We had always known of each other! That’s just how it is in a small town like Versailles. But we never truly had the chance to know each other until one morning in March of 2021. I was sitting in our little Waffle House when Christian walked in. At first, I didn’t recognize him. His face was swollen, his front teeth were missing, and yet he carried himself as if nothing was wrong. I remember thinking, “Oh Lordy, this guy must be crazy.”Later I learned the truth…he wasn’t crazy, just a little wild. He had taken a fall doing tricks on a bicycle, and the concrete had won that round. Not long after, our paths finally crossed again, this time for real. We’d grown up with the same friend group but had never quite crossed paths at the same time. Eventually, though, I found myself at a little get together at his house. We had a fire going, and I remember reaching for a beer. That’s when he looked at me and said, “If you open that beer, you have to stay the night.”I was 20, in my “who cares” stage of life, so of course, I cracked open the beer. I ended up crashing on his couch with a friend, not knowing that this night would change everything.The next morning, I woke up to find him outside, cleaning my car. He had already cleaned it the night before, but because the wind had left it covered in tree droppings, he washed it again. That small act of kindness stuck with me. Afterward, he invited me out for doughnuts and since you know I love a doughnut, I said yes. From that point on, we were inseparable. I found myself spending more and more time at his house, crashing on his couch, and before I knew it, I realized something big: I had fallen completely in love with him. Head over heels, no turning back. People say their partner is “one of a kind,” but when I say that about Christian, I mean it with my whole heart. His love for people is unmatched — he always puts others first. The way he treated me showed me that a love this pure and selfless truly exists. I didn’t believe it until I lived it. But what stood out to me most was his love for his momma. She was his world, and the way he adored her reminded me so much of my own dad and granny. It made me feel like that little girl again, the one who believed she had the best family in the world. And in that moment, I realized I wasn’t just falling in love with Christian; I was stepping into a forever where that same kind of love would be mine for a lifetime.Christian is not only the love of my life he’s my very best friend. I am so excited to spend forever with him… and I’m happy to report, he has all of his front teeth now!