It was a comfortable day for Feb. I was finishing up walking Cooper and as he often did he pulled me to the local craft beer shop across the street from my place. It’s important to note that Copper pulled me there because it was across the street from my place. This would suggest to most people that it was, “our bar.” More on that in Chapter 2. So we are in “our bar” and I was enjoying a new porter and sitting out on the back patio. I called Lili to see what’s up. We talked a bit until l happened to look up and see this unbelievably beautiful woman sitting at the bar talking with the bartender and other patrons. The thing I remember most about that first sight was her pulling her hair back and tying it up. Actually, something else I noticed, and I haven’t even told her this before, was her posture. She sat tall, comfortable, and confident. She was, and is, amazingly beautiful. I’m assuming I said bye prior to hanging up but I just don’t know. As Emily would describe it, I walked up to the bar with my best Leisure Suit Larry impression and began talking to her. I joked about the potato chip display in front of us and how tempting they were, I asked her what beer I should try next, and various other topics to try and keep her attention. However it was Cooper that did it. I asked her to watch him while I used the restroom and when I came back the two were best friends. I asked Emily to go to the patio with me (I later learned was a big deal) and we chatted while enjoying another beer and I decided to ask her to join me for a couple slices at the neighborhood pizzeria. She agreed. Ladies and gentlemen, this is where our first disagreement begins. I consider this to be our first date because we left one place and ate at another. She disagrees. It’s worth noting that when we were walking I asked if I could kiss her to which she responded no. Normally I wouldn’t be bragging about this, but as you will see in Chapter 2 this is an important detail.

Pizza with Emily was as amazing as I hoped. It was a fun relaxed time despite the failed attempt of a kiss. At some point we discussed going out again and I suggested sushi the next evening. Luck was clearly on my side because she loves sushi. We crossed the tracks, made it to her car, and called it a night. I was so taken with Emily that reached out right away. I think I even sent her a text before she made it home; all of 2 miles. In preparation for the date I did a fair amount of social media stalking. I downloaded a substantial number of photos that I still look at from time to time. This would be super creepy if we didn’t fall in love, but we did so no big deal. We met outside the restaurant and made our way in. I can still feel the nervousness within when I saw her walk towards me. There are a few things that stand out from sushi. Em told me how much she enjoys hot sake with sushi. Obviously we order some. I explained that you shouldn’t pour your own sake and the person you are with should pour it for you. To this day every time we have sushi we order hot sake and make sure the other’s sake glass is full. The second thing I remember was how often was smiling during dinner. It was the single most beautiful experience I ever had, being with her as she smiled with me. Not wanting to call it a night too soon we opted for a drink at a staple of the neighborhood. By this time I felt our connection was deep and meaningful. We shared some intimate stories the way close friends do. It was in this dive bar where we shared drinks that were mixed incorrectly that she kissed me. In Emily’s eyes, this was our first date. By my count we are now on our second.

There you have it, two separate dates with two separate labels. Emily professes sushi was our first date and pizza was merely our meeting night. As you read in Chapter 1 I feel this is entirely inaccurate and pizza was our first date. To help with this argument allow me to introduce to you exhibit one: The Kiss. If you remember at the end of Chapter 1 I asked Emily if I could kiss her and she said no. However Emily not only kissed me at the dive bar but she initiated the kiss. She later told me that she doesn’t kiss on the first date. I know what you are thinking and it was my initial thought as well. If Emily doesn’t kiss on the first date, and she kissed me after sushi, then clearly she felt in her heart it our second date. Clearly. We both want to hear which date you feel was our actual first date. Head over to Survey Monkey and let us know! https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/V3Z3KFX

The proposal, this is easily one of my top 5 favorite days ever. I planned everything there was to plan when proposing and it included an evening in an Irish Castle on her birthday with a romantic walk along the grounds before a quiet private dinner in the cellar restaurant. For the most part the day went as planned, but where it was altered made the day even more special. The day was Oct 20th, 2018. Emily and I woke up in our Hotel in Kilkenny, Ireland after an evening of live music at a local pub and we had a plan of attack. We were going to visit the Kilkenny Castle before hitting the road to the Cahernane House Hotel. Today was the day, although I came close to proposing so many more times between the time I purchased her ring and this day. I held out and not only had a few more hours before popping the question. While she showered I retrieved the ring box from the hidden spot in my luggage and plopped it in my pocket. Let’s just say the next few hours were incredibly difficult to keep my mouth shut. The Kilkenny Castle was amazing and there were so many spots where a proposal would have been beautiful. I refrained, somehow, and aside from keeping my hand in my pocket holding the ring I acted relatively normal. We finished our self-guided tour, had a coffee in their super cute café, and hit the road to the manor house. While driving I realized the day’s light was getting away from us and the opportunity to stick to the proposal plan was in jeopardy. What to do? Where was I going to do this? It had to be that day, no other day would work. All of these thoughts were circling through my head as we continued our drive down the country road. Then we passed it, an amazing old ruin with an adjacent old cemetery and sheep everywhere. This was the place and the time was right now! As we passed it I mentioned that it was an awesome spot and we should check it out. Emily agreed and I whipped the car around and headed back.

Even if I wasn’t going to propose there it was worth stopping. The ruin was a sight to see. It was beautiful with ivy growing up the stone walls. The sheep were not far and their bleats were mixed with the breeze through the trees. This was it, the time is now. I looked at Emily as she was taking a photo and said to myself this is the woman who completes me; she supports me and when needed comforts me, and I didn’t want anything more than to be that guy for her. As she turned to face me I knelt down on one knee along this Irish country road, and asked her to be my wife as I presented her the ring. Emily’s response was so incredibly sweet and beautiful. With tears in her eyes she looked at me and asked, “What are you doing?” Clearly she didn’t know this was coming as I feared she did. Still on one knee I asked again. This time she said yes! We spent more time at our ruin taking photos, hugging, kissing, and of course crying. October 20th, 2018 was one of the most beautiful days I’ve experienced. The woman who I love more than reason and respect more than anything, who accepts my love wholeheartedly and loves me back with the same intensity, agreed to be my wife. Scott and Emily’s Castle, County Kilkenny, Ireland 52°43'26.4"N 7°29'06.0"W