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"Do you want to grab drinks on Thursday?" - Javi

"Aw, I'd love to, Javier!" - Mandy

It's 2018, and Bumble is the hottest dating app - back when dating apps were still novel and fun. Mandy and Javi, having realized they live in neighboring buildings, arrange a first date in no time, at Good Night Sonny in the East Village.

A harbinger of things to come, Mandy had “good-bye drinks” scheduled for her work friend, Maddy, that same evening, and misjudged the time it would take to get from the West Side to the East Side of Manhattan, and showed up an hour late to the date. They missed their reservation.

Nevertheless, sparks flew instantly, and the vibes were right. They wandered to Cienfuegos, and chatted the night away over mojitos…that turned into shots. They talked about everything - family, goals and dreams, and of course, their favorite neighborhood bars.

Mandy and Javi were inseparable after that. Six months later, they moved in together on Bleecker St., in Greenwich Village…above Chloe's Bakery - a very normal move for young 20-something New Yorkers maximizing their space per dollar, but a shocking move to their parents, who thought they were rushing into things.

Over the next six years, they made their first apartment into a home, survived Covid in New York, and with the help of their families, moved separately when Mandy got into business school in Boston, got engaged on a beautiful sunset evening in charming Sorento, Italy, moved back together in New York when Mandy graduated, and got married in San Antonio! Though they saw each other through major life milestones, they cherish most, the small moments - laughing until their lungs hurt over inside jokes, grocery trips to Whole Foods, roasting each other over happy hour drinks, and countless movie theater dates. They look to a lifetime more…of the small moments!