“Just bought the ring…I hope you love it.”
“…Please say yes.”
-Joe
Tuesday, December 15, 2009 – 7:57 p.m.
Story told by Tisha
Sunday, December 13, 2009 – 48 °F
I was just getting to the final stages of a horrible sinus cold that had me bedridden and sick for days by now. This particular day, Joe and I were discussing our upcoming New Years Eve trip to Miami’s South Beach with some friends. J explained that due to finances, we would have to wait another time to travel. Coming close to Christmas, I assumed it was for gifts for friends and family. On the other hand, being the inquisitive young lady that I am, a vague answer is bound to make me over think! “Give up a trip to spend NYE with my honey on Ocean Drive and friends…with NO EXPLANATION?!”, I thought. Oh no…I wanted answers!
By now I’m racking my brain about what he had up his sleeve. “What could it be? This doesn’t sound right.” I took me a while, but I figured it out: A down payment on a house!! What else could it have been?! He has a frat brother that’s a real estate agent, plus J and I had been discussing the home buying market quite a bit and dabbling in researching a few. It was perfect! Once I told him I figured it out, the only thing he could do was smile. I love surprises, but it’s also hard to surprise me.
Little did I know he had a SURPRISE, alright
Later that afternoon, he suggests we make a run IKEA for ideas, and while were there, decided to focus on some entertainment centers and such for his new house.
We grabbed brochures, took photos, measured, and exchanged ideas. I was looking forward to seeing this “gift” he’d invested in. He told me to keep Thursday evening clear, because he had an appointment to go see the house he was buying. I was TOO excited!
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Tuesday, December 15, 2009 – 43 °F
Tuesday, December 15 was a BAD day for me at work. Terrible. I had a lot of things going on at work, not to mention the work year was ending and it seemed like my work load had doubled. To make things worse, the more agitated I became, the worse I felt with getting over the sinus cold. Earlier that day, about 1pm, I’d stepped out to call Joe; I needed to cry. I was feeling overwhelmed with some work issues and I had to take a moment and vent. Being the shoulder I needed (as always), he gave me some encouraging words and assurance to get through the rest of the day. With red eyes, I wiped my tears (and nose) and walked back into work.
After work, I was in the mood for some retail therapy, which always makes a bad day a little more bearable to get through. Plus, Joe wasn’t off for another two hours, so I didn’t want to go home to be alone and think about the day. I called Joe to let him know where I was and that I would call him when I left. Then, off I went to shop.
I must have lost track of time because Joe called me back…two hours later! I was (honestly) walking out the door of the store to my car. He said he was just leaving work and suggested sushi downtown, but he had to stop by the mall first to pick up a tuxedo shirt for the Atlanta Mayor’s Masked Ball we were invited to. I suggested I’d go to my house and he could just swing by and pick me up on the way to the mall, we could pick up his shirt, and we could go to dinner. He agreed and said he’d be there shortly.
FOURTY FIVE minutes later – no Joe. No call or text. Now, I know J and for him not to show up on time or call was out of the ordinary. I called him just to make sure everything was ok. The first thing he says “Uh, babe, I know I’m taking long, I’m leaving the mall right now.“ Now mind you he JUST said he was coming to get me, and he went to the mall without me! Whatever. I let it slide because I was hungry and waited for him to come my way.
Once he got to my house (and I had eaten all the tortilla chips I had out of starvation), I sent him a text to tell him I’d meet him downstairs so he wouldn’t have to come up. ”No! I have to bring some stuff upstairs! Don’t come down“, he insisted.
*blank stare*
O-K. So I just told him I’d wait (but trust and believe the hunger pains were starting to kick in). When I let him in, he had a surprise for me…
The new CD by Alicia Keys that had just come out that day!!!!! I am the BIGGEST A. Keys fan! I ♥ her music and we have the same birthday!! This definitely was worth the wait! I knew he was doing something behind my back and he wanted to give me something to make me feel better. :) So we bundled up and headed out to dinner.
As we headed downstairs, I told him I wanted to go in to grab my gloves since it was really cold, but he insisted (twice) that I wouldn’t need them…
Heading down I-75, we passed the West Paces Ferry exit and he tells me that we just passed the exit to the house! WHAT?! I BEGGED (like a fat kid begging for candy) for him to turn around and go back. I wanted to see the house, the neighborhood, what he had chosen (WITHOUT ME). He just gave me a smile and I told him on the way back from dinner, we were going to stop by. Inside, I am THRILLED…I am EXCITED!! I know he said wait until Thursday, but I couldn’t help myself. I was thrilled with emotion.
