Alright, I’m not an overly romantic person. I mean I have a lot of romantic thoughts and things that I would like to do, but they don’t normally happen. I’m a generally evenly keeled caring type of guy so, when it came to the proposal, I kind of had the upper hand. I’ll admit I was facing some uphill battles with the whole proposal thing being that one we designed the ring so there goes that surprise, two she knew I had the ring so there goes another surprise. I mean as far as guy on a limb stuff goes that’s pretty steep odds.

Oddly enough things began to look up. With the amount of time that we were in possession of the ring she had began to think that the proposal just wasn’t going to happen (strange plus for me). I could tell throughout the week that here spirits were slowly coming down. The excitement of having it slowly turning, stewing, giving way to the frustration of being bound to the house because I hadn’t officially given it to her yet...Cinderella anyone.

Let me say props to Jacari…(golf clap). I don’t think there’s anything that I’ve asked of him that he hasn’t come through for me on, and boy did he with this one. I explained what I had in mind and he ran with it. All I said was I wanted to surprise her at work. Truthfully the office provided the perfect backdrop of drama for the ambush.

Uncharacteristically I had taken off from work in order to spring the trap at the perfect time. Although the original plan was to catch her on a Friday and invite a select few friends to the “unfortunate” office meeting of which she would be forced to come in and work, it would have taken too much background work and honestly the involvement of friends like J and Halo really made it so much better.

I left for the day like I normally would for work. It was a Friday so I had on jeans and a tee, extremely inconspicuous and sneaky too. I even stayed away from the house until I knew that she was gone. A couple hours after she had gone and made it to work a simple text asking how the day was going confirmed that she was indeed gone from the house (she wasn’t feeling well earlier that week), and two I would have the added benefit of making her day.

Once again thanks to the moxie family, by the time I got there they had already decorated. I simply brought the plates, cake, napkins, and all that other mushy stuff that girls like. Fresh strawberries and the cake had whipped icing …some finishing touches to the master plan. There were a few questions about my state of mind and whether I was nervous or not. I already knew the outcome of this so no nervousness. I was just taking in as much of the moment as possible.

There was no slowing of time, but there was a small stillness right before she came in. I watched the plot unfold and the wave of emotions sweep over her face. First there was disdain for the meeting that she was to attend as she was feverishly trying to make her exit from the evil dungeon. Next there was shock from the unexpected; the one thing out of place … me. Lastly there was the realization of what was happening that, the first part of the dream was coming true, and that all she had to do was say yes.

I had been having some struggles earlier that week and was feeling a bit defeated. Anthony as usual was there with a smile and a hug. To top it off I had not been feeling well and had gone home early the day before. Anthony being the sweet heart that he is called and checked in on me. Asking how I was feeling and that if I decided to leave early to give him a call and let him know. Of course none of this seemed odd since he is always interested in me and how I'm doing. So I pressed on giving my love for his concern and getting back to work.

Friend and co-worker Jacari (Jaguar...whole other story) Witchard came in that morning and said we should do lunch. I was glad for the upcoming distraction and waited for the hours to pass for a much needed break with a friend.

Around 1130 Jacari comes into my office and is chatting casually as we so often do and said that he invited another co-worker. He seemed weird, flustered and distracted but I didn't think anything of it...at the time. He said we would be leaving soon and then left. Uhm ok!

Jacari came back a few minutes later ready to go to lunch and then said it would just be us. I was planning on asking him about the roster change on our way out. I grabbed the essentials and started to head out the door when...the phone rang. It was the small conference room! I hate to admit it (no I don't) but I was dodging work and was afraid the call would require me to stay. So I asked Jacari if I should answer. He said NO! My response was "OK, let's go". I was then reprimanded and told that my actions were very irresponsible. Hahah. Unfortunately, this took too long and I missed the call.

As we laughed about it, we proceeded to head to the small conference room to ensure it was not a major issue. Along the way I met up with yet another long time friend and co-worker Heather (Halo) Friedman. She stopped us in the hallway stating she was happy she caught me. She was speaking so quickly I only was able to understand Work Process meeting, follow-up, and Chris. That was enough to explain she wanted to chat briefly. So I followed her to the small conference room....

As I walked in behind her I first noticed that the lights were slightly dim and that there were other people there; people that didn't make sense according to her explanation, and what the heck is on the walls? I continued in this 1/2 second to visually take in the room and as the door closed Anthony was there standing behind it. We met eyes and ... I SCREAMED!

I knew that this could be only one thing at this point and I was so shocked that I was caught so off guard. I proceeded to call everyone in the room a turd. Hahah Anthony got down on one knee and proposed that we spend the rest of our lives together. I barely took a breath before I gave a nearly inaudible YES! to my first and one true love!