We met at the Starbucks of Texas A&M, College Station campus, on a very busy day. I was enjoying a nice cup of coffee alone in a very crowded place when I noticed that Antonia was trying to find a space to read, but all the seats were taken, except for one seat across from me. I meant to offer her to sit there, but my shyness wouldn’t allow me. She, very lively and very direct, approached my table and asked if she could take the seat. I nodded yes and she sat there—directly across from me. From time to time, we would make awkward eye contact, but it wasn't until ~30 minutes in when Antonia initiated the conversation. I could have stayed there forever, quietly, but she could not contain herself. She need to talk, and with the enthusiasm and passion she spoke about things, she quickly got me out of my shell and for the next thirty minutes, we talked about so many things we had in common that we became best friends. Some of our favorite topics turned out to be politics, multiculturalism, food, languages, and religion. From that moment my life was changed. I went for a cup of coffee and found my best friend, the love of my life—the wife of my dreams. We are so different, and yet we have so much in common. We are both immigrants—she from Brazil and I from Pakistan—worlds apart—we speak languages other than English as our native tongue, we come from completely different cultures, but we cherish our differences and seek for common grounds. She is a talker and I am a listener. We enjoy traveling and eating different foods. We love cats. She comes from a big, close knit family and so do I. She enjoys quiet reading time and I enjoy quiet time, period! She told me that she spent all her life trying to find me. I have spent all my life trying to find her. And we did it! Maktub—it was written—it was in the plans of Allah! We believe it! We are one!

When time came for the proposal, I knew she was the one and I knew how I wanted it to happen. I had planned and rehearsed the scene in my head over and over. It all seemed flawless and magical. I got the ring, silver, custom-made, with an infinity sign adorned with black and white diamond, and decided to pop the question on her birthday. I was nervous, for sure, but very excited to see her that day. I brought her a birthday cake, we sang happy birthday (in both English and Portuguese among which I found Portuguese to be the cutest), and shared a slice. I had the ring in my pocket and kept waiting for the right moment - to get on one knee, open the ring box, look into her eyes, and say “will you marry me?” Well, that didn’t happen! I was overcome by shyness and nervousness. All I was able to do was stand before her— my legs shaking—show her the ring, and barely utter out the words, “will you be my wife?” She was surprised. She thought I was cute, smiled, and said “YES!” Thank God! It has been a great journey since. May Allah continue to bless us and guide us as we move forward together in building our family.