Tulio and I met at Better Bodies, the gym at which we both workout. We've known each other since 2012, but most of my memories with him begin in 2013. I was working as a receptionist at our gym and always greeted him with a big smile when he came in. Tulio was the responding officer at Von Maur, the store my boyfriend worked at the time. So, Tulio would ask me about him, and we would talk about relationships, mostly mine, and a little about his marriage. I remember thinking things that I shouldn't have been, like that he had such a cute smile and that there was just something about him that I really liked but couldn't place a finger on. Whatever it was, it made me feel very comfortable with him. It was always easy to open up, something I don't tend to do.

In 2014, I left Better Bodies and didn't see Tulio for a year before I decided to come back to the gym sometime in 2015. When I walked into the gym, he was one of the first faces I saw. He greeted me with that smile, and I thought the exact same things I always had; he has such an adorable smile and such a soothing presence. We caught up a little, he asked me how my ex was, and that's when he found out that I was single. I didn't know at the time, but he was going through a separation right as I was going through my split. This is when a shift occurred, for me anyway. I started to think of him as more than just a man with a cute smile, who talks to me occasionally at the gym. But he will tell you that he didn't want a single thing to do with me, or women in general during this time!

Shortly after my return to the gym, I asked Tulio about the Louisville Metro Police Department, as I was trying to join, and I knew he had been on the police department for quite some time. He volunteered to help me out and guide me through the process. This lead us to texting, occasionally about police stuff, and more times than not, me trying to show him my interest in him, which he blatantly ignored. Continuously. However, he did follow through on his word to help me with the police department's process. We met up and talked about police stuff, and about his situation with his separation. I will never forget the moment he shared with me that he believed that he would wind up with someone which nobody would expect. I will never forget it because as soon as he said it, I thought about myself. I thought that I would be the woman he would wind up with that would stun people (sure enough, it did in the future!)

Tulio and I didn’t see each other for a quite a while after this. He was busy and I was as well. However, we set up a date to meet up in the future to go over my final LMPD application. In between this time, we both started dating. Both of us have our own horror stories to share from these experiences. It seemed like person after person was a failure. Tulio and I are both passionate, strong minded people who knew what we wanted and we weren't about to settle for just anybody, not after our prior relationships.

It seemed like an eternity, but just as I was about to give up on the idea of dating, and on the thought of him as a potential partner, we had our meet up. It took place at the gym, and as he discussed my application, he placed his hand on my leg, and, with that simple little touch, hope emerged. We set up another day to meet and to go over the questions I would be asked during a portion of the LMPD test, and he suggested that we meet at Starbucks. I agreed to meet him there but canceled shortly thereafter. I wasn't going to let that hope disappear. I knew I felt something, and I knew what I wanted. I had to at least try to get him to see what I saw. So I rescheduled with him but asked to meet at his place. He agreed (only God knows why). We did talk about LMPD, but I quickly changed the topic. He eventually asked me if I was hungry and wanted to grab a bite to eat that night, and we spent the next seven hours talking about everything that could be talked about.

The next day, we texted back and forth and I finally worked up the courage to tell him what I had been feeling. It was a Saturday, and after I opened up to him, he told me to take the week to think it over and make sure I was ready for what I was asking. I told him I didn't need a week. The next day we had our first official date. He wanted to take me to this beautiful restaurant across the bridge called the Olive Leaf. We walked/ he carried me across the bridge and we stumbled upon the Olive Leaf only to see that it was closed! That didn't stop us from having the most beautiful night. It just didn't take place at Olive Leaf, but at Cluckers instead! When we got back to his place, he kissed me (yes, he FINALLY made a move). If I wasn't sure before, I was sure then. That feeling of hope turned into certainty.

After that, the rest was history. I've always thought that saying "when you know, you know" to be cliche, but you don't realize how true it is until it happens to you. I knew he was the one before we were even official. There is no way to explain our union other than divine intervention. It never ceases to amaze me how the stars always seemed to have aligned perfectly for us in order for our paths to cross in just the right way, and at just the right time. It was as if we came into each other's path only when we were both ready to love and be loved fully. Some may even call it serendipity.  

Some people spend a lifetime trying to find the love I have found in Tulio. I wake up everyday, completely filled with gratitude and disbelief for my blessing. Out of all of these people searching, I have found. 

