At Last

The night we met, At Last by Etta James played overhead.

We were at Mellow Mushroom, having dinner and getting to know each other. When that song came on, something about it felt too perfect. We both noticed. I guess to other's it was background noise, but to me it felt like a moment. Almost like it was saying what we hadn’t yet: At last, my love has finally come along.

That night stayed with us. The more time we spent together, the more that song meant something. When I moved in, I found an old cassette tape while unpacking. It was labeled At Last by Etta James. I hadn’t seen a cassette in years, but there it was. That same song again, quietly showing up like it was supposed to be there.

Later, when we bought our first house together, we named the house “At Last.” We made a small wooden sign and hung it near the front steps. Every time I walked through that door, I felt the same quiet certainty I had in the restaurant that first night. Like everything had landed where it was meant to.

On our wedding day, we danced to At Last. Choosing that song felt natural, and the only choice. That song had been part of every step in our story. It was about this love, this timing, everything that had to happen before we met, and everything that fell into place after.

That’s what this song means to me. It connects all of the moments, the first date, the move, the house, the wedding. Every time it played, the timing felt right.

When I hear the song now 20 years later, I remember that night and everything that followed. It takes me back to that restaurant, the cassette I found, and our first dance.

Check out Annie Kapur's Sing Us the Song of the Century an Unofficial Challenge below.