Though Marcus and I went to the same high school, we somehow never crossed paths back then. Life had to get a little creative to bring us together. Years later, while I was at Portland State and he at the University of Oregon, we met through a mutual friend and became friends ourselves. After graduation, life pulled us in different directions; Marcus to Seattle, me back to Bend. We lost touch, and for a while it seemed like that was the end of our story. But in 2020, the world changed, and so did our paths. COVID brought Marcus back to Bend, and in June 2021, fate stepped in. We ran into each other in a little alleyway, of all places, and just like that, the spark was back. Two months later, I agreed to a date, and what started years ago as a simple friendship quickly bloomed into something much more. A twist of timing, a chance encounter, and here we are; Proof that sometimes the right love shows up when it's meant to be.