The next year was spent planning our wedding and getting used to living together. My family made their move to Texas and I moved into Kyle’s parents’ house with him while we saved for our first apartment. Those few months sharing his childhood bedroom were some of the most trying of our relationship with many, many arguments, but somehow we managed to survive and, on August 20, 2004, we were married.
That first year of marriage flew by in a blur. We were both working full time, me in real estate and him at a local warehouse. He was still a full-time college student working towards becoming a history teacher. It’s funny to think about those days when our only responsibilities were rent and our pet bird, Napoleon, that Kyle had bought me our first Christmas (we lived in an apartment and couldn’t have any other pets).
Shortly before our second wedding anniversary, Kyle dropped a huge bomb on me. He told me he decided to drop out of school and pursue a career in law enforcement! He had never expressed an interest in LE before so to say I was surprised would be an understatement, but there was nothing I could do to change his mind. Kyle wasn’t the type to do anything without fully weighing all options and possible outcomes. And once he decided to do something, he followed through! After surviving (barely) the 6-month police academy and finishing his degree, at 22 only years old he was sworn in with the Alameda County Sherriff’s Office on December 28th 2005. I was now a very proud Deputy Wife.
In those early days, we had everything we needed. We were getting our footing on the whole young and married life, starting our careers, and balancing our work, friends, and each other. Our world came to a screeching halt about a week after he graduated when I got the devastating news my mother had passed away. We immediately jumped on a plane to Texas – it was Kyle’s first time ever flying – and arrived at my family’s home in the very early morning. When we lay down to get some sleep, I rolled over and looked at Kyle and told him I needed to take my baby sister home with me.
You see, I am the oldest of six kids, five of whom were adopted by my parents; I am the only biological child. My dad died suddenly when I was 9 years old so my mom had raised us on her own. When my mom died, all my siblings were old enough to be on their own except for Destani (Dest), who was only 5 years old at the time.
