On paper, Pete and Valentina are perfect for each other. Their friends used 'soulmates' when describing them and at one point they were. As they reflect on the last five years of their relationship, they try to understand the complexity of their lov...
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"Hey there! Are you Valentina Perez?" a woman with long dark brown hair asked.
Valentina looked up from her phone to meet the gaze of a stunning woman. Her high cheek bones complimented her square visage, and her thick eyebrows framed her face perfectly. She wore a striped, blue shirt combined with black pants and a purple belt.
"That's me," Valentina confirmed. "And you're Annamarie Tendler?" Val stood up and extended her hand out.
It caught Anna by surprise, you don't really see a lot of people Val's age shaking hands, not in New York at least. Nevertheless, she accepted the handshake and answered, "Technically it's Annamarie Tendler-Mulaney now. But I'd prefer if you just call me Anna."
The younger woman excitedly clapped for her newly made acquaintance, "That's amazing! Congratulations!"
"Thank you!" Anna giggled at Val's reaction to her tying the knot. "Well, it's nice to meet you. I'm here to take your head shots. I'm actually quite glad that you chose the park because there's a place nearby that I think is perfect for pictures," Anna pointed to the left.
In the distance, the women saw a building with white walls lined with windows.
"Of course, you're the professional here," the dancer said as they start walking over to their backdrop.
"Haha, I wouldn't go that far to call myself that. It's just a hobby I decided to pick up one day. I started off by taking pictures around the city and post them on Instagram. John, my husband, said I should extend my services out and here I am doing that," Anna explained.
"It's so cool that turned your hobby into a business. I mean, you're making money moves. That my dear Anna is called genius thinking," Valentina joked, earning a hearty chuckle from the Jewish woman.
"You're funny. Y'know, even though we just met, I love how easy it is to talk you. It feels like we're old friends," when Anna said that, it filled Valentina's heart with joy.
Growing up, Val didn't have many friends; being extremely soft-spoken and introverted, she had a hard time making other friends. Though not everyone saw it that way- she was the weird quiet girl obsessed with Harry Potter and ballet.
Even at twenty-two, she found it hard to connect with her co-workers. For a long time, she was alone in New York until Mateo showed up one day at her doorstep. And while he was a loyal friend to her for most of her life, there are times that she longed for a friend who was girl. She wanted to take part in talking about how awful period cramps are or asking if the skirt she found looks cute, things that Mateo doesn't relate to no matter how hard he tries.
Valentina began to think that this is the start of a beautiful friendship and Anna thought the same as well. Once at they reached the white building, Anna described her vision for the pictures and how she wanted Val to be positioned. Pulling out her camera, Anna began to take photos of the young dancer.
