How we met.
The story of how we met is not dramatic, or wildly exciting per se. It is, however, a story of many small parts falling into place in order to put us in the right place, at the right time.
Tesla, having grown up in Oakton, Virginia, attended The University of Alabama for college. While in Tuscaloosa she lost touch with one of her childhood best friends, Jessica. Four years and a college degree later, Jessica spotted Tesla at a bar in Arlington, Virginia.
The two of them reconnected and a few months later Tesla was invited to Jessica’s housewarming party. Unbeknownst to Tesla, her childhood best friend had a connection to Brandon.
Brandon grew up in Falls Church, Virginia and attended George Mason High School. Jessica’s boyfriend (now husband), Brian, also attended George Mason High School and had invited Brandon to Jessica’s housewarming party.
As Tesla likes to remind Brandon, she approached him and initiated their first conversation. That first conversation lasted the entire party.
When it came time to leave, Tesla was offered a ride home. This ride happened to be the same ride Brandon had taken to get to the party. Once we arrived at Tesla’s, Brandon politely opened the car door and shyly (or confidently depending on who you ask) asked if Tesla would like to go on a date.
And here we are five years later.
How Brandon knew.
It seems like people often assume there is one special moment where you look at your loved one and realize, I want to spend the rest of my life with this person. While I understand that, and have had plenty of special moments, I think it's much more than a big moment of realization. It's the day-to-day, tiny, unintentional things. It's her singing along to a song while floating around our apartment. The way she walks to the car when I pick her up after work. It's those times she says she's not tired, and I know it's just because she doesn't want the day to be over; 30 seconds later she's fast asleep.
From the minute I met Tesla, I knew I just wanted to be around her. She’s passionate, stubborn, and loyal. “Perfectionist” doesn’t even begin to explain the depths of the effort she will put into what she cares about. Above all, she cares. About family, about me, and about “us”.
The special moments will always be special, but the time spent doing laundry or goofing around while grocery shopping are the moments I think matter the most; and when it comes to those moments, there’s no one I would rather go through life with.
When Tesla knew.
On our first trip to Europe I had an accident at the Barcelona airport that resulted in a deep head wound. For those fortunate enough to have avoided them, head wounds are not for the faint of heart. Clutching the back of my head, I remember thinking “that’s odd, I thought my hair was dry.”
Brandon sprung to action. He applied pressure to the wound, got medical assistance, and served as translator. After being relocated to the hospital wing, he held my hand while I was stitched up and cleaned the blood from my hair, neck, back, and jacket. He did everything I needed, in the exact moment I needed it.
By the time I was cleaned up, we had missed our flight to London. We grabbed the last two spots on the last flight and finally headed to our gate. Once we settled in, I called my mom. She reminded me that she too had busted her head open early into her relationship with my dad. He rushed her to the hospital in his brand new Ford Bronco. She joked he must have really loved her to risk blood in his new car. Then she said, “Brandon must really love you too.”
I told my mom I was going to marry Brandon when we got home from our trip. I had already known this for awhile, but after our trip I was ready to say it out loud.
He is my favorite travel companion. In the best of situations or in the worst, he is always by my side.
