I like to think that it was fate that brought me into Starbucks on Bryant that day (and every subsequent day after) but it could've also been the early morning classes and my need for a chai latte to function before 9 AM. Whatever the reason may be, my frequent pilgrimage to Starbucks led to me meeting Allen. Slowly we began to start with the basics, such as learning each other's names, which I admit was more difficult for me as Allen did not have to have his name written on a cup during every interaction. After noticing my pattern of coming in for my morning chai, Allen would make it a point to be on register to take my order. And soon the days of actually having to say that I wanted a venti iced chai latte were way past us, Allen had already rung it up the minute I walked in the door. At this point though, I was oblivious to the fact that Allen had any interest in me and it would take many more months for us to actually start dating. During the era of covid-dating, we spent a lot of time eating dinner at home, watching movies, and asking each other important questions such as, "If you could own one famous original artwork, what would it be?" all night. We quickly began to spend every day together. Allen became not only my partner but my best friend, and the rest is history.