Although I had seen Em around the gym since 2012, I remember noticing her for the first time at the gym in 2013 because of how others around were ogling. She was strutting her stuff in a competition bikini with a colleague, practicing their runway walk and posing, with their trainer, for a body building competition. I laughed at all the guys attempting to pick up their tongues and jaws off the floor, and realizing they had completely abandoned their composure.  She and I had a common acquaintance, her ex, and, at the time, our relationship was limited to a courteous “hi” or a simple “how are you.” But I do remember that I was the one who approached her at the front desk, where she worked at the gym we both worked out in, and mentioned that I knew her boyfriend. We talked about that ex, mostly, and I went about my business thereafter.

But, as fate would have it, the universe had other plans for us. After countless failed dates with others on both our parts, we had all but accepted the notion that perhaps happiness with another might not be written in the stars for us. Em was focused on work, school and body building, and hoping to begin the process of getting on the same police department for which I worked. And that’s when our paths crossed in a more meaningful manner.

I remember her texting me to ask questions about getting on with the Louisville Metro Police. I agreed to help her out. I couldn’t really say no because I had helped her ex get on and I certainly didn’t want to come across as biased against her. I would answer her questions and guide her in the filling out of the application. During one of those text conversations, she mentioned how her back had been bothering her, and I, not expecting her to take the offer seriously – because I certainly was not serious about it – offered to massage her back. What I meant was, “Your back is hurting? Yeah, right. Is that the excuse you’ll use to get out of trying for the police department? I’ll massage your back and you get your butt to the academy.” But it turned out that my silly, off-the-cuff offer, was taken in a completely different light by Em, who quickly pounced on the idea and took me up on the massage offer.

So, one day, I drove to her house to fulfill my offer. However, unbeknownst to Em, although she now wishes I had made a move, I wasn’t having it. We talked, I massaged her back, we talked some more, and I left. One of the topics of conversation was that we were both looking for a meaningful relationship, and not one like those observed these days that are devoid of anything meaningful. She says I had a prophetic moment when I told her that I would likely end up with someone that no one expected. At the time, all I knew is that I was focused on compatibility, shared vision for the future, and true love. I knew what I wanted and wasn’t willing to compromise on core issues. The external was shallow and distracting, and I refused to “see” her. I needed to explore the person, the soul, the mind, first. So this massage did absolutely nothing for me. There was no doubt that Em was beautiful; every man’s dream. But beauty alone stood no chance at a committed, fulfilling life together. I needed much more.

However, that massage served as a catapult, launching us both into uncharted territories. We began to text each more often, mostly talking about the police. Then I met up with her at the gym, a public venue, in order to go over her application to the police department, and she says I gently placed my hand on her leg while we were sitting at the table looking over the application. She claims that it signaled that I was interested, but I’m just a touchy guy, and that “touching of the leg” couldn’t have possibly lasted more than a single second. Nonetheless, we scheduled another meet in order to see the final application before she submitted it, and, once again, I chose a public venue: Starbucks. But Em cancelled it. She says it was because she knew that she couldn’t get me to notice her, or think of her in terms of relationship if we were in a distracting, public place. She came up with some excuse, and said that she had to help her mother lay down tiles. I thought, oh, what a nice thing to do! Little did I know she had no intentions on helping her mother, but just needed an excuse not to meet me in public. We ended up meeting at my place at a later date.

And that’s where the magic began. No, people, get your minds out of the gutter! We talked, looked over the application again, she got another massage, and then we went out to eat. We talked for hours. We talked about everything; nothing was off limits. We dissected each other, dug deep to find the truth, expose the flaws, and were undeterred to find out who that person in front of us was. Yes, she ended up staying the night, but I was a perfect gentleman (true story!), and once again, wasn’t about to rush into anything.

In the following days we texted long, thoughtful texts to one another. We discussed life, the future, quirks, baggage, flaws and everything in between. Finally, I was convinced that Em was who she said she was, and I really liked that person. A week or so had gone by, we were back at my place, and I will never forget that first kiss. Wow. I was hooked. No, sparks didn’t fly and fireworks didn’t happen in my head. But it felt like home, like I had finally arrived. We went out on a dinner date, strolling across the walking bridge into Indiana (although I piggyback carried her on our way back), enjoying each other’s company, talking, and… I began to fall in love. Completely. Undeniably. Passionately.

Em is the woman I have been waiting for my entire life. She is perfect for me in every way, and I cannot imagine, or want to imagine, life without her. Every day, I wake up and see her, feeling grateful that I was given a second chance at true love, and every day I feel like I have to refrain from pinching myself, afraid that this is all a dream.