We could start the story in an obvious location, the current or the future, but it's the beginning of this story we've called love for sometime. This is a love story of two people searching the rapids of the internet, but we shall not hold you up from that kismet encounter....

A writer once wrote, 'that love is absolute and powerful, but it's not only a word we say, it's our actions that give it the weight it deserves to strive, to grow, to learn, to adapt, and continue. Because without the weight it can float away with an ounce of conflict.

We traversed within the digital ocean both landing on Bumble, a dating app. Our eyes only caught a glance of one another before we decided to accept each other's advances. (From Bruno: I am always grateful for the chance she took on me and my life at the time.) Our first adventure was a voyage through conversation of the most interesting subjects we had on our mind. Still, it didn't stop Bruno from being so weird that Amdur almost considered him an AI Bot, when he sent a link to his book in the chat. "Hey, You want to read my book?" were among the first words written and next thing she saw, a link was dropped. Amdur immediately clicked the link and read the book. This is also when Bruno discovered that she sometimes clicks on everything all 'willy-nilly' even though she has a background in Cybersecurity. We still often laugh about it. Bruno sent her the book as an ice-breaker to impress her. Hey, you never know the internet is unmatched in the waves of pettiness but to her delight, he was real and they hit it off instantly.

We agreed to have a spontaneous rendezvous in March 2021 at Silver Diner. We talked the whole time and it felt effortless. Like we were meant to be a part of the same crew. We both agreed that we wanted to see each other again. Our intense connection and chemistry was impossible to miss. Getting to know each other has been one of the greatest adventures of our lives and it's only the beginning.

We have taken many romantic strolls around Occoquan, learning about our pasts and speaking life into our futures. During those talks we found that we both have a thirst for finding the "One Piece". This spurred us on to take impromptu trips to Ocean City, driving to New Jersey just to try a new Ramen shop, and then ending up in Times Square in New York. Every step we have taken, conversation we have had and moment we have experienced was laying the solid foundation that would lead to our forever.

The Proposal

In October 2022, we were out and about running errands for Niaya's last homecoming and spending quality time. When Bruno said he needed to make one more stop before they headed back to Amdur's place. She tried to guess where they were going to no avail since Bruno was being very vague on the location. They pulled up in a shopping center, got out of the car and Bruno took Amdur's hand in his and led the way into the jewelry store. When they walked in Bruno began to express his feelings to Amdur and how much he loved her. Once at the counter, he turned to her and asked her to marry him and of course SHE SAID YES! With love in their eyes and happiness in their hearts, Bruno told her to pick whatever ring she wanted! Clearly speechless with joy, she chose. She chose this love, she chose this life, she chose this man, and they will keep choosing each other forever. On October 12, 2024, we look forward to cementing our "One Piece".

A&B