You know that classic moment in weddings when the officiant asks if anyone objects? Most people sit in polite silence. My mother? She took it as her spotlight moment—and used it to try and obliterate my marriage before it even began. What she didn’t expect? My fiancé’s mic-drop response that turned the entire ceremony on its head.

I met Brian late one night on the metro after a soul-draining 12-hour shift at the hospital. I was half-asleep, feet sore, when I noticed a man across from me—totally immersed in a battered copy of The Great Gatsby. Worn sneakers, faded hoodie, completely oblivious to the world.