It was December 2021. I had been a member of a Telegram friends group called "Chamber" for about 2 years. I decided I wanted to celebrate my 34th birthday by playing board games with other board game nerds in Chamber. I reserved a couple of rooms at a local board game cafe, MOX Boarding House, and put out an open invitation to friends in Chamber. MOX had a strict 24 max occupancy rule for the 2 rooms. I got nervous when I realized 25 people had RSVPd for my party. I considered asking Anthony to not come since he was the only person I hadn't met, but I didn't want to hurt his feelings. I remember thinking to myself "Why do I care so much about his feelings? I don't even know this person!" (little did I know at the time that caring about his feelings would become a constant top of mind for me). I decided against asking him to sit this one out. (Funny side note: Anthony later shared with me that he had no idea the event was my birthday party!) When he walked into our room at MOX, he looked like a deer in headlights. I immediately jumped out of my seat to greet him. I walked up and said "You must be Anthony! I'm Fernanda. Thanks for coming to my birthday party! Are you a hugger?" He said he was, and we shared our first (of many many maaaaaaany hugs). I then asked the group to "say hi to the new guy" and everyone did. He sat next to our (very outgoing) friend Aliya and quickly charmed everyone with his quick humor and rizz. At one point the MOX staff counted the number of people in the room and said 1-2 people needed to leave since we could not have more than 24 people in there at once. One of our friends overheard this conversation and immediately offered to "take the new guy to the bar". She was obviously interested in getting to know him better. I cannot describe why I had such a visceral reaction to this and immediately told her "No! I'll ask someone else." I cannot describe it other than deep down I knew she was trying to take my FUTURE HUSBAND away from MY PARTY and I did NOT like that!! Sadly, Anthony and I didn't play any games together that night, or interact much, but I do remember watching him throughout the night and admiring his beautiful smile. He has one of those big smiles that light up the whole room. He definitely caught my eye... 38 months later, we reserved the exact same rooms at MOX to take our engagement photos (a Christmas gift from Amy, James, and Reagan). One of my favorite photos is of us hugging in the exact spot where we shared our first hug 💗

As our love bloomed, so too did our plans for the future. We had spoken many times about marriage, and our shared desire to marry one another. Everything was moving in that direction, when our family was struck by tragedy. My younger brother, Kyle, passed away unexpectedly, which put many of our plans on hold while I grieved. Grief is a tricky thing; there is no concrete timeline, no neat borders which it resides within. I have often described this period of time as floating down a river, lost in the current, without a sense of direction or order. However, through it all, Fernanda, Livia, and Laura were a constant guiding light. A burst of color in an otherwise grey world. I knew what Kyle would say to me: "Life is for the living, don't lose a great thing crying over me." Easier said than done while in the grieving process. I remember laying in bed late one night, drifting in the space between consciousness and dreams, trying to remember Kyle's face, his laugh, his wisdom. I said to myself, but really to Kyle's memory: "I'm not worthy of these good things in my life. How can I care for something so pure? How can I love unconditionally?" Now, I am not one that believes in spirits, or angels, or an afterlife; I know that my brother lives only in our memories. So, when I say that I heard my brother answer me, it is not lost on me that it was the memories of a life shared that imparted me with the best piece of advice I have ever received. Kyle, in his eternal wisdom, answered me with six words: "Love her like you loved me." That, I knew how to do. The next week, I walked into the jewelry store near my work; one that I walked past every day. I just wanted to start looking at rings, figure out pricing, and get the ball rolling. As I looked down at the selection, there it was, Fernanda's engagement ring. I can't explain it, but I knew it when I saw it. It wasn't gaudy, it was simple and beautiful (like our love). I had noticed that there was one main stone, with two smaller stones on either side of it, which made me instantly think of Livia and Laura. I knew this ring represented more than just a promise to Fernanda, it was a promise to all three of them. I had asked if these stones could be swapped out for birthstones, and the jeweler said he could do one better, he could inlay the birth stones on the inner band of the ring. I bought the ring that day. Now came time to figure out the proposal. I knew Fernanda wanted the girls to be present. We had a few family trips on the horizon (one for my birthday, and one to see Taylor Swift for her final Eras Tour concert). I was eager to propose, and almost did so on the birthday trip, but I also wanted to give the date space from the anniversary of Kyle's passing. I decided that I would propose the day before the concert (because Fernanda explicitly said she did not want to be proposed to at the concert; it was too cliché). It all came together in my head like it was meant to be. I began secretly crafting a friendship bracelet that said "Marry Me Juliet", an ode to Taylor's song 'Love Story', along with the date I was going to propose (perhaps to ensure I wouldn't let nerves get the best of me). The day before the concert came, and we were at our hotel, along with Amy, James, and Reagan. As far as Fernanda knew, this was a night like any other. We were sitting around the dinner table, doing our traditional 'Rose, Bud, Thorn'. Finally, it was my turn. I told Fernanda that I had one big bud, giving out my last friendship bracelet. I handed it to Fernanda, as she read it and realized what was happening. I dropped to one knee, and asked her if she would do me the honor of being my life partner, my wife. I'm still not sure who cried harder, Fernanda or Livia. The next day, we gallivanted around Vancouver as a newly engaged couple - a found family, full of love.