Andrew and I were set up by a mutual friend. We met on a chilly day in November 2019 in Fairfax, Virginia. He happened to be in town one weekend to speak at a conference. The moment that he said hello in that coffee shop, I felt like time stood still (so cheesy, but so true). Something felt different. We talked in that coffee shop until closing time and not wanting the night to end, I asked him if he was free for dinner. I liked him so much already. I had to take a chance. Dinner also went until the restaurant closed - they started blasting love songs once we were the last patrons and gave us free dessert. I was so nervous that I barely touched my dinner. We parted ways for the night but not before deciding to meet again the next day! My hands were shaking on the drive home. Our second date also went on for hours and so did our third. We decided to give this relationship a shot after our third date. There were many more dates since then. Many challenges and much growth and so much love and joy.

Eunice and I were set up by a mutual friend. We met on a chilly day in November 2019 in Fairfax, Virginia. I happened to be in town one weekend to speak at a conference. The moment that she said hello I was intimidated. She was tall, pretty, and confident. We talked in that coffee shop until closing time and not wanting the night to end, she asked me if I was free for dinner. I was so happy she did. We were at dinner until the restaurant closed as well. I remember thinking to myself, “This girl ate so little. Is this date not going well?” We parted ways for the night, but not before deciding to meet again the next day! “Does she like me? What did she think? Is she the one?” These were the thoughts running through my head on the drive back to my friend’s home. Our second date also went on for hours and so did our third. We decided to give this relationship a shot after our third date. There were many more dates since then. But the best and most special of them was on January 11, 2020. We hung out at a mall for ten and a half hours and it was the best time of my life. When I got in my car, I knew I wanted to marry her. There would be many challenges and much growth, but each day confirmed more and more that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her.

Andrew asked me to come up to Philly early Thursday morning as we had timed tickets to go to Longwood Gardens. I got to his place and called him when I didn’t see his car. He told me he was running late and to head inside since the front door was unlocked. When I opened the screen door, there was a letter board sign that said “Eunice your adventure begins today” and an envelope. Confused, I turned around and saw him walking towards me recording my reaction. Realizing that the proposal was happening today, I opened the envelope to read the first of 27 letters that he had written me (27 is my favorite number). I read the next few letters in his apartment. Then we got in his car and instead of heading to Longwood, he took me to the park where he first told me he loved me. At the park, his friends and sister were waiting at different spots for a scavenger hunt proposal with each envelope holding a few more letters and another piece of the map. At the final spot, Andrew read me the final 27th letter with a proposal poem. Then he got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. I happily said yes :)

I asked Eunice to come up to Philly early Thursday morning as I had told her we were going to Longwood Gardens. After a series of “white lies” (sorry, love!), she opened the screen door to my place and thus began her adventure. The day was significant because it was August 27 and 27 is Eunice’s favorite number. So I wrote 27 letters tracking every significant part of our journey from our first day until that day. I have to admit, I often wished her favorite number was in the single digits. After reading several letters in my apartment, she got in my car and then proceeded to ask me if we were going to be late to Longwood. I didn’t have the heart to tell her we weren’t going. We drove to the park where I first told her I loved her. At the park, my awesome friends and amazing sister were waiting at different spots for a scavenger hunt proposal with each envelope holding a few more letters and another piece of the map. At the final spot, I read Eunice the final 27th letter with a proposal poem. Then I got down on one knee and asked her to marry me. She happily said yes :)