“I met this amazing guy. He always had headphones in, came in late every day and refused to speak to me. Being the high-strung, outspoken girl I am, I knew I would change that. Little did I know what I was up against.”
‘Kalen I am done.’ We both were bartenders. I was a single mom, and this amazing guy was just waiting to get his next high. He did not even weigh 110 pounds and had very sad eyes.’
‘Your dad is going to die. This is a gut-wrencher. You will adopt a child. He will be your brother – the 4th child your dad has with his new wife.’
“Your dad’s wife will die unexpectedly of a drug overdose, followed by your dad to cancer just days later. Before your dad dies, he will sign over custody to you. You will fight tooth and nail through the courts for this child. This is your rock bottom.”
‘My sister’s back in town, newly divorced. You should give her a call.’ I heard a knock. He looked up and smiled. I thought, ‘One day, I’ll marry this man.’ I didn’t tell him. Why ruin the moment?’
“A friend asked, ‘What has kept you married for 42 years?’ The last 5 decades have gone by in the blink of any eye. I could see by the look in my husband’s eyes what his answer would be.”
‘K, we need to stop. You have so much trauma. I can’t believe you’re still here.’ I still had 3 more years of my story left. He was shocked. He didn’t let me continue.’
“I was on a bus to work when the voices came back, ‘You should just cut yourself.’ It startled me. Then the nightmares started. I met my psychologist, a male. I told him about the stalking.”
‘Slightly panicked, I asked where she’d like to go for the first date. Anywhere in the city. ‘Steak-n-Shake. I want you to see me in all my glory,’ she replied. That’s when I truly started to fall in love.’
“I like to think I am funny, so I used the movie quote, ‘My idea of a perfect date is April 25th…’ I truly thought nothing more of it, until a few days later, when she matched with me. She sent me a message to my Tinder inbox. ‘Because it’s not too hot, not too cold. All you need is a light Jacket.’ I was surprised.”
‘I imagined my father-daughter dance being perfect. But, he couldn’t hear the words. He cried the entire time. Not tears of joy. But, of sadness and disappointment.’
“My dad anxiously waited to hear. My mom, sisters, and I said the words: ‘I love you.’ Words he never heard his children say. But my dad broke down and cried. He cried, because he COULDN’T hear.”
‘Let’s face it, I met Sophie by swiping right on Tinder, to get laid. But there she was, smiling with the reddest lipstick in the world. When you know, you know.’
“I told my friend, ‘I’m not going.’ It was weird I hadn’t heard from him. She told me, ‘Just go. He’s cute and French.’ I’m so glad I did. We got back to my place, had a drink and our first kiss. From that night on, he never left.”
‘Then I received this email. ‘Hi there, My dad has been fighting cancer. Dad is getting weaker by the day. We have to do this as soon as possible.’
“I couldn’t keep it together to talk on the phone. This is a very difficult and dark time, but I know how you feel about love. We are throwing this plan together really fast. We don’t know how long we have.”
‘What if this guy just wants a green card?’ We had only 90 days to get married. We both questioned what we had gotten ourselves into. I’d be marrying a man who has never met my family.’
“I quit my job, broke up with my boyfriend, moved out of my apartment and awaited the adventure of a lifetime. When I saw first him, I felt my heart skip. Our story is a wild one.”
‘Justin asks them to take our picture. ‘One more?’ REALLY GET THE BACKGROUND.’ He drops to one knee. All 3 guys start screaming: ‘SAY YES!! DID YOU JUST DO THAT?! THAT’S EPIC!!’
“Halfway through our ceremony, who crashes the wedding? OUR ENGAGEMENT FRIENDS. The vulgar lyrics were blasting. LOUD. During the prayer. I cannot make this up. My husband and I locked eyes, and we knew. We knew it was them. Our wedding guests look on, HORRIFIED.”
