We're Getting Married!

So the pandemic pretty much ruined everyone’s 2020 year, right? Lucky for Crystal and Andrew, they had a silver lining. Honestly, quarantine didn’t start out so bad. Both are introverts by nature, so the extra excuse to stay inside and do their own thing without the pressure of being active members of society sounded pretty darn intriguing. A couple of weeks turned into a month, a month turned into a couple of months, and right around the three-month mark, the two both realized they had started to miss the company of others just a *tiny* bit. They both were finishing school, and Crystal found out quickly that online classes were her worst enemy. Thankfully, she had something to look forward to. Zoom Game Nights! Along with a few of their mutual friends, they got their social fix from these hilarious nights on Zoom. Through many games, the two realized they had nearly an identical sense of humor and would always team up against everyone else. Their conversations came easy, and although they did not yet talk to each other outside of the game nights, both had realized for themselves that they were crushing. With some nudging from Andrew's sister Rufina, who had been friends with Crystal for years, Andrew finally worked up the courage to reach out to Crystal. Unbeknownst to them, on that same day, tragedy had struck Crystal's life. Crystal had lost one of her closest friends that day. After receiving the news, she saw the next few weeks through a blur of tears and hopelessness. To her, the laughter-filled zoom nights seemed like a distant memory, and on Andrew's end, he felt absolutely horrible. In his mind, he assumed Crystal thought his poorly-timed cheesy pick-up line came across as incredibly insensitive once he found out what had happened. Devasted, he resigned himself to back off and prayed for her to find peace in her new reality. It was God's mercy that saw Crystal through such a heart-breaking time, and with the help of her family, she crawled her way back from the dark and found the strength to try and move forward. She reached back out to her friends and tried to practice making a smile feel natural on her face once again. Once she heard from Andrew's sister how horrible he had felt about his timing, and that he believed Crystal was angry with him for attempting to flirt on the day Crystal lost her best friend, she decided to reach out to him to make sure he knew that was not true. It had been months since his previous message, but she did not want him to sit with such unnecessary guilt. So she took a chance and responded, simply hoping to clear the air. A few minutes into the conversation, she found herself laughing for the first time in weeks. Slowly, Crystal found herself healing. Andrew's friendship brought light back into her life. Friendship sweetened into romance over the course of a few more months, and although they lived four hours away from each other, they finally got to spend some time with each other after quarantine restrictions began to be altered. From the beginning, their connection came easy. Their love came even easier. Two years later, they have built up a strong bond that has seen both of their lowest lows, and now their highest highs. They have learned to find beauty in each other's flaws, and have helped each other grow as individuals as well as a couple. God placed these two in each other's paths when they needed each other most, and His love for them will always represent hope and peace in the darkness of the world. Now, Crystal and Andrew happily look forward to a future full of laughter and general mischief, lots of cheesy jokes and fun-filled days, and most of all, the comfort of knowing they are unconditionally loved by their other half.