Story
For us, it was love at first sip. We met at Boston Stoker in Englewood, Ohio, where Mike was a barista and I was a regular. At the drive-thru window, we exchanged much more than a tall dark roast coffee and $1.65. We shared stories, laughs and longing (but forbidden) glances.
Both in a relationship at the time, we kept our distance (also because I was always sitting in my 1998 Chevy Malibu while he was hanging halfway out the small drive-thru window). Despite the physical distance, we quickly made an emotional connection.
I will never forget one sweet and very telling moment we shared. I drove up to the window and told Mike I was having a bad night. He came back a few minutes later with my coffee in hand and a note on the cup. In black marker, Mike drew a betta fish and wrote, "Have a betta night!" When I finished that cup of coffee, I rinsed it out and put it on the bookshelf in my room, where it sat for years.
Mike later moved to Indianapolis to work as the manager of an espresso bar, and I moved to Chicago to pursue journalism at Loyola University. Having lost touch with each other, it seemed that our barista-regular relationship was the only kind of relationship we would ever have.
But, as luck (or fate) would have it, both of us got dumped by our significant others around the same time, and we somehow found ourselves reconnecting on Facebook. Hours of phone conversations and thousands of texts ignited a flame that was once a spark between us.
Still, there was one more thing on Mike's mind: moving to Florida. As hard as it would be, I knew this was something Mike had to do for himself. I could never forgive myself for keeping him from pursuing a dream, and I didn't want to be the cause of any "what if?" questions. So Mike moved to Florida for about eight months, which gave him enough time to realize he hated it and gave me enough time to visit on spring break. :)
In May of my sophomore year, Mike finally made the move to Chicago. His 260-square-foot apartment was "charming" (as they say in Chicago), but he didn't care. After more than a year together, we were finally living in the same ZIP code. Three years after his move to the Windy City, we made one more move - this time together - to Indianapolis, where we happily live today.
Looking back on the crazy journey of our love story, I think about that little red Boston Stoker cup Mike gave me years ago. That cup, which I still have to this day, has come to symbolize us: Our relationship has been about supporting each other - through good times and bad - and always putting forth the effort to make each other smile. It's small gestures like these that make us fall in love with each other over and over again.