Our Happily Ever After

It was a night like any other, filled with laughter, music, and the warmth of good friends. Tatiana didn’t expect much when she showed up to that party—just another casual evening with her closest friends. Little did she know, the night was about to take a turn that would change everything. Nate, on the other hand, had been waiting for this moment. Though they hadn’t met yet, he knew who she was. He’d seen her pictures on social media, and something about her had caught his eye. He’d heard stories, seen glimpses of her life through the digital lens, but up until that point, she was nothing more than a name and a face in a feed. That night, after a few too many drinks, Nate saw his chance. As the evening unfolded, he kept finding himself near Tatiana, working up the courage to introduce himself. And then, as if driven by some kind of cosmic pull, he blurted out a slightly slurred, "Hey, I’m Nate. Nice to meet you." Tatiana smiled politely, not quite sure who he was or why he was so eager. A few minutes later, Nate tried again. "Hey, I’m Nate," he said, as if they hadn’t just had the exact same exchange moments earlier. Tatiana raised an eyebrow, clearly puzzled, but again, gave him a smile and a nod. And again. And again. Nate introduced himself to her roughly ten times over the course of the night—each time with the same excitement and the same slightly intoxicated charm. Tatiana started to wonder if she was missing something, but she played along, always with a polite smile, trying to piece together the mystery of this persistent, slightly tipsy guy. It wasn’t until later, when she was sitting with her friends, that one of them mentioned, "Oh, you didn’t know? Nate’s been following you on Instagram for a while. He’s really into you." Tatiana laughed, a bit taken aback. So that was why he seemed so familiar. Suddenly, the repeated introductions made sense. By the end of the night, Tatiana had more than just a name and a face to go off of. She had a story—a quirky one, at that. It didn’t take long before she found herself intrigued, and, in time, even charmed by Nate’s persistence and, admittedly, his sincere interest. Nate, for his part, was nervous the whole night, but what he didn’t realize then was that those slightly awkward, repeated intros would be the start of something real. Tatiana never forgot how he had made the effort, and she never imagined that night would be the beginning of their journey together.