(To see Part III, click here)

(To see Part IV, click here)

After weeks of late-night calls and soft, thoughtful texts, I came to know the mystery woman as something enduring. Nothing had ever truly been lost.

As I stepped onto the bricked walkway outside the Sweet Paris Crêperie & Café, I saw her waiting for me… almost bracing against the air. When she recognized me, her shoulders softened. She slipped her hands into her pockets, her thumbs catching just outside.

“Hello!” she said anxiously.

“Hi,” I said, “It’s nice to finally meet you.”

“You as well” she said.

We traded smiles, while I noticed the breeze lifting her hair just slightly.

“My drive to Houston was so much fun.” I said laughingly.

“Oh yeah?” she said, snickering.

“Yeah, it was pretty awesome…” I chuckled. “I saw so much! Texas is HUGE.”

I opened the door for her, and as we walked inside, the sound of cars strolling along the cobblestone road in front of the building, faded into the faint sound of chatter flowing from the marbled tables of the crêperie. The smell of powdered sugar filled the air, while we stood there for a moment, gazing at the soft chalk menu above the extended checkout counter that had partitioned one-fourth of the restaurant.

“I’ll have the Nutella crêpe with bananas, and a water please.” she said.

“I think I’ll have the same, but with strawberries.” I spoke.

“That one’s really good too.” she said smiling.

As we talked more, I learned that Karen was not just any school teacher, but possibly one of the best. Her passion for helping “her kids,” as she preferred calling them, was deeply inspiring. That is to say, I noticed she had such a kind, hands-on, present tense sort of love that couldn’t be faked.

Our first date became the start of “The Enlightening Tales of Buddy Boy,” a story born from her passion for one child in particular (a boy that others had labeled a troublemaker). I was drawn to every word she said, and to her mission.

On the second date, I noticed our symmetry, how, without planning, we had chosen the same-style-and-colored clothes. That afternoon, with sunlight beaming through the open windows of the ramen shop, for the first time in my life it truly felt as if God was watching. And when we kissed for the first time, I was reminded of a future I hadn’t yet lived.