It was Monica's first day at her new job. Recently promoted, and very excited, she showed up to the Luxury 263 unit apartment building, just to discover the main water line had busted. She was the only management there, along with 200 panicking residents. The phones ringing off the hooks, and a revolving door of non-stop tenants coming in to voice their dissatisfaction with the current situation. Extremely stressed, and trying to keep it as cool as possible, she started to run down the emergency protocol list. The lobby filling up, while she repetitively explained the situation was under control. "If one more person walks in here!" She thought. And one more did. Matthew came through the back door with a look on his face like, "What is going on?" & "Who are you?" It didn't take Matt long to figure out the new girls problem. Once he realized the situation, Matt jumped in and answered phone calls, and directed people in the lobby back to their apartments. Though in shock, Monica didn't deny the help. She watched him in the distance, giving her a look of assurance, lingering a little but unable to get a word in because she was tied up with the city, on the phone. Once the chaos settled some, Monica went to thank her knight in shinning armor, but he was no where to be found. Who was that guy? Days later, Monica was about to eat the dull lunch she packed while in a hurry. A can of soup. when she realized she did not pack a can opener. One of her colleagues suggested calling the courtesy officer who lived on property to borrow his. To her surprise in walks her mysterious Knight...again, saving her day. As time passed, Matthew and Monica would share many moments. A crescendo of feelings, slowly falling in love, trying not to acknowledge what they felt because at the time they had just ended other relationships. But when God closes one door he opens another one. Little did they know- that together, they would create such a full life!

Not long after getting to know Monica, I knew that I wanted to marry her. I started working extra jobs and a ton of overime and after a few months, I saved enough to get her a ring that I knew she would appreciate… thank you Pintrest. I decided to surprise her on her birthday. Not only so that I wouldn’t ever forget but also it was a perfect cover. I mean, we can dress up and enjoy a fancy restaurant all under the guise of a birthday celebration, right? So that day I decided that I would place the ring on a cigar, hidden under a bow and wrap the whole thing in a jewelry box. See, I love to throw Monica curveballs, a lot, because she always has the most genuine reactions! I figure that she would be excited about the jewelry box gift only to be somewhat disheartened to find just the cigar and ultimately, completely surprised with the ring! See how I did that? So our romantic dinner was over and I convinced her to stroll out to the gazebo with me. I presented Monica with the gift and she quickly made her way to the cigar and surprisingly, was considerably happy to have it. Once she started to remove the red bow, she saw the ring. I thought I knew what I was going to say but I can’t even remember what I did. All I know is that I’ll never forget the look that Monica gave me when I got on my knee. It was one of absolute surprise combined with a deep and intense realization that this was really happening. Unbeknownst to Monica, our families were standing by to celebrate with us and we did just that. Even writing this now, I remember that for the rest of the night, she kept looking down in disbelief at her new permanent accessory. And every time she looked back up, I realized how lucky I was; knowing that I can enjoy seeing that beautiful smile for the rest of my life.