Life is a Beautiful Thing... La Vita È Bellacosa

Brittany was on the verge of exhaustion going in and out of Manhattan for grad school at MSM. A mutual friend said their roommate moved out, and their apartment had an open room. After a trek from 122nd to 149th with Brittany Nickell, Brittany Bellacosa decided it wasn't too shabby and a much quicker commute to classes, plus we would have a really nice male roommate who would walk us home and keep us safe in Harlem. The nice roommate was a quiet guy who often sat silently in the living room's corner. Mike was met with a burst of talkative New Jersey accent, asking questions on a mile a minute. Brittany moved in December and spent her second semester at MSM as Mike's roommate. After hours of RuPaul drag race, Mike became Brittany's favorite person to talk about. A failed attempt at spending a Valentine's Day together, as two single people do. Brittany shortly had to exit the apartment for some emergency surgery. Her roommate Mike not only sent one, not two, not three, but four dozen roses after she recovered. Brittany started making a speedy recovery to return to school and thank her roommate, but the day she got back, Mike went on a summer trip to Hawaii, and she was heartbroken. But remember, he was just her roommate. A summer of voicemails later, just updating him on things going on in her life, one day, she got a text that said, "Let's talk," and she dropped everything. Through these texts, they remembered the moon that Brittany saw in the sky was the same room Mike saw in the sky. Brittany wrote over 400 inspirational quotes on popsicle sticks for Mike, her roommate, to make sure he was always in good spirits, his pick-me-up sticks and mailed them to him under the alias Hank Mardukas. They met on the corner of 122nd and Broadway that summer, and Brittany was glad she was wearing sunglasses because she couldn't control her emotions, but remember, he was just her roommate. After some wise words from her Grandmother saying, "Give it a try, Brit. You only get one true love." Brittany planted a kiss on Mike while RHONJ played in the background. A couple of weeks later, Mike was introduced to the family, but still only as roommates. Her beloved Papa pulled her aside and said, "Britt. Don't f*ck this up. He's a great guy, even though he is just your roommate". Fast forward six months, and Frank entered the picture. Two shared apartments in the city, long distance to Oklahoma, St. Louis, Oklahoma again, Florida, and Brittany and Mike were unbreakable. COVID brought him back to NJ, where they really thought about the future. He designed a beautiful ring containing diamond earrings her Papa bought her. He asked her father for her hand in marriage at Thanksgiving and had a sit down with Papa, showing him the ring. Little did we know Papa would leave us soon after. On the day of Papa's funeral, her ring was ironically done. On the hottest day in August, Brittany and Mike drove into Manhattan to go to Central Park. On their way in, the car tire popped, but Lauren Romeo and Toni saved the day. The horse and carriage canceled cause it was too hot for the animals; a rat ran over their feet as they walked through central park to Brittany's favorite spot, Bethesda Fountain, where Mike got down on one sweaty knee and said, "I told your Papa this whole plan, so he knew all the details." As Mike presented her with a stunning ring, a very perceptive Brittany presented him with his own engagement ring, a tradition that her Nana did with her Papa. The night ended in true Brittany/Michael fashion with a dinner at Lip's Drag Club surrounded by friends, where he made sure to have a seat to memorialize a very important friend, Justin Stevens. It was hot, sweaty, and utterly perfect.