I met Amy waiting in line at Amherst Coffee. It was a slow burn. We admired each other's... whatever it was... more friendly each time. We spotted each other at the first Amherst Block Party circa 2011 outside the former Chez Albert (RIP) and chatted and sipped wine and skirted around post-honeymoon married life and finally exchanged numbers. I wish I could remember why I put her contact in my phone as Amy "Love" but it stayed that way until this day. We quickly began planning dinners together, walks in the woods, doing yoga, drinking only the best wine and dancing endlessly in our kitchen until the wee hours.

She would show up at our house with all her own veggies and sausage and water bottles and wine. She didn't dare share sips or eat sushi, and had to have her meat well done. I never thought all that much of it. She had Lyme disease and struggled with lingering and insidious symptoms that plagued her. It never seemed to stop her. She fought through it all, only sharing the most peripheral details of her struggles. We carried on like this for years, over a decade, hugging and dancing through all that life brings... divorces, diseases, even deaths of mutual loved ones.

Realtor rockstar that she was, Amy made it possible for us to sell our little starter house and buy our dream fixer upper and never judged us for buying a house that needed endless upgrades, despite her love of all things refined. We trusted her. We loved her. She was a staple in our home.

And then, COVID, kids and more fucking Lyme. Things slipped. Our time waned. We texted and told each other how much we wanted to visit... but it happened too seldom. She held our first child the first week he was born, but as time passed, I let too much go. I will never forgive myself for that. She was a warrior, but everyone has a breaking point and I didn't see it coming. I am devastated to lose my beautiful fierce friend to the pain of this world and the suffering she endured with late-stage Lyme. Amy Rose Love, thank you for all the joy you gave us. You will not be forgotten. This sultry dance mix is for you, sweet stunning one.

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