She loved him because she'd never met anyone like him. Despite everything he went through he was still loving and kind. He cared about her when he didn't have too. He cared about her family because he could, and that was the end of that. There was no ulterior motive or want. He was just a good person.

When Billy Hauptman stood her up, Mike went and bought her a snickers bar, her favorite candy bar. He sat through movie after movie until she fell asleep on the couch. She woke up the next morning in her own bed, her shoes off and placed neatly by the closet door.

When she showed up at his dorm with a bruised eye and a fat lip, he instantly pulled her into a hug. He gave her a hot chocolate and asked her what happened. The next day the boy that hit her wouldn't meet her eye. While she never found out for sure, she's sure that Mike had something to do with it.

When she graduated college he was the first person to sweep her up into a hug. He congratulated her as if his own graduation meant nothing. He kissed her cheek and spun her around.

When people stopped her and asked her what it was like to have her parents adopt a big black man, she rolled her eyes. She told them he was her brother and in the end, that was all that mattered.