested that we leave happy hour and stop by one of his friends for a drink. Of course I agreed. After that, he and I began hanging out and attempting to get to know each other, but it was cut short as he had to relocate. He relocated and we remained friends. During my travels to ATL, he always extended his place for me to stay if needed. After retiring I relocated to ATL. For the first couple of years, we were busy, we hardly saw or personally spoke. We began traveling together and it was here when I began to see how much alike we were. During the time when his sister passed and we both were going through a breakup. Well I was, he wasn't, lol. Through this, a love/bond has been tied and sealed.