Some love stories begin with fireworks. Ours began with a free beer.

It was a Tuesday night in Grenada, the kind of evening where ocean breeze mingled with music and the soft glow of neon signs at a bar called Bananas. It was “Twofers” night—a local tradition known well among the students of St. George’s University: buy one beer, get one free. After long days buried in textbooks and anatomy labs, the promise of a cold drink and some fresh air drew everyone out.

Among the crowd were two first-year med students, Anna and Joel. They had been in the same lecture hall for weeks—but had never spoken. Joel was convinced Anna had been watching him during class. He had noticed her gaze more than once, steady and focused. What he didn’t know was that Anna, who hadn’t quite come to terms with needing glasses, couldn’t actually see much past the first few rows. She wasn’t looking at him—she was squinting at a blur of movement and hoping it was the lecture board.

That night at Bananas, under the string lights and Caribbean stars, Joel approached Anna with a pair of beers—one bought, one free. And while it didn’t begin with destiny or certainty, something happened in that simple moment. A comfort that unfolded naturally.

They talked until the music faded into the night, about family and home, life on the island, and everything in between. What began as a misunderstanding turned into something real—unexpected, unplanned, and completely their own.

Today, Anna and Joel still joke that he bought her the free beer. And maybe he did. But in that small, serendipitous moment, something extraordinary began.

And now, all these years later, they’re still choosing each other—no free beer required.

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