Like many modern romances, Jackie and Daniel found each other on eHarmony. They talked every night, and found it difficult to surrender their engaging conversations to sleep and responsibilities. So, after a week of talking, Jackie agreed to a date on January 8th, at the Dallas Museum of Art, followed by a short walk to Perry’s Steakhouse for dinner. Daniel felt confident about the upcoming date. During the week, his mind played out scenarios in which he would captivate her with his wit and intelligence; they would discuss art, tell stories, and laugh over dinner while the lights of the city sparkled through the large-paned windows at Perry’s. Daniel arrived early and pulled his truck into the museum's parking garage. The parking attendant reminded him that the garage would close at 9:00PM. Daniel smiled, paid, and drove on. His mind was on Jackie, and thus, far removed from such frivolous details. They were to meet on the lawn in front of the museum. It was January, the night was clear and cold, and he had decided not to bring a jacket. He brought a lotus flower for her; a symbol of their unique shared interests. Lotus flowers must be opened by hand, so while he waited for her to arrive, he began to peel back some of the petals. As the minutes ticked by, he began to shiver. The cold evening had finally penetrated his cheap dress shirt. He looked up and realized that the buildings surrounding him seemed larger at night, and perhaps he wasn’t as confident as he thought. He heard his name. He recognized her voice. When he turned around, he saw Jackie walking across the lawn towards him. She was a vision. Maybe it was the cold air blurring his eyes, or the sparkling city lights, but she appeared to float gracefully across the lawn. He was annihilated. Whatever confidence he had had; all the scenarios that he had played in his head; all the stories that he was going to tell, vanished when he saw her in person. She was the most beautiful and the most devastating thing he had ever seen. With one smile she swirled his city evening into intelligible flashes of bliss. The lighted windows, the street lamps, the headlights, all spun around him as he showed her the lotus and stammered, “Nelumbo nucifera,” (the latin name of the lotus flower). She smiled again and she hugged him. He was unable to speak. Together, they finished peeling back the petals of the lotus to reveal the flower revered by ancient teachers in distant lands. Daniel imagined, with shaking hands, that the Buddah would have forsaken the lotus flower, if he had gazed into Jackie’s eyes. After the flower was opened, Daniel realized he had not said anything else. They talked everyday late into the evening about everything and anything, but, looking into her face tonight left him unable to speak. After more awkward moments of silence, she suggested that they go inside the museum because it was getting colder. He followed her like a puppy through the door of the museum. As they wandered through the spacious rooms, Jackie generously carried the conversation while Daniel scrambled to gather up his splintered thoughts to form a sentence. Why couldn’t he think of something to say? Why was it that everytime he looked at her, his mind went blank? The minutes ticked by and Daniel was keenly aware that the date was becoming a smoldering disaster. While passing a display of hand-carved masks, Jackie asked him, “What time is the reservation for?” She could see Daniel’s reaction and smiled. Daniel tried to play it cool, but they both knew he had forgotten about dinner. “Oh, we’re ok”, he said, “but we should probably leave…..now.” As they rushed out of the museum, Daniel was sure of two things: Jackie was way out of his league, and there would be no second date. He accepted that he blew it, and he considered himself lucky to be on a date with a beautiful woman in a beautiful city, even for one night.

