We locked in. This love. This life. Thank you for being here.

They met at a wedding in Austin, Texas, thanks to a bold seating chart and a table full of single strangers. Juliet flew in from Seattle knowing no one. Juan came from Los Angeles with his friends. By the end of the night, they were deep in conversation and not quite ready for it to end. The night turned into long talks, easy laughs, and the kind of connection that feels surprisingly natural. The next morning, while everyone else recovered, Juliet and Juan were the only two who ordered mimosas and shared a bottle of champagne at brunch. It felt like the beginning of something. Juliet went back to Seattle. Then Juan’s flight home to Los Angeles was canceled. It was 2021. Instead of waiting it out in Texas, he called Juliet and asked what he should do. She said, come to Seattle. He did. What followed was long distance. FaceTime calls. Early mornings and late nights. Los Angeles to Seattle. Seattle to Los Angeles. Again and again and again. Eventually Juliet said what they both already knew. She could not do long distance forever. Juan did not argue. He quit his job, packed up his life in Los Angeles, and moved to Seattle. Since then, they have built a life full of adventure and a lot fewer airport goodbyes. Belize. Alaska. Turks and Caicos. Yellowstone. Vietnam. Of all the places they have been, the most important trip was still that unexpected flight to Seattle.