By now, we’re downtown and we usually go to Atlantic Station’s Strip for sushi, but he didn’t make the usual right turn off the exit. Instead he made a left. So I asked him where we were going. He says, “Shout!” With a smile, I start reminiscing about Piedmont Park on my birthday, his dinner invite, and laughing that we weren’t going to count that as a real “date”. He said the reservations were at 8:30. It was 7:40 pm so he said we’d go kill some time until then. Wondering why he made reservations for a Tuesday, during the week, I just sat back and enjoyed the ride.
We made a left on 10th street and then another left into a neighborhood of homes. Driving down that street, we come to a dead end. He reverses his Corvette and parks on the side of the street. He turns off the car, looks at me and says he wants to take a walk. In the back of my mind, I thought he was crazy! There was all of ONE street light lit on that road and it was dark heading down the sidewalk. However, I always feel safe with J, so I bundled close to him, held his hand super tight, and prayed no one would come and rob or kill us.
As we walked further along, I started to recognize the area. It was Piedmont Park. He said that he’d forgotten how nice it was to get some fresh air, but I’m still hung up on the fact that it was dark (and don’t forget, still hungry). Remembering the day I’d had, I just continued to enjoy the moment. There wasn’t a soul there, just the two of us. We walked until we found the bench we met at on my birthday by the lake, with the Atlanta skyline to light the night sky.
So J told me he knew it was cold, so he wouldn’t have us out there too long. He told me that he loved me, but he had some bad news. ”Great. Add to the horrible day”, I thought. He took out his iPhone to text someone, then proceeded to explain. He said that a contract didn’t go through and he wasn’t able to get the house. He had been working out some things with his frat brother, but it fell through at the last minute. Big blow, but I told him not to worry about it. Another one would come around. Then he tells me to stand up. Confused and asking why (because I was just starting to warm up), I did it anyway. He faced me, grabbed both of my hands, takes a deep breath, then says,
“Ok, I’m gonna stop and be honest with you. I’ve been lying to you.“
With a furrowed brow and not the set of words I wanted to hear, I asked him what he was lying about and why. He explained that there was no house and never one to begin with. He was just pulling my chain. However, he also explained that when I took him to Florida for Thanksgiving, he’d had a hidden agenda. Not sure how this was all tying together, I just look at him. With a raised brow, I waited for the explanation so I could push him into the lake, if necessary. He told me he loved me. I told him the same, but I wanted my explanation.
He explained that he had a long conversation with my dad about my hand in marriage. Calming down, I thought that was sweet. He said the conversation went very well and in the end, he gave him blessing. I thought it was great! J and I had talked marriage before, so this was no surprise. I knew my family approved of him. Then he explained that it was okay for my dad to tell my mom.
WHAT?!
So my mom knew about this conversation for over 2 weeks and didn’t tell me?! This was a first! Still not knowing what he was getting ready to do, I just said, “that’s great!” He told me he loved me, again. With wide eyes, I said OK-I-Love-You-Too-Again. I felt like he was beating around the bush and didn’t understand what the point of all this was.
8:00 pm
So he says, “Yeah, I love you, and I really mean it this time.” I’m thinking, “mean what?” He goes into his left peacoat pocket and takes out a crimson box and opens it. I look down, paused, then gasped and thought…
“OMG! This is NOT key or a ring pop! This looks real!”
Getting down on one knee and vulnerable eyes, he says,
“I love you, you are the one for me, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me?”
With a beaming smile and in awe, I said,
“Yes!”
I could not believe what had just happened! You dream and wonder what the day would be like or how you would feel when it happened, but never did I expect it to feel this good! With hugs, kisses, and a billion tears, he looks at me and says,
“Did you say yes?!”
With a loud laugh, I shouted,
“Yes! A thousand times, Yes!”
After that, we left. He also told me that an email was coming to me. He’d kept a journal of events, from the moment he knew that he was serious about spending his life with me to the very moment he bought the ring.
The “text” I thought he was sending was the last journal entry. It said,
“Please say yes…”
From that moment, we walked back to his car, and headed to Shout! for dinner.
I cried with happiness as I called my family and my friends to tell them the news. J had secretly told majority of my friends and they were extremely happy for us!
At dinner, I ordered the sushi and he ordered the pizza, just like my birthday.
We toasted to life, love, and the new beginnings to life.
Later that week, I took another photo to share, after getting my nails done, of course!
