What began as a friendship during our first week of dental school—filled with lab critiques and plenty of growth—slowly grew into something deeper. Although Clayton and Marisa were only friends for the first half of dental school, their energies were magnetic. Their very first real conversation happened at a dental school house party. Marisa had heard Clayton was interested in another classmate, so she confidently walked up to him and said, “There’s nobody here that’s good enough for you,” conveniently leaving out the part where she meant except for her. That probably should’ve been Clayton’s first clue. They would later discover that their paths had actually crossed years earlier in college: Clayton at Abilene Christian University and Marisa at Stephen F. Austin State University. Both were in the same athletic conference, and Marisa even played softball against ACU—where Clayton attended one of her games. Fate had clearly been working overtime: Marisa had her pick of the Texas dental schools, and Clayton only got into the one she chose. It seemed the universe had been quietly nudging them toward each other all along. Still, Clayton remained blissfully oblivious to Marisa’s subtle hints—until one Halloween night during their third year of dental school. Dressed as Mario and Violet Beauregarde, Marisa finally decided to tell Clayton how she truly felt. In that moment, Clayton realized he wasn’t imagining things—she really had been flirting with him—and he couldn’t believe what a catch he had found. From that night on, everything changed. Clayton knew Marisa was the one, going so far as to introduce her to his parents just two days after officially making her his girlfriend. From graduating dental school together to moving halfway across the country, they blended their lives—and their family—bringing together two cats and one dog. Clayton proposed to Marisa at the top of McAfee Knob in Virginia on a crisp 30-degree morning. Despite knowing it was an 8-mile hike, Marisa never made a single objection (possibly because she knew what awaited her at the top of the mountain). What started as friendship grew into a once-in-a-lifetime love, and in each other, they found not just a partner—but a soulmate.