♡

It was the smile. That is what May (O’Mayrah) said after our first interaction to get to our first date. More on that later. I was sitting at my computer at work, doing my best to focus on the task at hand … winning at Solitaire. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the woman all (and I mean ALL) the fellas at the job kept talking about and falling out over. She was looking right at me. Of course, I had definitely noticed her before and thought she was very attractive as well. But I kept it cool and confident 😎 (mostly). I had to take the chance and hope that her gaze was because she saw something she liked and not because of a big booger hanging from my nose. I got up from my seat and walked over to her. Once I arrived at her desk, I introduced myself and asked her how she was adjusting to the new job. She was in the middle of studying between calls and replied, "It's ok but kinda restrictive - so, that's whack." As we kept talking, the subject of age came up. She did not believe me when I told her how old I was; she thought I was much younger. 😏 I had to pull out my ID and show it to her like she was HR. When she saw my smile in the picture and the one on my face, it's as if there was a spark in her eyes. And just as if I were at an interview, I knew I had just landed the job. 😁

Not too long after our first interaction, I had to have surgery on my foot. I was regulated to a knee roller in order to get around. May had offered to help carry around items and open doors for me a few times at work. I was so in awe at her generosity and kindness (and her face 😍). So, one day I asked her if she wanted to go out to my favorite restaurant so that I would have a chance to open a door for her. She agreed. At Bonefish Grill, the lighting was dark and the mood was perfect. I arrived before she did, so I grabbed a booth near the rear for some privacy. This was our first date and I really wanted to impress her. So, I wore a business casual outfit. I wiped off any trace of dust on her side of the booth while waiting for her. As I sat back on my side, she walked through the revolving door ... wearing jeans and a sweatshirt. 😒 We started out talking sparingly about the job and about family. Maybe she was tired or nervous, but May was not a good conversationalist at first. The waiter came and I ordered for us both since she had never been to the restaurant before. While we waited for our food to come out, May asked what I liked to do in my spare time. I jokingly replied, "I like reading about psychology and I have some questions to ask." She did not take well to the idea of being analyzed. 😂 But these were pseudo-psych questions that were good ice breakers. One of the questions I asked led us to be honest with how we viewed ourselves. For the first time in what I hoped would grow to be a relationship, I wanted to be honest about everything upfront. So, I told her EVERYTHING that was going on in my life. Not too long after, she said, "I have to make a call and go check on my mom." She then proceeded to leave 😕 Things couldn't have been worse. I sat there thinking about how I would have to see her at work and about how awkward it would be. 😓 The thought did not last long because she came right back in, said everything was good, and wanted to continue getting to know me. I was glad that her mom was ok. I, myself, have been more than ok since that moment on. 😊

Garland first told me that he loved me in the parking lot of my job. I had just gotten off my shift and he was waiting outside to take me to dinner. We had only been dating for two weeks at the time ... Two. Weeks. I immediately brushed him off and told him that he was crazy because he didn't even truly know me yet. However, he insisted that he knew all he needed to know and that he was undeniably in love with me. He then went on to tell me that I loved him too but that I just didn't know it yet. By this point, I thought he really might be insane. 🤔 About a month later, we were up late having one of our 3 a.m. conversations. As I listened to him speak, I felt my heart literally skip a beat. His voice sounded like the soundtrack to the rest of my life. 💕 At that point, I knew that I loved him too. And I decided that I was apparently just as crazy as he was. I didn't tell him then, but somehow he knew. I was in the middle of a sentence and he began to laugh. "I hear it in your voice" he said. "And I told you! Now, you know it too." I could hear his cheesy smile through the phone. At that moment, I could have agreed. I could have said the words to him. But instead, I told him to shut up and get off my phone. Then I hung up. 🙄

Garland asked me to take some time off work and planned a surprise getaway for us in Savannah. The day before we were set to drive down, I woke up feeling ill and could not swallow anything. It turned out that I had strep throat. Not wanting to ruin our trip, I insisted that we pack and go anyway. Before we hit the highway, he stopped to pick me up some numbing spray, lozenges, and chicken noodle soup in hopes that it would help soothe my throat (2 points for him). We checked into the Riverfront Marriott and ventured onto the boardwalk for a light stroll. He held my hand the entire time (4 points for him). Along our walk, we came across an artist selling his original paintings and I fell in love with his work. Garland told me to pick my top three pieces so that we could purchase the best one. I picked my top three. He purchased them all (6 points for him). We went back to the hotel so that we could get dressed for a special surprise he had set up. As we pulled up to a packed venue, Garland revealed to me that he had bought us tickets to our favorite game show on NPR - "Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me!" I was absolutely ecstatic (8 points for him). We spent the whole show in tears from laughing so hard. After the show, we went for a late dinner and he ordered me the best glass of red wine on the menu (10 points for him). He thoroughly enjoyed his meal while I could barely get two bites down. Noticing my struggle, he sweetly suggested that we end the night early. So, we took off - but not before I painfully chugged down my wine, because ... wine. Duhh. When we returned to our hotel room; I wiped off my makeup, tied my hair up, and curled up into his arms - ready to welcome sleep. As I felt myself drifting off, he began to tell me how much he loved me. He talked about how funny it is that we make all these plans for our lives; then God comes and changes everything and gives us what we didn't even know we needed. With that, he reached behind his pillow and pulled out a little black box. He turned to me, thanked me for being everything he didn't know he needed, and asked me to be his wife. ❤ In that moment, I was a sick mess and I did not feel at my prettiest. But all he saw was the woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life with ... (All the points for him). 🥰