Witness & Celebrate the Fusion of Our Hearts

April 28th, 2017 Not long after Charli moved back to Oahu, after a stint in Australia, she landed her biggest job yet and decided to indulge in one last night out with her friends in downtown Honolulu before clocking in Monday morning. Meanwhile, Eric had just returned from military training on the North Shore and agreed to a night out with friends. As fate would have it, their respective groups picked the same club to cut loose. Well into the evening, Charli had found her groove on the dance floor with little care in the world. Eric, however, just missed his bar-hopping buddies. Bummer, right? Nah! Being the fluid man he is, he decided to have a drink anyway before catching a lift back home. And that's when Charli caught his eye... They shared a dance...probably to something by Lil' Wayne or Jon or...you get the idea! After the song, Charli turned to make her way back through the crowd to her group. Before losing his chance, Eric gently grabbed her hand and insisted she give up her phone number. Never expecting to hear from him again, she gave it and disappeared without a word. The next day Eric attempted a "hello" text, to which Charli did not reply. RUDE. Thankfully, Eric wasn't deterred. He waited a day and then made a second attempt. Appreciating the subtle persistence, Charli finally replied. They exchanged surprisingly easy conversation for the next few hours, before Eric concluded with a request for a date over coffee. Eric spent the next three dates trying to win Charli over. She couldn't make it easy for him, now could she? In the end she couldn't resist the comfort, patience and charm he brought to the table and he couldn't deny that he had found something special with this spirited and passionate woman. By the 4th of July, they both discovered the truth of their love. By October, Charli took a leap of faith and agreed to move with Eric to his next station in San Diego, May of 2018. The rest, as they say, is history.

Before we do the whole story telling bit, let's just bottom-line this. Charli is a planner and she must know everything! A bit tricky in way of surprises, no? Poor Eric stressed over this for some time, wanting to give her the romance she deserved. Alas, December 23, 2018: Eric and Charli decided to take off on a 10-day road trip for the holidays, which was not only Charli's first true road trip, but also a much needed get-away. About halfway through, they spent a few days with Steven and Jamie Miracle. Eric took quick note of how close Charli was with the couple and decided this was the perfect spontaneous moment he was waiting for. When Charli stepped outside to make a phone call, he quickly asked them to help him propose to her and, in the 15 minutes that she was gone, they whipped up a plan (after, of course, Jamie grilled Eric about the sincerity of his proposal - "Look me in the eye!"..."Good, I believe you"). Upon her return, Charli was informed of a change in plans, completely oblivious. And off to a Japanese Botanical Garden, they went! Once at the garden, Jamie asked Charli to capture video of some Koi fish, which she took very seriously; Eric was down on one knee for a good long while before Charli finally decided to turn around. When she finally did, she was so shocked and confused that she said "No!". Not no "no", but a surprised I-can't-believe-this-is-happening "no". Y'know? [It didn't help that he not only didn't have the ring box open, but also had the ring box in the box it came in!] "What's in the box?", she asked. "You tell ME", Eric replied and handed her the box. Flabbergasted, she took the box within a box and opened it. Seeing the ring, tears jumped out of her eyes and she lost her ability to speak. "Yes or No?" Eric asked. Charli nodded. Jamie, filming this horrifying reaction, inquired, "What was that?" Charli, still speechless, gave the camera a thumbs up. *Laughter*, *Hugs*, *Clapping* THE END