First comes roommate then comes marriage

On the Monday leading up to Halloween weekend, I made ‘The Call’ to Konrad Steffen. Anyone who’s made this call will tell you it's a nerve-racking experience; add to that the fact that Konrad is about as macho a man as you could squeeze into mustard skinny jeans and a cashmere scarf. The call lived up to its heart pounding potential, but in the end, Konrad couldn’t have been happier. Jump forward to Saturday, the big day. After an amazing brunch at the Four Seasons, we recollected ourselves at Ryan and Kristen's apartment; the alleged purpose of this stop was to collect their dogs, but really it was so that I could sneak the ring into my pocket. On this blue sky day, we ventured out to the Douglas Family Preserve; a beautiful park with hundred foot cliffs overlooking the Pacific Ocean. As soon as we arrived my heart began to sink. As anyone who’s spent time in SB knows, the fog banks can appear even on the nicest of days, and on this particular Saturday, it was so thick that the trees were dripping. For the next 30 minutes as we walked through the park, my heart was racing faster than ever; my entire plan was falling through. After several serious glances to Ryan, he picked up on the fact that we needed to audible. We gathered our things and headed down to Leadbetter Beach. It was just far enough for the fog to break down, and the view to reappear. After a longgg 5 minute walk down the beach, with the ring burning a hole in my pocket, I made a gesture to Ryan and Kristen that this was it. I got Anico’s attention, and pointed down to a spot in the sand and exclaimed, “What's that down there?”, pointing nervously to a heart shaped rock. Anico wasn’t biting. She looked down to the sand, then back at me, and with a puzzled face said, “That looks more like a piece of trash ..” Unfazed, I dropped down to a knee to pick it up. I turned to her, slid open the rock shaped box, and summoned the words.