This is not your typical love story. It doesn’t begin with ‘it was love at first sight.’ No, it is a love story that has a real quality to it. In this story two people meet, have a rocky beginning, get to know one another and eventually fall in love. Their story may have had a few bumps and hiccups, but in the end it all worked out for the best allowing their love to blossom.

Erika & Diego

Diego and I met when we were both 17 and working a Whataburger. We could have easily worked at any other one closer to home, but we both chose this one to apply too. He was the cool, handsome guy that thought he knew it all and was too cool to do his job correctly. He would flatter the managers and other workers and get away with not restocking the products. Don’t get me wrong, he was reliable and hard working during a rush but toward the end of his shift he just wanted to get out. It was understandable, but I was the perfectionist that wasn’t fooled by his good looks and smooth attitude, lol well maybe a little, but I still required everyone to pull their own weight until the last minute. He would work the shift before me and would ask to leave as soon as I arrived to take over his shift, even if he had not finished restocking. I would get so mad and demand that he finish before he left because I was not going to do it for him. He would eventually get it done but by this point we didn’t get along so well. He saw me as the bossy witch and I saw him as the only-do-enough-to-get-by cute guy. I am sorry to say that it was not love at first sight and we did not ever in a million years think that we would one day be engaged to each other.

When Diego and I first met, we were both in a relationship with other people, hence why our story is not the “love at first sight” kind. Both of our relationships ended for different reasons around the same time just before our senior year. It was my last year in high school and I was not going to let my breakup phase me.

One day while going into work a few months later, I saw Diego in his orange and navy uniform looking sad and not his normal, cool self. I asked him what was wrong and he replied that he was still sad about his relationship ending. Suddenly that cool guy that seemed too good for feelings was opening up to me and I realized that he was “human.” I don’t know why I describe it that way but this realization made me want to give him a hug. He was hurting and I wanted to make him feel better. I asked if I could and he said yeah. It was a nice hug and I fit perfectly against his body. From the moment I let go of him, I wanted to know more about him.

We started working the same shifts and flirting a little bit, but nothing more ever happened. We worked great together and made the job seem easy. One Saturday morning, I was talking to my manager about how Diego wasn’t getting the hint that I liked him. Diego was working close by so I knew he could hear me, and looking back now I I think I did said it loud enough on purpose. He walked up to us and said “You know that I can hear you, right?” My manager replied “She is not embarrassed to say that she likes you.” I wasn’t so I looked at him and said “No I am not. I like you, so what are you going to do about that?” Well it couldn’t get more obvious than that. He asked me out to a movie date, and then another date and he asked me to be his girlfriend on November 6, 2008. Needless to say, he was an amazing boyfriend and my senior year was coming out better than I ever expected. We “fell in love the way you fall asleep: slowly then all at once.” He would leave me notes where he knew only I would see. Little hearts and D+E on the counter. He always made sure that I had everything I needed for my shift (complete 180 from a few months back) and helped me out when I was swamped with work. He taught me so much, from how to drive to trusting unconditionally. He was so thoughtful and I was happy to go to work flipping burgers and ringing up orders because I knew he was there.

Sometime around March 2009, he said he was scared that I wanted to go to college up-state since long distance relationships don’t always work out. I still wasn’t notified if I had been accepted to the college I had chosen, so I told him that we should enjoy what we have now and not worry about the future. As the weeks passed, I thought more about our relationship and how special it was. When I was accepted to college up-state, I cried not of happiness but of sadness. I didn’t want to leave, I wanted him.

Fast forward to five years later. We are now both graduates from the wonderful University of Texas-Pan American. We saw each other walk on stage and receive degrees that we know would have been harder to accomplish if we had been away from each other. We outgrew our jobs at Whataburger after 4 years of working there. Yet, we will forever be grateful for that orange and white striped W for bringing us together and being the place where our “whata-love story” began.

We celebrated our 6th year anniversary on November 6th, 2014 at South Padre Island. He proposed to me that weekend during a beautiful horseback riding session on the beach. It was everything I had ever wanted with my family, the love of my life, and my love for horses all wrapped into the one moment where we promise to share the rest of our life together. We had spoken often about getting married, and I yelled “Of course!” when he kneeled in front of me and asked me to marry him. We have grown up together and into each other. We both bring out the best in the other and support each other through the good and the bad. I am so excited to finally marry my best friend and companion for life on March 5th, 2016. This story may not be the “love at first sight” kind but we are going to make it a “happily ever after” kind of story with a “just like you like it” motto.

Erika Esquivel – soon to be Mrs. Diego Garcia