He volunteered with a group that repaired medical equipment for small community clinics.
Naomi found him standing beside a coffee table trying unsuccessfully to fix a presentation screen.
She laughed.
"You're supposed to be an engineer."
David looked up.
"I am."
"Then why isn't it working?"
He smiled.
"Because somebody unplugged it."
Naomi looked toward the power cord.
Then began laughing.
They talked for nearly an hour.
By the end of the evening, David had asked whether he could take her to dinner.
Naomi agreed.
Amanda insisted on meeting him before the second date.
David thought she was joking.
She wasn't.
They met at a café.
Amanda arrived wearing athletic clothes and carrying a gym bag.
David stood politely.
She looked him up and down.
"So you're the engineer."
He smiled.
"Apparently."
Amanda folded her arms.
"You good to my friend?"
David nodded.
"That's the plan."
She raised an eyebrow.
"Plans can change."
He laughed.
"Then I'll make sure this one doesn't."
Naomi covered her face.
"Oh my God, Amanda."
But Amanda was smiling.
She liked him immediately.
David was kind without pretending to be impressive.
He listened.
He treated Naomi's opinions seriously.
And he understood that her friendship with Amanda was not something he needed to compete against.
Three years later, when David proposed, Amanda was the first person Naomi called.
And when they married, Amanda stood beside Naomi as her maid of honor.
Their marriage was comfortable rather than glamorous.
They purchased a modest home outside Richmond.
Naomi continued her work.
David managed electrical projects for hospitals and clinics.
They adopted a rescue dog.
Planted flowers beside the porch.
And spent Sunday mornings cooking breakfast together.
They talked about children.
But becoming pregnant took longer than expected.
The first year passed.
Then the second.
Naomi began wondering whether something was wrong.
Medical appointments followed.
Tests.
Waiting.
And conversations that left both of them exhausted.
David never blamed her.
When Naomi cried after another disappointing month, he sat beside her and held her.
"We're still a family."
She looked up.
"But I want to give you a baby."
He shook his head gently.
"I married you."
She began crying harder.
He continued.
"I didn't marry a promise that we'd have children. I married you."
Those words became something Naomi returned to during difficult days.
Eventually, after careful medical guidance and a long period of uncertainty, she became pregnant.