Rainbow & Bryan
Our Story (Long Version)
Part I: The First Sight
Once upon a time, on a warm August evening during the midst of the pandemic, when the world was going crazy, Rainbow sought some sanity in her life. Searching for Mr. Right, she began perusing through profiles on Coffee Meets Bagel, a dating app. As she was beginning to lose hope in finding a nice handsome Christian gentleman, she came across the profile of a dashing young man with a sparkle in his eye. However, when Bryan saw Rainbow’s profile, he was hesitant. “Rainbow? Hmm…is that her real name? Is she wearing a white wedding dress? This must be a fake profile.” he thought. However, instead of declining, he sought advice from his brother and sister-in-law for their thoughts. “Rainbow could be a real name and some bridesmaid dresses are white,” they assured him. “We think she’s a real person. Just say hi–what’s the worst that can happen? Stop being a chicken.” Bryan accepted the connection and so began the R&B journey.
Part II: The First Lure
Rainbow and Bryan hit it off immediately online. However, Bryan wanted to take the online communication to the next level and get her phone number. Since Bryan is shy, he didn’t know how to make the next move. Bryan also thought “Is it too early to ask? After all, it was only their first day of messaging. Would it scare her away? Does she want him to ask?” As Bryan mulled over different ways to ask Rainbow for her phone number, he suddenly had an idea! What if he enticed Rainbow to be the one to initiate the phone call! "Hey, how important is a guy's voice to you?" Bryan asked Rainbow, "I might sort of, maybe, perhaps, could have a high-pitched voice. Some people might say I kind of sound like Mickey Mouse... would that bother you?". Rainbow thought, “Is he serious? I'd better find out what he sounds like once and for all.” And that’s how Bryan got her number. The more he talked to Rainbow, the more he wanted to meet her in person - but he wasn't sure how to ask.
Part III: The First Food Delivery
Rainbow got home late one night after working late and not having eaten all day. Bryan saw the opportunity to offer to bring her food. “You would really drive up here to bring me food?" Rainbow asked. "Yeah! Of course! It's 11PM now though so our options are limited. There's a 24-hour pho place I know of that's on the way to LA. Do you like pho?" Bryan replied, excitedly. "I love pho!" Rainbow exclaimed as she would take any food at this point. As Bryan raced out of his home and into his car, his thoughts were racing! Was he really heading out so late on a work night? He should be in bed sleeping. His bedtime is usually 9pm. "This is crazy!" he thought as he sped off in his Super Prius. As Bryan pulled into the parking lot of Rainbow's apartment building, he felt like his heart was going to burst out of his chest with nervous excitement. But he tried to temper his expectations. What if she doesn’t look anything like she does in her pictures?
Part IV: The First Sight (in person)
When Bryan arrived, Rainbow walked to his car and asked “Are you my Uber eats?” Bryan recognized Rainbow's voice and nervously let out a little chuckle. "Hah I guess... Rainbow? I have your pho here for you. You must be hungry", Bryan replied. “Hey, she’s actually pretty cute for someone with a mask on”, Bryan thought to himself. “She has charming eyes.” Rainbow then led Bryan through the complex of her apartment through a series of corridors and elevators and multiple floors... Bryan started fearing that Rainbow as going to take him to a dark corner and rob him and leave him lost in this huge building. Just as Bryan started looking for an escape route, Rainbow led Bryan to a nice outdoor community area with fire pits and comfortable outdoor seating.
Part V: The First Reveal
Rainbow removed her mask. “Wow – she’s pretty”, Bryan thought to himself. As Rainbow took a bite of her food, she said, “So... let me see your face and take off your hat.” Bryan was surprised at how forward Rainbow was. "Remember, I told you I shaved my head during quarantine so don't be shocked. Also, I've been messing around to see how long I can get my facial hair." After stating his case, Bryan nervously removed his hat and mask. "What the... he doesn't look anything like his pictures", Rainbow thought to herself. "I've been catfished!" Bryan saw the look of shock on Rainbow’s face and timidly turned away. “You don’t look like your pictures!” Rainbow said. She took a moment and looked at the bald person with the long stringy goatee, wearing a King Kong themed Comic Kong T shirt. “Maybe with a shave and some hair, we can clean him up a bit”, she thought. (Bryan has since chopped off his goatee and has a nice full head of hair)
Part VI: The First Interview
Rainbow then initiated a series of direct and intentional questions. The questions were shooting off from Rainbow so quickly... Bryan felt like Neo from “The Matrix” (the first movie – the good one) trying to maneuver through Agent Smith’s hail of bullets. What do you think about marriage? What do you think about God? When was your last relationship? Tell me about your family and friends? Do you want to get married? What do you think about children? Do you want children? How many children do you want? What is your love language? You don’t know what love languages are? The next thing Bryan knew, he was driving home at 3am and was wondering where all the time went. Reflecting back on his “interview”, Bryan thought maybe they would be better as friends. Meanwhile, Rainbow was reflecting on their meeting and thought he seemed nice, was a little shorter than she had hoped, and his hair will grow back. Both were not sure if there will be a second meeting.
Part VII: The First Songs
That night, Rainbow had a really bad stomach ache and thought maybe it was the food. She was still sick the next day and was worried because she had to drive to multiple places the next day for work. When Bryan found out, he felt bad for bringing the food that caused the illness so he offered to drive her to her meetings that evening. During that drive, Bryan saw a different side of Rainbow and started to fall in love with her. Rainbow loved Bryan’s “acts of service” and humor and enjoyed spending time with him. The two continued seeing each other almost every day after that. In that first week, Bryan learned that Rainbow had a love of music but that she lost the joy of singing. Hoping that her joy would return, one night, on a whim, the two impulsively decided to go to karaoke. Bryan sealed the relationship that night as he attempted to serenade Rainbow and Rainbow sang her heart out. They were both happy that the two of them had recovered Rainbow's joy of singing.
Part VIII: The Proposal
Ten months later, Bryan bought a ring and planned a way to surprise Rainbow. Knowing Rainbow enjoyed fireworks, he casually asked Rainbow one day if she wanted to go to Santa Barbara for 4th of July weekend to see the fireworks. She said yes. Bryan then preceded to make preparations for the big day. He contacted the general manager of the bed and breakfast to arrange for the largest balcony on the property. The balcony was to become the place for the proposal so they set up a plan for the hotel staff to set up the balcony with decorations, champagne, roses, and chocolate covered strawberries while Rainbow and Bryan stepped out for dinner. Bryan, with the help of Rainbow's cousin Dominique, her kids, and Bryan's brother, Joey, created a surprise video as a precursor to the proposal. After dinner, Bryan was super nervous as Rainbow watched the video and opened the door to the balcony. As she turned around, she saw him on one knee asking her to be his wife. And she said “Yes!”
Epilogue
The following day, and during the days since, Rainbow and Bryan spent more and more time together and grew in their commitment to one another. During the course of their relationship, they learned how wonderful each one was, but they also learned about how imperfect they were as well. On May 7, 2022, Bryan and Rainbow will become man and wife. While the rest of their story has not yet been written, with the continued support of their loved ones, their story will be a great one. The R&B story will have twists, turns, tears, laughter, joy, and pain but through all the highs and lows, there will be love. Rainbow and Bryan learned that love from the love shown to them so thank you to all the wonderful people in their lives – family, friends, colleagues, supporters, and confidants. You guys hung tough with us through the peaks and valleys – you taught us the perseverance of love.