Most people’s fairytale love stories don’t begin with the images of cheap margaritas, tacos, sandals, pool tables, loud music, and 2 people who were interested in everything except love. Then again, we’re not most people and neither of us read many fairytales growing up. We met at La Carretas in Mandeville, LA. on Cinco de Mayo 2023 in a slight set-up organized by Philip’s brother, Payton. Neither of us knew the other one would be there. And we certainly didn’t know how good-looking the other one would be. But lucky for us, Philip thought my tank top and cut-offs were charming and I thought his flip-flops with jeans combo was very fashion forward. It was actual, real-life, love at first sight. We were immediately hooked. Only later did we discover that some of the things we initially were hooked on turned out to be misconceptions. For example, Philip had said to me, “I sell real estate”. But I heard, “I work for the state” and so I spent the rest of the night imaging him doing some sort of serious, classified, government job. And at some point he mentioned that he had a pool table. Obviously, I responded to this by reeling off my many victories from being a “pool shark”. It was much to my dismay when I hit the ball with the wrong end of the pool stick later on… But, these little mix-ups didn’t deter either of us from the other. We saw each other the next day. And then the next, and the next, and the next, and then at some point Philip said I had gained “squatter’s rights”? (Just kidding..kind of) Through all of those next days, the tomorrows that turned into last nights, and the yesterdays that somehow became years, we fell deeper and deeper in love. We’ve gone on adventures, challenged each other, been spontaneous, and dreamed together. We’ve laughed until we cried, cried until we laughed, and spent countless nights cooking, dancing in the kitchen (and in the rain), and finding joy in all the little things. We’ve said hard goodbyes to loved ones together, and in return, we’ve been gifted even more family to hold close. And not once did we question where this new, exciting, unexpected love was taking us, because somehow, we both always knew we were building a life that would lead us right here. And this feels like the only fairytale we’ll ever need to read. written by Zoe, created by Philip, lived by us both