Meeting House & Grand Ballroom

"How am I going to pull this off?" David asked himself while stepping out of his car. On his way to a Happy Hour at the Book Cadillac Hotel, he had parked directly behind a young lady who he hoped would be going to the same event he was. David's concerns were more than just looking for a decent opening line. The more glaring issue was the fact that David showed up with his friend Miesha, who stepped out of the passenger seat just as Khara turned around to see who was behind her. "Well, there goes that," was Khara's thought, seeing David and Miesha behind her. Miesha was a good friend and she knew David's tastes fairly well. So as the three crossed Michigan Avenue to get to the venue, Miesha tried to stoke conversation, hoping to break the ice on David's behalf. Inside the event, David and Khara found themselves in the same conversational circle. Was there a rapport between them beyond needing somebody to talk to in this group of strangers? David thought it could be the case, but wasn't sure. So he left the group they were in and went to the bar by himself. He stopped and talked to a different group of people before making his way back to the group where Khara was still stationed. During a lull in the conversation, as David held a glass of wine in one hand, Khara came over and said, "why didn't you get me a glass of wine?" As she did so, she struck David in the shoulder. It was an open handed move that was gentler than a slap, but forceful enough to let David know the chemistry was real. "I got her," he thought to himself. The two of them made their way to the bar and after a bit of conversation one-on-one, they exchanged numbers.

David had the ring much longer than Khara was aware. He had it before they attended her cousin Jalen's wedding to Marissa in Cancun. But proposing at someone else's wedding celebration just wouldn't work. Soon after returning from Mexico, it was her cousin's birthday, which might have worked if the night's agenda hadn't also included attending someone else's engagement party. Khara and David could sense that a wedding was in the works. They had even started scheduling visits to wedding venues. David still hadn't popped the question as the time came for their first venue visit. Scheduled for a Wednesday evening in May 2023, David worked remotely from Khara's home while she went into the office. The plan was for Khara to pick David up and ride together to the visit. As Khara drove home that Wednesday evening, she was a little stressed--wondering if they'd be able to make their appointment on time. So when she opened the side door to see a bouquet of flowers greeting her from the ledge just inside, she wasn't aware of why they were waiting there. "What are these for?" she asked. David replied, "well, you're missing an accessory for tonight." Thinking more about the upcoming drive down the freeway than anything else, Khara couldn't imagine what she was missing. So as she walked through the kitchen and turned the corner into the living room, she couldn't have expected to see David waiting for her on one knee.