We’re simply meant to be

From Kateri’s eyes: A dear friend, Valencia—who has since passed—had been trying to set me up with Brandon for months. Even when I was with someone else, she kept telling me I needed to meet him. I, of course, ignored her completely. 😅 Eventually, I found myself single and focused on healing—body, heart, soul. I wasn’t looking for love. I was minding my business. 💁🏻‍♀️ Then New Year’s Eve showed up. I had no plans, but I still did my makeup—because priorities. 😂 Valencia invited me to a “party” she and her partner were going to, and I figured, why not? Turns out it wasn’t a party at all. It was a party of four. And the fourth person was Brandon—the man she’d been trying to get me to see this whole time. One look at his charming smile and… well, that was that. Even more than that, he never seemed phased by what I needed to do to feel comfortable. At the time, my leg injury was still fresh, and his quiet patience spoke volumes. Game. Over. Four years (and some months) later, Brandon finally worked up the nerve—shaky hands included—to propose in front of my mother and basically all of the Balloon Fiesta. And just like that, everything Valencia ever said made sense. Brandon isn’t a man of many words. But some moments don’t need many. When asked what it felt like meeting Kateri, he said: Meeting Kateri felt like the first day of spring after a long winter. Like trying chocolate for the first time. Like cliff jumping without knowing how to swim. Like finding something he thought he’d lost forever.