—

We first met in college at the University of Tampa, sitting in David Reamer’s English class. On the very last day, while turning in his exam, Artie slipped Khadijah a folded piece of paper with his name and phone number on it, his quiet way of making a bold move.

What followed was years of on-and-off friendship: studying on campus, running into each other between classes, and long conversations in Khadijah’s dorm room after Artie famously yelled, “Is that Khadijah Khan?!” while she was carrying groceries down the hall.

After graduation, life took us to different cities, but we never fully drifted. We kept in touch, texts, random visits, small moments that somehow always pulled us back together. When Artie’s Aunt Q passed in late 2019, we found ourselves reconnecting more deeply, talking more seriously, and realizing that our friendship had quietly grown into something more.

By March 15, 2020, after years of missed chances and perfectly-timed reconnections, we finally made it official.