Our Love Story: Where it began

It started with surface-level chats at the smoke shack. Just me, him, and his coworker making small talk between meetings and other work tasks. Casual. Friendly. Nothing flirty just enough to know we enjoyed each other’s company.

Then one day, he messaged me at work on Teams:

“Hey, I have something for you. Will you be at your desk later so I can drop it off?”

I said yes, not thinking much of it… until the follow-up came:

“I’ll text you when I get through security. Oh wait — I won’t. Because I’m not part of the exclusive club that has your number.”

It was smooth. I’ll give him that. I smiled, rolled my eyes (probably), and sent him my number.

A few minutes later, he showed up with a gift: a set of movie tickets. He had overheard me say I didn’t have plans for Mother’s Day and decided to do something kind. It was thoughtful and unexpected.

Later that night, I got a text:

“Not that I think a six-year-old would choose to… but if you see Dune 2 without me, you’ll never live it down.”

I laughed. Told him not to worry, I hadn’t even seen the first one.

We kept texting. And texting. After I tucked my daughter into bed, I decided to turn on Dune just to see what all the fuss was about. I sent him a picture of the opening scene.

He decided to watch it too but from his house. It was sweet, watching the same movie from miles apart.

Confession: I hated the movie. Boring. So boring. But it played in the background while we flirted over text until 2 a.m. when we said goodnight and I passed out.

The next morning, we continued to text. He asked what I was up to. I told him I was pulling weeds. Something we’d joked about at the smoke shack more than once. My backyard had gotten out of control, and I couldn’t enjoy it anymore. The weeds were literally as tall as I was.

He replied:

“Send me your address. I’ll come help.”

I didn’t think he meant it. I told him I couldn’t accept his help but he could come keep me company. Sure enough he showed up, Diet Dr Pepper (my favorite) and pizza in hand. And we spent the entire day pulling weeds in the hot sun.

That night, he stayed while I put my daughter to bed. Then we stayed up talking, watching Star Trek, and getting lost in each other’s energy. By 5 a.m., he finally headed home only because I had to be at church in two hours running the Mother’s Day photo booth.

It was an exhausting day, but I was riding the high of what we’d found something that felt easy, instant, and meant to be.

From that day on, we’ve been inseparable.
And somehow, I just keep falling more in love with him every single day.