We met seven years ago while Mark and his husband, Steven were out in Chicago. Before we knew it a lifelong friendship started and Brandon became a regular guest at Casa WB. He would come to Wisconsin, and he would routinely babysit Mark & Steven’s new puppy Labradors, Jack and Harley. Brandon was going through some life changes and he was seeking some advice on moving his life forward being his true self with his family and friends. Mark and Steven offered guidance through their collective life experiences. Brandon took it from there. A couple years after becoming friends, Steven and Mark moved to Orlando, Florida to be in a warmer climate. They kept in close contact with Brandon and introduced him to some of their Chicago friends who would be happy to chat if he needed an ear and they were not immediately there to help. Brandon explored coming to Orlando to attend UCF to work on his Master’s degree. In January 2018, Mark and Steven took him on a tour of the campus. He was impressed and wanted to consider the possibility of attending the university. About a year after the move, Steven became ill with pancreatic cancer. When family and friends united to help Mark and Steven, Brandon was also there to support them. During some extremely emotional times and Steven's illness, their friendship only became stronger. As friends we coped together and while not even realizing it, Brandon helped Mark get through his very tragic loss. As time passed, Brandon decided that he wanted to investigate moving to Orlando to pursue his Master’s degree. In August of 2019, Brandon decided to take that leap. Shortly thereafter, the COVID pandemic slowed down his educational dream. There are no accidents in the universe. Brandon got a job and rented a room from Mark while we all dealt with and got through the pandemic together. Time passed and a truly beautiful friendship became stronger. Brandon was there to watch the Labradors and house when Mark traveled to see his family and Mark encouraged Brandon to make routine trips back to the Midwest to be with his. Brandon and Mark would casually go out together and make new friends during, and as the pandemic seemed to be winding down. We both admitted that there were some sincere feelings starting for us in late 2021. In 2022 during a cruise Mark took with his Chicago friends, Mark shared when asked by a close friend, if he was falling in love with Brandon and realized he was. Mark came home and shared his feelings with him. Through a slow process, and after a trip we made together with some friends, we began to explore life together. While both of us pushed back in one form or the other, love is love and we learned that sometimes it has no boundaries. In December 2023, Mark asked Brandon to marry him and he said yes! We celebrated our engagement together on another cruise with friends in February 2024. The next steps were to share the news with our family and friends. Their reactions were accepting and beautiful! We keep each other grounded, safe, healthy and happy. Through our connection and love story, we learned that you really can’t ask for more happiness and joy in life than that. We can’t wait to get married and share this beautiful life together.