Jennifer didn’t want a boyfriend. She made this clear. So, I had to keep her interested. I can get a bit quirky. I invited her to come fill her car up at Costco because the gasoline is less expensive. She said she was already dressed for bed, didn’t want to put on shoes, was washing her cat, excuses, excuses, excuses. I texted her back, “Wow. Must be nice to be able to turn down $0.70 like that.” She came and got gasoline. Because what do you do to with a comment like that? As we headed to some function in Bloomington with my family, we realized that we’d forgotten some one thing or another. I told her that we’d stop at a grocery, and if they didn’t have it, that I’d still love her. And I let that hang in the air without ever mentioning it again. That night, as we were settling down, she said, “earlier today, in the car, you said something…” and I replied “I meant it.” And I let her stew with that. I didn’t use “the L word” again until she brought it up some weeks later. We both went through some tough times, and stayed together. It was probably mid-February to early March of 2023, and it just hit me. I wanted to make Jennifer my wife. I made some financial arrangements and contacted my friend, Doug. He makes bespoke jewelry, and had already made some amazing original pieces for me to give to Jennifer, and I had an idea in mind for what I wanted the ring to look like. I already knew I wasn’t going ring shopping. So I called Doug. I sketched out what I wanted, and he started working. Then I called my mom and told her that I’d decided to ask Jennifer to marry me, and she was the first person I’d told. Some few weeks later, we had her up for lunch. With Jennifer still not knowing that jewelry was being made for her, my mom told her, “You are the best thing that’s ever happened to Louie.” I beamed, Jennifer cried, and it was a moment. I told Jennifer we were going to have a special, romantic dinner for her birthday, May 6. Told her not to make any plans. Didn’t really build anything up, just made sure she knew that I did, in fact, remember her birthday and that there were birthday activities planned. Dinner was one of our favorites: NY Strip with shrimp and grilled onions, prepared on my outdoor flattop griddle. I made a cheesecake recipe from one of my books. It had ginger snap cookies for the crust, and I baked it on the smoker! We sat outside on our patio with our party lights strung over us as dusk fell, and she started asking about her present. Where is it? Is it here? Will I get it tonight? WHEN DO I GET IT? I told her we had to eat dessert first. I took her hand and looked into her eyes, and said “you know I joke around about a lot of stuff, and I want to make sure you know I’m not joking or teasing in any way.” She looked a bit nervous. “O….kayyyy….?” “I want you to be my wife, and I want you to wear (opens box) this ring…” So, in hindsight I was a typical man and told her what I wanted without asking her feelings on the subject. I think it’s worked out decently so far, since in the three weeks after that, she’d put a deposit on a venue and had us scheduled for tastings with several caterers around the city. We all want someone to stand with us and be with us. Jennifer has been an amazing partner to me, and I strive to be the partner she deserves. Until I can actually achieve that, I’m going to make sure that she’s contractually obligated to stay with me.