We're Getting Married!!!

Our story began in the summer of 2016, a few weeks after we both started working at a new company. A happy hour in a gathering area on the 14th floor of our new office digs was the setting of our first meeting. Drinks among coworkers – not exactly the idyllic scene I imagined in my childhood dreams. But as it turns out, real life can be more blissful than make-believe. Something about that meeting made an impression on us both. We didn't work in the same circles, so we didn't cross paths often. But when we did, we'd trade smiles, make random jokes and flirt a little. We both confided in our closest work buddies that we were intrigued by our few encounters. Life went on as normal for a few weeks until one day Frank came over to my desk at the end of a long workday to chat. We wound up talking and laughing for hours. All of my cubicle mates had long gone, and it was getting late. Frank took the subway with me – even though the A train was a little out of his way. In fact, from that day forward, Frank took that same train with me every day after work to make sure I made it home safely. A couple weeks later, after our first official date, Frank asked to solidify our budding relationship: He's been making sure I'm safe – and loved – ever since.

About two years after that first date, we were on a Labor Day weekend getaway in Savannah, Ga., with our friends, Andre and Nikkela. We spent the first day sampling local treats like peach cookies and BBQ chicken wings during a walking food tour. It was an incredibly beautiful day, but extremely hot and humid. That's probably why Frank's increasingly sweaty palms didn't tip me off to what was to come. We all decided to head back to the hotel to relax before dinner. But Frank insisted we take a detour to a park he'd researched before the trip. It seemed like we walked for miles as we passed several other parks. Each time, I'd ask: Is this the park? "No," he'd say. "It's just a little bit further." We finally made it to a picturesque park that was enveloped with weeping willow trees. Andre' asked Nikkela to explore the park and take photos with him, and they disappeared. Frank and I found a place to rest on a nearby bench. He pulled out a Ziploc bag full of jigsaw puzzle pieces. I thought it was a bit odd, but Frank explained that the puzzle was a unique way to commemorate our first trip with our friends. Each piece had a number on the back to help me put the puzzle together. I still needed assistance. After we finished the puzzle together, Frank instructed me to flip it over. I did only to find a photo of Frank, smiling, on one knee, holding a poster board with a question written in a language I did not recognize. When I looked up, confused, Frank was on his knee with a velvet box that contained the most beautiful emerald ring. He popped the question and I said "Of course!" Later, I learned Andre knew about Frank's plans the whole time, the 25 puzzle pieces represented the 25 months we dated, the numbers on the back were written in green to match the gemstone on the ring and the mystery language was an even sweeter surprise. It was Dhivehi, the native tongue in the Maldives, the tropical paradise where we'll be honeymooning.