Bob and Louise met later in life—after other marriages and children—and they seem perfect for each other. They’ve made a life together on an alpaca farm outside Santa Fe. They describe it as a busy life, but not a hard life—though the pandemic has stopped the tours of the farm they used to offer, which is economically rough.

I first met Bob and Louise in March 2018 when I was taking a video class at the Santa Fe Workshops. We went out to their alpaca farm every day, and I think we all assumed the story would be about raising alpaca, but even then, we were drawn to Bob and Louise's love story. At that point, Louise was two years into a Stage 4 lung cancer diagnosis that had given her six months to live. I've kept in touch with Bob over the years, but I was always a little fearful of checking in and hearing bad news. Yet every year, Bob has said they were getting by.

When I arrived at the farm I first saw Bob, who strode up to me proclaiming my hair to be much longer and wanting to know if the Indian community was proud of the groundbreaking VP candidate, Kamala Harris. Bob is a talker, and I know how much he thrives on chatting with people—another reason the pandemic is likely difficult. We talked for a bit and visited the alpaca, and then he went to get Louise. He has to help her walk on the uneven ground now, but once she was in with the alpaca, she was happy and clearly in her element. She is now almost five years past her grim prognosis.

I'm not sure if it's the healthy ranch life, their love for each other, or the beautiful animals that surround them every day, but I was so happy to see them still happy and well. Bob looks at his sweet Louise with such love.