For what seemed like years before I met Andy, I wanted so badly to be in a relationship…to find the love of my life, someone with whom to share the journey. Friends would tell me, “It’ll happen when you least expect it.” And, while I believed there was some truth in those words, it was hard to not expect it, when all I wanted was to find it. So, I hit the road and shifted my focus to finding out more about me. Then…just as my friends had said…it happened, when I least expected it. And, in a place I never imagined….Spain.
Yes, I had to travel nearly 4000 miles to find my true love. Fortunately, for Liz & Craig, all they had to do was walk across the hall.
But, like Andy & me, Liz & Craig also started out half a world away from each other. Craig grew up in an Italian family in Rhode Island. Liz spent her childhood in the Philippines before moving to the States. Happily, fate led them to an apartment complex in Providence, where they were neighbors. They would often see each other around the building, and exchanged pleasantries, but nothing much deeper than that.
One day, while outside with their dogs, Maris & Cookie, life threw something unexpected in their path, and their neighborly relationship shifted. Craig confided in his pretty neighbor that he recently broke up with his girlfriend and was now single. Liz was struck that Craig felt so comfortable to open up to her in such a way. From that exchange, a friendship quickly blossomed.
Living alone, but loving to cook, Liz would often prepare large meals and invited Craig over for dinner. Although Liz admits she was slow to realize how strong Craig’s affections had become, eventually, she, too, found a deeper connection with the handsome man across the hall.
“We spent a lot of time together, and I just realized that I cannot be without him. His love is my security; without it, I would be lost,” she said.
“I knew Liz was the one for me when I couldn’t get her out of my mind,” Craig told us.
In the end, Craig (& Maris) also won over Cookie, who Liz admits generally does not get along with others. All four now happily share a loft and Liz & Craig share dinner together every night. This May, they will say, “I do!” in an intimate ceremony on the beach in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. Yaaay for happy endings and paths that lead us where we were always meant to be!
