Amanda's Version: Classmates from Jr. High School through High school. We dated briefly junior year and then we went our separate ways. Billy's Version: The tale begins on a warm summer day in September at Herman Middle School in San Jose, CA. I was 12 years old on my way to Honors Geometry class when I saw this green-eyed, voluptuous little girl (I was a little boy at this time too, don't make it weird) walking slowly to P.E. class. Surely on her way to walk around the track and gossip about all the new 7th grade boys, little did she know the Man she would marry was already smitten with her as he ran to class always aiming to be an overachiever. Hoping I would have a chance to talk to this beauty I looked for her at recess only to see her already infatuated with my childhood friend and roommate. She had no interest in this young white Christian boy who strived to go to College. She was interested in this bandwagon Dallas Cowboy Fan who shared her lack of enthusiasm in education and thrill of making out at the Golden State Roller Palace. I was friend-zoned and eager to be her friend, not with scorn or bitterness but with joy at this new found friendship between two kids whose parents happened to know each other from 20 years earlier in the same childhood neighborhoods. As our middle school days were coming to a close and long after her relationship with my friend, I heard of a rumor that Amanda was becoming increasingly attracted to me...We were destined to go our separate ways that following year to different High Schools but we would remain close and the idea of pursuing her never left my mind...

Amanda's Version: We had two wonderful months together our junior year. I however felt there was too much bickering in the relationship and so I decided to move on. Billy's Version: I went to Oak Grove High School to make things easier as the commute was only a 10 minute walk, and because San Jose's zoning laws regarding school districts is an overreach by the Government but I digress... I would lay awake at night lonely and wondering if the rumors of Amanda's infatuation with me held true. Those perfect green eyes shimmered amongst the stars in my dreams of a better life than the one I was living at the time. One day I decided to break free of these chains and I was able to convince my Father that going to Santa Teresa would in fact be a wise move in his....er...."MY"...pursuit of a D1 Scholarship in Athletics and future career as a 5'10" 160lb Football or Baseball star while also defying all logic, genetics and rationality (Hey, he means well don't judge). The fact remains that I used the ability to spin information for my own selfish interests (sound familiar Mainstream Media?) and hopeless romantic reasons to pursue Amanda. Plus, if it didn't work out the talent at Santa Teresa far outweighed anything at Oak Grove. After 2.5 years of watching her still choose similar guys who wanted nothing to do with school (and were much older) I finally was able to charm her into dating me. We spent a wonderful two months bickering until she went back to her old ways and found someone who once again was a bandwagon fan of the Dallas Cowboys, lacked an interest in education and probably enjoyed making out at the now "Aloha Roller Palace". Needless to say I was quite heartbroken for deep down I knew that she was meant to be with me but like they say, sometimes you find the right person but it ends up being at the wrong time...

Amanda's Version: Fast forward 10 years later. We both swiped right on Tinder where William asked Amanda to go for drinks. We got swirled while catching up on the past 10 years. William thought of that date as just a catch up and that we'll just become friends. It wasn't until Amanda asked William to go to a Lakers game to watch his favorite player Kobe Bryant's last game. From then on he was hooked. Billy's Version: Approximately 10 years passed since I last saw Amanda Swensen who to my knowledge moved to Hawaii and raised a family of her own with last chapters Dallas Cowboy Fan. As for me, well I was climbing the vigorous mountain of my life when one day while working on the Ambulance I walked into the Kaiser Milpitas Clinic. We had a transport to conduct of a female with abd pain (abdominal for those who do not speak the lingo). I walked in and from out behind the desk I saw a familiar set of Green Eyes and a familiar set of 34Ds that jiggled their way into my newly LASIK'd vision. There she was with a pair of medical scrubs, that brown hair in her classic ponytail and a smile that always gave me the fuzzies. Amanda Swensen stood and smiled, said "Billy Tyson?" and walked away with an extra swing of her hips to let me know what she still had. Approximately 3-7 weeks later while I was bored at work I was swiping on the app for dating known as Tinder. After swiping left for most of the day I came across Amanda and my first thought was a combination of sadness and curiosity. Sadness because nobody needs to live through the unpleasant anguish of divorce and separation and also curiosity for how did things go so bad that my childhood friend and high school crush end up here...? I swiped right and we planned an evening at the #1 spot for awkward encounters, first dates and sugar filled hangovers: Aqui Cal Mex and our first Swirl.

Amanda's version: After a 10 year marriage I had to figure out what I wanted for my life as well as the boys. I had never been on a date my entire adult life and I was scared. My best friend found her forever by going on tinder and it worked out well for her so I decided to give it a try. The first thing that caught my eye while swiping was a handsome paramedic. I then noticed his name, William Tyson. I was nervous to swipe right because I though he still hated me after I had dumped him back in high school. Thankfully we matched and went on a date and a few swirls. Williams handsome smile and fun personality is just what I needed. After that I couldn't stop thinking about him and knew I wanted to be with him for the rest of our lives. Billy's version: I never imagined that I would have gone through 10 years of bachelor life, empty relationships and climbing the resume building ladder of my 20's to be back with Amanda and find she was my one true love this entire time. It was fodder for a depressed 17 year old, not the backdrop of God's divine plan. The Swirls opened up old scars of an angry High School kid from San Jose and Amanda filled them with her renewed sense of love and peace. I fell in love all over again with her beauty and I fell in love all over again with her spirit. She took me to Kobe Bryant's last game in the Bay Area and this act of creativity and admiration helped me realize I couldn't lose her again. We started dating and over the next 3 years we solidified our love until we even decided to start our own family and introduced Lyla to the world. Secretly, I was writing a draft of my proposal idea that would shock and amaze her. It was time to ask her hand in marriage...

Amandas version: Its been planned for years since we went on our very first trip together in 2016. We always do a trip on our birthdays and so it was the perfect cover up. We flew into Boston the night before Amanda's birthday. William suggested that we drive to New York City for a Birthday dinner. We started off at Grimaldi's where we put our names in for a table. William suggested we walk towards the Brooklyn Bridge to find our locks. As he ushered me to the fence there was the set up. Our pictures hung from the fence while rose petals were scattered in the middle of a lit up heart. On the fence was our locks with a ring. As Amanda looked with total surprise William handed her a heart filled with a letter she wrote him years ago. It asked "please check a box, will you be my boyfriend yes or no?" William added to the letter and said "Will you marry me?" Billy's version: I've known I would marry Amanda since I first saw her at Herman Middle School 17 years prior to our first trip together to New York. How I would ask her wasn't started until we went to New York together when I flew out to celebrate my friend's wedding. Over the next 3 years we would travel domestically to a new city or area that we have both never been before for each others Birthdays. I knew eventually we would end up back here at the Big Apple and I wanted to surprise her with a proposal in New York, the city that defines the greatest empire of our time, the United States of America. If we were living in ancient Greece it would have been at the Pyramids and if we were living in ancient Rome it would have been at the Colosseum. My friend flew out a day before to set up the surprise. I stopped in Brooklyn to Philadelphia from Boston and walked her over to the gorgeous candle lit setting where I got on one knee. There along the fence overlooking the East River were replica locks from our first visit with an engagement ring. With our daughter watching from the stroller, Amanda said Yes...