I can still remember the first time I saw Derek, standing across the way at a friend's wedding. Derek introduced himself, and after the casual chatting we went our separate ways. For the rest of the evening, we found ourselves locking eyes on more than one occasion, but the reception flew by and was over before we had the chance to talk again. The next morning my friend and I walked into the hotel restaurant for breakfast and saw Derek sitting by the window. He waved us over and invited us to join his table. We ended up spending the rest of the weekend together. The weekend flew by and soon enough we were on different coasts but a few days later, my phone rang and it was him! We spent hours chatting and from that day on we talked on the phone daily, wrote endless letters back and forth and saw each other on occasion. We fell in love that first weekend and throughout the years our love for each other has continued to grow! He is my best friend and together we have been through so much. We couldn't even begin to imagine what life would be like without one another!