Once upon a time, in a world where love could be as unpredictable as a Taylor Swift song, our story began. It all started on October 6, 2018, a crisp autumn evening. I had been patiently waiting at Medici, a charming cafe with my favorite aroma…beer. Our first date was set, but she was 45 minutes late. As I sat there, wondering if I had been stood up, a familiar tune played in the background: "We were both young when I first saw you…" Taylor Swift sang, her lyrics serving as the soundtrack to my anxiety-filled wait. But just when I thought our connection was nothing but a hopeful daydream, there she was, entering my life with an apologetic smile that I fell in love with. Calm down, I wasn’t in love that night… We spent that evening lost in conversation, mostly Heather talking and me agreeing. I do recall a specific conversation surrounding the TV network Lifetime. Heather didn’t know it at the time, but her life was about to be filled with a plethora of Lifetime Christmas movies. She loves it…don’t let her claim any differently. We took a different approach on our second date. Probably because I had soooo much to say on the first date; we agreed to our second date being at the movies. We had bonded over our love for Twizzlers previously, so for this movie date I picked out a jacket that matched my outfit but also had pockets deep enough that I could sneak in a big bag of Twizzlers for us to share. I already knew then, Heather don’t like to spend money. As our love story unfolded, it was clear to me that Heather had shown me colors I cannot see with anyone else.

Our story begins just as you would expect; with me running late. After some brief banter back and forth on Hinge about Grey’s Anatomy we made plans for a first date at Medici in Hyde Park. In true fashion, I forgot my credit card and had to stop for gas on the way. In my mind, I was 20 minutes late but I think Nydia has a different interpretation of time. I’m also pretty sure that I texted her “I’m walking up” when in truth, I still was finding a parking spot. My time management and communication skills were on full display. Nydia endured listening to me talk about the fun facts of Medici and its significance to community organizing in Chicago, my day at the dentist, and my transition from living in Atlanta to Chicago. You may be asking yourself, “but what did Nydia talk about?” Nydia spoke 12 words on our first date. (Two of which were probably about Taylor Swift) But the tide changed over the next few weeks, as she snuck Twizzlers into the movie theater for me, cooked dinner and invited me to meet the dogs, and later took me on a Halloween date in full costume. While I was busy talking, Nydia was busy “showing up” in all of the ways I had never experienced before. And not much has changed since. Most notably, I now have a forever partner who willingly attends Kelly Clarkson concerts with me, silently cheers at my kickball games, teaches me the value of slowing down, and is the only person I would endure the Taylor Swift Eras concert with.