Like any great story, we met at work! It was a sunny afternoon, the office was busy, and out of no where, I hear my friend say "Who is that?" Like any good friend, I did the immediate, don't look now, and watched Clayton walk across the room. I continued to watch as he walked around the department and thought to myself, who is he, why haven't I seen him before, he's cute. As he continued walking through the department, I noticed he was looking for someone or something, so I offered to help. In a very calm, cool tone the words "I'm good" slipped out, and in an fiery annoyance, I told him to get out of my department. The rest is history!

How to put this moment into words, is difficult, but here goes nothing… It was a Monday afternoon, we were off work due to the holiday weekend, and Clayton wanted to enjoy the summer weather on a motorcycle rider, however, I had to run errands and prep for the week ahead. We decided to split and conquer so we could relax and enjoy the sunset. Little did I know what was about to happen. I had returned from running errands and decided to clean my car. Almost halfway through, I heard the motorcycle coming down the road, looked up, and watched as Clayton pulled into the driveway. He hops off the bike, smiles, says hey, and runs inside. I just chalked it up to him needing to use the bathroom and continued washing the car. He comes back outside and starts to tell me about his ride – very normal and I picked up a few words that drew my attention. He had a close call; another vehicle crossed the line inside a curve and almost hit him. It shook him up, I could tell he was unsettled about the event and tried to calm his nerves. Putting the final touches on the car, I hear Clayton’s voice shake, and as I begin looking up in his direction, I heard the sweetest words leave his lips, “Amanda Jean Clarke I don’t want to do life without, will you marry me?” A wave of emotions hit me at once, stunning me from speaking the word Yes, until finally, I was able to squeeze it out in-between tears.