They say "good things come to those who wait." Well, we must be REALLY good because although we are the same class year in college, we had to wait 23 years to meet one serendipitous night at the end of SpelHouse Homecoming 2022 at a post-tailgate dinner organized by Lonnie's friends. LaChia's roommate from college, Cynthia, who is always down for a good time, invited her girls to go hang with her friend Justin (who happens to be Lonnie's best friend) and his friends at Bold Monk Brewing Co. to squeeze one more late night in, reminisce on the good old days, and wrap up another amazing homecoming weekend. It was so amazing, in fact, that after all the grill smoke and yelling over the crowds, LaChia had completely lost her voice. It wasn't just a little froggy. It wasn't raspy. It was GONE, like she'd traded her voice to Ursula the Sea Witch in exchange for legs and couldn't get it back unless she found true love!

So, the girls arrive near the end of the meal and sit at the only open seats left at a long table with about 15-20 people. LaChia and Lonnie ended up sitting across from each other. LaChia, who notoriously remembers almost NO ONE, is just there for the vibes since she can't contribute to the conversation, sitting quietly and watching her friends interact with this group of "strangers." Lonnie, recognizing everyone in the group EXCEPT LaChia, determined she was just visiting with her friends who went to Spelman and decided to introduce himself to "the new girl." He asks her name. Realizing the uniqueness of her name, LaChia decided she couldn't just mouth it. So she whips out her Notes app on her phone and types "LaChia." Confused about why she needs a communication aid, Lonnie furrows his brow, contemplating if she has some sort of disability. LaChia begins typing to explain that she's lost her voice when her girl, Ebonee, sitting beside her, ever-vigilant for sparks of romance, pipes up and explains that LaChia can in fact talk, but just not right now because she's lost her voice.

Lonnie breathes a sigh of relief and asks his next question to which LaChia responds on her Notes app or tags in Ebonee or Tiffany, her college bestie, to respond to the more in-depth questions, trusting they won't divulge too much. They continue this robust, albeit lop-sided, conversation for a while, drawing the attention of the rest of their friends at the table. Soon, the whole table has taken note and has gotten involved, even trying to interpret charades-style for the temporarily mute girl. Lonnie's friend, Jennifer, holds up a menu and whispers something to Lonnie but maintains eye contact with LaChia. LaChia, sensing shenanigans afoot, narrows her eyes and makes a gesture questioning what was said. Quietly, Jennifer repeats herself, "I said, 'I think she might be The One...'"

Now thoroughly invested, the dinner concludes with the table demanding Lonnie take LaChia on a date in 2 weeks for her birthday with the stipulation he must pick her up from her house, completely disregarding LaChia's hesitation about having a (handsome) stranger know where she lives, a rookie move any true-crime fan such as herself would avoid.

Over the next 2 weeks, Lonnie and LaChia continued to text (because Ursula still had a TIGHT grip on the pipes) and got to know each other. They explored conversations both deep and superficial, covering everything from lessons learned from having loved and lost and trying to describe what one's voice sounds like. They shared music -- she, an old soul sending Motown hits and he, a hip hop aficionado sending more current cuts, them both meeting in the middle with a shared love of 90s hip hop and R&B. They became friends.

Finally, after 2 full weeks of vocal rest, just in time for their first date (go karting and laser tag at Andretti's), LaChia got her voice back! Perhaps life is sometimes like a movie, and you find your true love and everything gets restored. ***vocalizes like The Little Mermaid***

May we live happily ever after!

The Beginning

~Lonnie & LaChia