I always knew I was chosen for the vocation of marriage. Since I was in middle school, I prayed for the woman who I would have the honor to call wife.

I had the option of staying at my middle school for 8th grade, or going on to get a "head start" at my chosen high school instead. I opted to get that head start at my new high school (partly because I hated my middle school even though I went on to teach there years later). My best friend at the time, Taylor, opted to remain a big fish in a small pond and stay at our middle school for 8th grade.

I transferred high schools halfway through my first year because I was being bullied on a daily basis. My best friend Taylor thought I was still attending the school I had left for in 8th grade year. When he arrived at that very same high school for the 9th grade, to his surprise I was no longer a student there.

And that was the last I really saw of Taylor for years. We hung out once in a blue moon and mulled together over the occasional existential question, but beyond that we had become distant.

My best friend became my Nanu (my Italian grandpa). Nanu and I bonded after I popped out the womb - there remains a picture of him holding me as a wee babe as proof of that fact. My grandpa and I would go see a movie almost every weekend, even if we ran out of blockbusters and all that was left were the dregs - Nanu and I didn't care. It wasn't about the movie itself, but the act of going to get popcorn, going to eat afterward at Olive Garden, and just spending as much time as we could together.

During the summer of my pre-senior year of high school, Taylor invited me to chill with his family on a beach trip. We bonded over nerdy games, a "mai tai mellon ball" crafted by his chef uncle, and the dankest of memes. His family rocked, too. It was a great trip that I'll never forget.

That's how Taylor and I became buds again. It was gradual, but with our newly baptized friendship and the fact that we were now high school seniors, we were like two unstoppable meteors whose only possible trajectory was the freakin' sun. Our futures were bright, and we would never look back. As I prayed over the years about marriage, Taylor always came to my mind as the man who I would want to be a witness to my wife and I before the Lord.

Eventually, I met the love of my life, Flora. Praying for her for so many years, I knew she'd always be better than I could imagine. I was right. She makes me want to be a good person - to go to Heaven and to lead others there too. One day, Nanu took my now fiance' Flora and I to see "Patriots Day" at the movies. Here, my two greatest worlds collided - Nanu and Flora. It was one of the greatest days ever. I knew then that I would ask Nanu to be my best man when the time came.

Then, Nanu, my best friend of 23 years, died. He left us peacefully - the last words I remember him saying as his family crowded around him were "what a nice perfect day." Damn, I love that man. He always made me think of those actors who played badass characters, like Harrison Ford and John Wayne, but more handsome.

Taylor will be there as my best man on my wedding day, and I couldn't be happier. I'll never forget his courage and love as he stands beside me in support during the greatest day of my life. And Nanu will be there, too - he left me his wedding ring. Taylor and Nanu - these are the kind of men our world needs. Good men, who exemplify the light of Christ through actions of love in their lives. Men who aren't afraid to be men, to love, and to lead lives for their loved ones. I aspire to be like them. I'll take with me their golden models of manhood as I step into the realm of marriage with the love of my life.