A Sankey Love Story

Who knew that one swipe would lead to forever. Maya was in nursing school and her friend, Latravius, aka "Tavius", persuaded her to give the dating app one more try. They say be intentional with your prayers and for sure Antoine fit every box. We talked about our aspirations in life, faith, art, video games, and our love for anime. Finally, we decided to meet in person, but Covid had other plans. Determined to meet before the world shut down, we decided to have a Paint 'n Sip at Patterson Park.

Antoine walked up the path and Maya remembered thinking-oh this guy is serious and dedicated to art, haha. Antoine had the easel, paint, canvas, EVERYTHING for our paint n sip. He was handsome, respectable, well mannered and Maya loved the way he talked about his son and family. Somehow while painting, he accidently spilled Angry Orchard on her-and she was smitten. She thought it was the cutest thing because he was so nervous. To make up for it, Antoine asked if Maya would like to have dinner, then he took her to his favorite ramen spot, Uma Uma. The connection remained strong ever since. They did whatever they could to meet during Covid- while Maya prepared for her nursing board exams, he made sure she ate and took breaks. Even with Covid, they attempted to risk it and hang out. They attended BLM marches, and Maya fell in love with his son at the park. Maya met his family in Baltimore and Antoine met Maya's in GA, and it's been the most amazing adventure since. Antoine would also watch Maya's favorite show "This is Us" with her. This one episode had her in tears (cuz the show is just that great), and after the show he hugged her and said that he hoped he'd always be able to be there for her. Maya's heart melted. They both loved that all their clumsiness and true selves were accepted without any judgement-their love would bind them forever.

The setup for this day was a complete surprise. It was our 2nd anniversary and Antoine said he wanted to celebrate everything Maya meant to him, because she deserved it. (His words-she swears, lol). Maya, being the person she is, kept trying to figure out what the day entailed but didn't ask anything because she loves surprises. However, as Antoine started driving around Baltimore, Maya could tell that it had something to do with their 1st date at Patterson Park . As they approached the place where they first met in person, Maya could see a man standing behind the beautifully decorated table with champagne glasses, easel and canvas, and flowers. Maya, thought-oh this is fancy we have our own professional Art teacher this time. The man, who Maya later found out was a family friend, explained that he was starting a painting business and asked if he could take photos for his website while they painted. Thinking nothing of it, Maya said sure. Antoine began pouring the champagne, and they toasted. Maya turned around for further instruction and "the teacher" said to turn over the canvas. As Maya turned over the canvas she could see it was already painted with the words, "Will You Marry Me? ___" Confused at first, Maya noticed Antoine wasn't sitting beside her and when she turned completely around, Antoine was down on one knee. Obviously, Maya said yes and as she embraced Antoine, her friends, mom and Antoine's family and friends walked out from behind the Pagoda.