Summer 2019 - I had recently moved to New York after graduating from Michigan. I was looking forward to making new friends in the city. That's when Priyanka, our mutual friend living in London, introduced Chaarvi who was then studying at Columbia. Chaarvi and I met on a Friday evening for drinks and eventually wound up in Stonewall Inn for a drag show followed by dancing (it was pride month). I thought we had a great time together. Later that summer she moved to Madison for her summer internship, and I never heard from her again! But during our brief encounter, we realized that we have many more mutual friends. Rest of 2019 to Summer 2020 - Ghosted by Chaarvi (To supposedly focus on studies) Summer 2020 - We reconnected when she invited me to Shruti's farewell party (another mutual friend). Fall 2020 to Summer 2021 - I ghosted Chaarvi (Tit for tat? We have healthy egos!) Summer 2021 - I invited her to a BBQ party after I moved to Boerum Hill (where her engagement ring is from and where we are getting married). She came because she was cat-sitting her friend's cat named Tuli near my house (we eventually adopted Tuli who also played a critical role in connecting us). We have all received our COVID shots by then and we started planning things with each other's friends - Beach trips, dance nights etc. One such dance night took us back to Stonewall Inn during pride month 2 years after our first meeting. We had come full circle and that's when we expressed interest in each other. Fall 2021 - We started "officially" dating and our first date was in the Brooklyn Bridge Park. The rest of the year was filled with long road trips, scuba dives, parties, and dances.

I had planned the perfect week in Hawaii's Big Island - my second time there, Abi's first. I was excited to show him the volcanoes, dive in the beautiful waters, and relax on the scenic beaches together. I had hinted to Abi about a perfect proposal: he cannot propose during or after a hike or a trek, and that I need to look great for the photos. What better place to propose than Hawaii, I thought… On the first day, we visited the beautiful black sand Polulu beach - Abi loved it so much he claimed we would return here again in this trip. And then we reach the last day of trip - still no sign of any proposal, but he was adamant we return to Polulu Beach that day. On the trek down to the beach, Abi began peppering me with questions like, Wasn't this trip great? Don't we make great travel companions? Wouldn't it be lovely if we lived together so that planning these trips was easier? And when we reached the bottom of the hill and stepped on the black sand, he asked me, "Will you marry me?", and takes out a beautiful ring. I was thrilled, surprised, and ecstatic at the same time. No prizes for guessing what I said next! To this day, he is extremely proud that he did sneak in a hike in the proposal, but it was a hike down, so I did still look fabulous. I'm also happy to report that this was not an April Fools' Day joke.