October 19th of 2019 started off as a normal fall summer day. A charming, smooth, caramel gentleman from the Gulf Coast (Galveston to be exact) was preparing to celebrate a new chapter in his professional life, and a stunning, sassy Dallas (really Lancaster) native was picking out heels and a fancy hat for what she thought would be a normal Friday night hangout. Little did the Galvestonian named Reginald, and the Southside Dallas representative, Eryn, know- their worlds were about to collide in the MOST dramatic fashion.

Amidst an evening full of laughs, tacos and tequila, it wasn't long before Reginald (Young Reg from this point forward in the story) noticed Eryn (the D-Town Dime) and the unbreakable gaze she placed upon him throughout the evening. Upon approaching like Keith Sweat on a windy day with baggy clothes, Young Reg found the D-Town Dime stuck and at a loss for words as she could hardly contain herself because of the boldness and intensity of Young Reg's approach. Through her blushing and uncontrollable smiling, this melting masterpiece of a woman managed to bring her hand forward for a handshake and the rest, as they say was history.

Shortly after their cosmic collision over the finest of tacos and margaritas, Young Reg and the D-Town Dime found themselves singing karaoke to one another, exchanging glances throughout the night, and finding ways to be close to one another. Admittedly, Eryn played hard to get, but her gravity was inescapable and Young Reg couldn't help but do whatever he could to remain in her orbit. As the night came to a close, Young Reg went in for a hug and whispered the words, "I likes ya, and I wants ya.... I'ma get yo lil yella ass Ms. Eryn" to which she rudely responded and quite frankly said some sort of hurtful things to Young Reg that he'll likely never forget because it really wasn't that deep.... But the love... The love that was afoot was exactly that deep.... so they parted ways that night with an open book that had nothing on its pages...

A short time later, on November 2nd, Eryn and Reginald's paths crossed again. As if it was destined, the two found themselves back at the same karaoke spot where they saw the first sparks of forever. Young Reg walked in with the swagger of 100 golden ostriches, and as the crowd made way for his entrance as he adorned himself with a golden suede jacket and all of the adornments of a young, fly.... "individual".... it was almost as if the music stopped, and once again this beautiful, magnetic woman, and this irresistible but intentional man connected with an energy that could have shaken the entire room. There were more laughs, Tequila Sunrises, and multiple small moments of intimacy that further laid the groundwork for the inevitable. However, what most likely stood out for the D-Town Dime that evening was Reginald's performance, where he professed his love via the lyrical stylings of Snoop Dogg and his timeless classic, "Gin and Juice." The night concluded with a 4 hour car conversation where Reginald and Eryn got to know each other at their cores. They shared their fears, their insecurities, their joys, their values, but maybe most importantly, their truths. Eryn ended that night reluctantly offering Young Reg her phone number on the strict condition that she would let him know she made it home safe and the two would never speak again.

I have no idea why she thought it would end there, because who would actually think that? Nonetheless...

Following those two fateful encounters, there were screen length text messages that sounded like Babyface talking to Tony Braxton, 4 hour phone conversations that literally went until sunrise, random meetups because the two needed to see each other, and eventually first dates, second dates and a rapidly increasing need to see one another early and often. The two fell for one another quickly.

And then the world shut down... Covid happened....

In what was a dark time for many, Eryn and Reginald found a light in one another's lives brighter than anything they'd seen before. They found a best friend in one another. They found security, fulfillment and wholeness in way that almost seemed unfair to the rest of the world.

Eventually, Eryn went from "this girl I like" to "this woman that might be the one" and Reginald went from "this handsome, dashing man" to "this handsome, dashing man I want to do life with." What started as two people in two separate homes, became a family in one home. What started as two separate lives eventually became one unified forever, and on June 28th Young Reg asked the D-Town Dime for her hand in marriage, where she said yes, and the two began building the rest of their lives together.