Daniel no longer noticed the city lights or felt the cold air on their brisk walk toward Perry’s. He noticed only the woman a half-step ahead of him. It was clear Jackie knew where she was going. She walked quickly and with deliberate steps. She moved with purpose. This was her city. They were waiting to cross at the street corner across from Perry’s, when a jogging woman stopped in front of them. She smiled and panted, “You guys are the cutest couple.” They laughed and thanked her as she resumed her jog. Daniel’s laugh deepened into a sigh, and he acknowledged the felicitous gift from the universe. The hostess seated them by a floor-to-ceiling window on the second story of Perry’s. The city evening was on full display. Jackie ordered a French 75. Daniel ordered wine. While they waited for their drinks, they sipped water and lost themselves in the ambience of the city outside the large pane window. Daniel noticed Jackie’s reflection in the glass. Her image, softened by the low-lighting of the restaurant, appeared to be floating among the buildings like a mirage. “That’s fitting,” Daniel thought, “she is too good to be real.” After a very quiet dinner, the waitress cleared the table. Jackie and Daniel made eye contact and shared another smile. Daniel looked at his phone. It was 8:50PM. The parking garage was going to close soon! He wanted to play it cool though, because he knew this would be the last time he saw her, and he wanted to enjoy the last few minutes with this amazing woman. He motioned casually that they should leave. Jackie had found street parking, so Daniel walked her to her car. It was farther down the street, past the museum parking garage. This time, Jackie was a half-step behind Daniel, as he tried to finish the date smoothly and still get back to the parking garage on time. When they reached her car, she turned to him. She gave him a hug and thanked him. Then she said, “I had a great time. I would be interested in a second date.” Daniel was floored. “Really?” he asked, “Are you sure?” “Of course. I enjoyed being with you!” She smiled, and got into her car. Daniel waved goodbye and started back casually towards the parking garage, but when he was out of Jackie’s sight, he was in a full sprint. He looked at his phone. It said 9:01PM. He ran faster. When he reached the garage, the gate was already pulled down. He ran up to the gate and yelled, “Hey! I need to get my truck out!” No one came. It was dark and quiet inside the garage. Daniel walked dejectedly towards the museum entrance and sat on a concrete bench by the street. The bench was cold. The air was sharp. He was stuck in the city without a jacket and without a ride. After some moments of frustration, he sighed and pulled out his phone to order a Lyft. When the driver arrived, Daniel got into the backseat. The driver did not speak. Daniel was fine with that. He didn’t feel like talking anyway. He felt the warmth of the heaters and as he rode back to Mansfield, he stared out the window wondering, “What the hell happened, tonight?” The next morning was Sunday. The air remained cold even though the sun shone clear. Daniel waited outside of his house for a Lyft back to the museum parking garage. He wondered if his truck was still there. When the car arrived, he slid into the back and nodded to the old man in the driver’s seat. As they headed down the street, Daniel could feel the old man’s eyes looking at him in the rearview mirror. “Why are you heading to the museum so early?” he asked. As he spoke, his eyes narrowed into a smile. Daniel told him about the date, how his truck was locked in the parking garage, and how he had to get a Lyft ride back home last night. The old driver laughed and said, “Two Lyft rides, huh? That sounds like an expensive date. I hope she was worth it.” Daniel smiled, leaned his head on the cool glass of the window, and stared into the bright morning.

Fast-forward two years. Daniel sat on the small brown sofa while his eyes scanned the sterile living room of their hotel suite. Jackie came in from the bedroom; her eyes sparkling. Her head was tilted to the side as she worked with both hands to attach an earring. Her long dark hair spilled over her shoulder in loose curls. “How much time do I have?” she asked. Daniel replied, only half-aware of the question, “Fifteen minutes.” When she went back into the bedroom to finish getting ready for their anniversary date, he thought back to their first date at the museum, and how he was sure he blew it. Then he thought about last year, when they celebrated their one-year anniversary with a reenactment of their first date. He reached into his pocket and felt the lotus flower. It was still cold from being in the fridge all day. Daniel knew she expected to get a lotus flower because each time they met on the lawn, they opened a lotus flower together. He sighed and hoped that things would go as planned, because the previous two weeks were frustrating: Daniel’s son was caught in an ice storm in Pennsylvania, and could not make it down to Texas for the holidays. Then, on Christmas Eve, Jackie and Daniel’s apartment flooded from a burst pipe, so they had to move into a hotel with no guarantee on when they could return. Despite these disappointments, Jackie and Daniel were still looking forward to celebrating the second anniversary of their first date. Jackie stepped out of the hotel bedroom and into the soft light of the floor lamp in the living room. As she was putting on her coat, she smiled, and asked, “How do I look?” Daniel’s mind was far away. He was looking through the sheer curtains of the window into the twilight of a Sunday evening. The curtains billowed and fluttered from the heater that hummed quietly below. He was sucked into another stream of thought about the universe, his place in it, and the immensity of forever. “Darling! How do I look!?” Jackie asked louder. Daniel snapped out of it and turned his head toward her. She looked beautiful, which was no surprise to him. It was in the way she carried herself. She exuded quality. He knew that you can’t buy that in a store. He smiled, “Sorry babe. You look amazing.” Jackie grinned and rolled her eyes. “Are you bringing a jacket?” “Of course not,” Daniel replied as they made their way out the door. “C’mon, you remember our first date. When you met me on the lawn in front of the museum, I wasn’t wearing a jacket. Then, after we introduced ourselves, we finished peeling open the lotus flower I brought you.” Instead of taking separate vehicles, as the reenactment required, they decided to rewrite the script and ride together to keep Daniel’s truck from being locked in the parking garage overnight. As they drove off towards the arts district in Dallas, Daniel began to feel his nerves churning through his body. His stomach was twisting and his throat tightened. He felt in his pocket for the lotus flower. It was still cold. “Once this flower is open,” he thought, “you’ll be alright, man.”

