SOMETIMES THE BEST LOVE STORIES BEGIN LATER AND ARE WORTH THE WAIT.

Jamaal and Janelle both took winding roads before finding each other. Jamaal, raised in Sacramento, spent the first part of his career serving in the Navy before eventually working for the federal government, and lived in several states. Janelle grew up in Des Moines, Iowa, spent years working in state government before moving into the nonprofit world, and lived in several states and overseas along the way.

By the time they met, both had gathered plenty of life experience, strong opinions, good stories, and a very serious appreciation for food and coffee.

At first glance, they seemed different in all the right ways. One loves the outdoors. One loves comics and sci-fi. One thrives on adventure and documentaries. One loves a good plan. The other is perfectly happy figuring things out along the way. Both love NPR, bookstores, meaningful conversations, discovering new restaurants, and finding joy in even the simplest moments together.

Their first date on September 2nd was… pleasant. Maybe even “pretty decent.” Neither one was convinced there would be a second date. Janelle thought Jamaal seemed kind, intentional, and a gentleman, but she wasn’t quite sure whether there was enough of a connection or eye contact on the first date to make it to a second. Still, she decided if he asked her out again, she’d say yes because the conversation had been interesting and there was something quietly steady about him. Meanwhile, Jamaal thought Janelle was pleasant, intelligent, and very much had her life together. He also described her first impression as “a lioness staring down an unsuspecting gazelle in the Serengeti,” which honestly explained a lot. He wasn’t convinced there would be another date either, especially after hearing Janelle had a friend visiting the following week and would be busy for a month. Thankfully, having PBS NewsHour and Meet the Press on his dating profile may have helped his cause.

Fortunately for both of them, Jamaal redeemed himself on date number two. At the Crocker Art Museum, while listening to a local jazz band, something shifted. Jamaal had chosen the date because he enjoys the Crocker Art Museum, remembered his mom talking about some cool social events there, and he figured there'd also be other things to look at the Crocker, which would take the pressure off of maintaining eye contact. Somewhere between the music, the conversation, and the ease of being together, and an arm around the waist at a certain point in the evening, enough interest sparked for both of them to keep exploring what this could become.

By the third date — wandering through a Midtown food and music festival together — things began to feel different. They stumbled across a local band named Jon Wilde and spent the afternoon discovering his music and the simple joy of experiencing new things together. Without realizing it at the time, Jon Wilde quietly became the soundtrack to the beginning of their love story.

As the relationship grew, Midtown Sacramento became its own character in the story. Long walks to dinner. Afternoon and late-night strolls. Coffee runs. Bookstores. Corner store adventures. Discovering tiny hidden gems in Midtown and Downtown. Jamaal remained perpetually on high alert for whatever Midtown unpredictability might unfold around them, while Janelle mostly found amusement in his constant situational awareness. During this season, Jamaal and Zoey also became regular walking buddies — and Zoey quickly formed some very strong opinions about Jamaal and tried to claim him as her own.

One especially memorable day came on October 11th during a trip to Casino Mine Ranch Winery with Zoey in tow. Somewhere between drinking wine, holding hands, and talking for hours, both realized they were surprisingly compatible — not just in interests, but in the way they genuinely loved simply being together.

For Janelle, there was a quiet moment sitting together at the winery when she suddenly thought, “I think I could enjoy spending more time with this man.” It felt easy. Natural. Like things fit together in all the best ways.

For Jamaal, at a particular moment on the drive to BBQ afterward, he realized, “this girl is pretty awesome.” In fact, this was also the day he first thought, “I could marry this gal.” Zoey apparently reached the same conclusion and remains fairly convinced to this day that Jamaal is actually her boyfriend. Jamaal suspects Zoey’s long-term agenda may involve world domination.

As the weeks went on, Jamaal continued his intentional pursuit of getting to know Janelle. On October 28th, Jamaal planned a date to attend Immigrant Story Night at Sacramento State — another moment where it became clear they shared not only interests, but values. Early in the relationship, they discovered they both loved talking about current events, justice, people, faith, community, and how the world could be better. More than once, a simple drive home turned into sitting in a parked car for long stretches of time, completely lost in conversation.

Their first Thanksgiving came along and what had been a slow burn of getting to know each other sparked, and it was becoming obvious this relationship was becoming something significant.

Then came Carmel.

On November 28th, during a trip to Carmel-by-the-Sea, Jamaal and Janelle officially became boyfriend and girlfriend. Jamaal initially floated the term “special friend,” which Janelle very quickly vetoed. No, they would not be “special friends.” Boyfriend and girlfriend would do just fine. The trip marked two important milestones: making things official and discovering they genuinely traveled very well together — an underrated but deeply important relationship skill.

Not long afterward, Christmas brought an unexpected clarity. Spending time apart during the holidays made both realize they truly did not enjoy being separated for very long. The absence didn’t create uncertainty; it created certainty. They missed each other deeply and realized how much joy, comfort, and peace they had found together. Around that same time, the words from Jon Wilde’s song “Home Is You” quietly became part of their story after Jamaal sent Janelle a clip of the song:

“Cause home is you…

Home ain't a house that's built for two

Baby, you're the whole view

You're the windows and the warmth in my living room

And as long as you let me, I'd like to live here too

Cause home is you

It's true”

Because by then, home had already started to feel a lot like each other.

By the end of February, Jamaal and Janelle traveled to Iowa to surprise Janelle’s parents, meet them in person, and so Jamaal could ask for their blessing to marry her.

Not long afterward, Jamaal carefully made plans to propose during a fancy dinner at the elegant Waterboy restaurant. But shortly before the reservation, Janelle unexpectedly became sick and they had to miss dinner altogether. Unfortunately for fate, Jamaal had already decided this was the day to get engaged. And when Jamaal gets an idea in his head, he tends to find a way to make it happen. So instead, in the quiet of Janelle’s Midtown apartment, Jamaal sat down on the edge of the bed, since she was resting from not feeling well, and spoke the most heartfelt, caring words that left both of them in tears. Janelle said, Yes, of course, I will marry you. Then she said her own heartfelt words back.

They were engaged on Friday, March 13th. Dun Duh DUHHHHN. For the couple, it was the luckiest day of all.

A few weeks later, during a casual stroll through Midtown, they happened to walk past Waterboy and finally enjoyed the delicious engagement dinner they were supposed to have all along.

From the beginning, what made this relationship feel different was the intentionality. The conversations. The partnership. The shared understanding that love should feel equal, safe, supportive, joyful, and deeply known. They discovered they not only complemented each other well — they genuinely became better together.

Jamaal brings out Janelle’s soft, cuddly, hopelessly romantic side. Janelle brings Jamaal (a social Punxsutawney Phil) out into the world a little more, since left entirely to his own devices he would happily introvert forever.

Janelle loves Jamaal’s quick wit, his fierce loyalty, his protectiveness toward the people he loves, and his truly elite-level commitment to researching food — particularly gluten-free restaurants now that Janelle is in his life, which has worked out extraordinarily well for her.

Jamaal loves Janelle’s deep sense of justice, her compassion for vulnerable people, and her dedication to serving those whose voices often go unheard.

And through all of it — the conversations, Midtown walks, bookstore visits, NPR discussions, jazz music, Carmel trips, Jon Wilde concerts, and countless shared meals — one thing became undeniably clear: Since saying “I love you,” neither of them has doubted for a single moment that they found their person, their forever best friend, and the love of their life.

(Sorry, Zoey. He’s taken.)