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12 Years Married. 15 Years Together.

Torrence played the game real smooth like. 

I was 21 when I first met him. MySpace was the Gram at the time. Your song choice for your page was just as important as your song for your reel. Your page layout told everyone that visited your page everything they needed to know about you. 

Torrence would come to the restaurant every Tuesday with some friends. I happened to serve them every time they came in. So much so, they just became “my boys”. They ordered the same thing and sat at the same table every time they came in. Torrence ordered 10 BBQ wings, all drums. Apparently it was my smile and my figure that had him crushin’. We became MySpace friends, sent messages here and there, but I wasn’t checking for him in that way at the time. He made me laugh when he would come in, but me not paying attention, thought he was just being silly along with his friends. I had no idea he was just waiting for the right time to shoot his shot… which was about 4 months later. He came in, only with Mike, and he asked me what I was doing for Valentine’s Day, which was the next day. His exact words, “Well, you don’t have a date. I don’t have a date and we gotta eat.” I said, “That’s true” and we’ve been together ever since.

Fast forward to May 2009, we were in a terrible car accident that left me pretty beat up. So much so, the paramedics had to use the jaws of life to get me out of the car and I was airlifted to the hospital. My pelvis was broken in three places, my tailbone was fractured, and some head trauma. I almost died three times, in the car, in the air, and in surgery. They placed a metal bar across my hip, called an external fixator,  to stabilize my broken pelvis. I couldn’t walk. I was in a wheelchair for a couple of months. I had to use a transfer board to move from surface to surface. I couldn’t do anything for myself. That was certainly one of the hardest times of my life. Torrence was right there through it all. He took care of me. He was so patient and so kind to me. He comforted me and he supported me. In September, he loaded me into the car so we could go get some ice cream. When he came back to the car with our cones, there was an engagement ring on top of my pralines and cream ice cream cone. 

We moved to Macon, GA after we were married. I went back to school for my college degree, got pregnant with Charlie, and I graduated with my Bachelors in Fine Art. We made some priceless memories during the 7 years we lived in Macon. We learned and discovered a lot about each other as well as individuals. We were building our life to what it is now. 

We moved back to Atlanta after I graduated college and it only got better for us. I turned my love of photography into a successful business, we bought our first home, and now we’ve added Evie Joy to the family. We didn’t know we needed her until we had her. Charlie and Evie bring a special kind of light to our marriage.

It is impossible to fit 15 years into a few paragraphs. Just know, the memories are endless. Torrence and I share such a special and unique bond. He makes me laugh. He encourages me at every turn. He believes in me. He makes me feel wanted and desired and loved. This life we have created together thus far is nothing I could have done alone. Torrence is good and true. He proves his love everyday. He works hard and he is a man that takes pride in taking care of his family. It is truly an honor and privilege to be his wife. 

Erica J. Simmons