They found parking a block from the museum. They walked hand-in-hand up Olive Street towards Klyde Warren Park. Daniel could not help feeling proud that he could be seen with a woman of her quality and beauty. They turned left and Daniel stopped Jackie in front of the Nasher Sculpture Museum. “Wait here for five minutes,” he said. “I’m going to run ahead and get into place on the lawn.” Daniel dashed down the sidewalk and reached the grassy steps in front of the Dallas Museum of Art. He stood where they met for the last two years. He pulled out the lotus flower and peeled back a few petals, then turned and looked up at the intersection to watch for Jackie’s approach. His nerves racked his body. His anticipation watered the seeds of doubt, and he began to feel very much like he did on their first date; nearly a perfect reenactment! As he waited, a chilly breeze slipped through the buildings, and he marveled, once again, at how he disregarded his (and Jackie’s) sensibilities and left his jacket at home. It didn’t matter now, he saw Jackie crossing the intersection. Seeing her from a distance, in the context of the city; how she moved quickly but confidently; Daniel was reminded of how he felt walking with her on their first date. No one could doubt that she was born here. When she reached the lawn, she called out, “Daniel?” Daniel looked at her and smiled as she came to him across the lawn. She was, once again, a vision, not a re-vision in this re-enactment, because you can’t revise perfection. When she reached him, they exchanged introductions and hugs. Daniel lifted up the lotus flower and stammered, “Nelumbo nucifera.” As they slowly peeled back the petals, Daniel felt his whole body knotting up. The petals seemed endless. The entire city stood still and silent. Then, Jackie took the final petal between her delicate fingers and as she laid it open, a sparkling heart-shaped diamond appeared. Jackie asked, in an abrupt and excited tone, “What is this!? What is this!?” Daniel stared at the diamond. Then he looked up and stared into Jackie’s eyes. He forgot what to do. Jackie pulled the ring out of its lotus bed. Suddenly, Daniel came to his senses, grabbed the ring, got down on one knee and asked with a new found confidence, “Jackie, I love you. Will you marry me?” Jackie was floored. “Really?” she asked, “Are you sure?” Daniel laughed. Jackie laughed. He said, “Yes, I’m sure! Will you marry me?” “Yes!,” she replied. Daniel placed the ring on her finger, stood up, and kissed her. Suddenly, from the shadows, cheers came as their friends, Elizabeth and Alex, emerged with hugs, handshakes, and gifts. The four left that spot on the lawn in front of the museum and made their way to Perry’s Steakhouse for a celebration. Epilogue: Over 700,000 people visit the Dallas Museum of Art annually. Countless more pass through the lawn in front. Only a handful of people know what happened there on January 8th, 2023. The stories of Dallas and its people could fill volumes, but only one line is needed to place it among the world’s greatest cities: “Jackie said yes.”