I cannot tell this story without first thanking: Osi Osman, Nialah Ferrer, Alpha Phi Alpha, Alpha Kappa Alpha, God, and The Universe for conspiring in our favor. I met Osi in January 2014. He was a recent University of Maryland graduate at Boston University for graduate school. More importantly, he and Maurice were from the same Alpha Phi Alpha chapter. Osi gave me and Nialah a full rundown of the men in his chapter and told us that we should meet them if we were ever in the DMV area. Fast forward to June 7, 2014. I ultimately met Maurice at the Atlanta Greek Picnic. The interaction was short. Just long enough to say hello, introduce our chapters, take a picture, and go our separate ways. Maurice was scheduled to leave Atlanta on June 8th, and because my mama raised me right, I text him that morning, "Have a safe trip back." I thought that would be the end of our story, but somehow, we haven't stopped talking since. Honestly, I think you just had to be there. *insert shrugs emoji*

What’s funny is that Osi reached out to me personally months before this June 7th encounter. He made the importance of expanding our network with an introduction to his new AKA friends clear. I was told to be the point of contact and attempted to orchestrate a meeting on at least 2 other occasions. Once he found out that both groups would be in ATL for this picnic, I was told to reach out to Nialah and set up the introductions. Funny enough, Nialah couldn’t make the trip at the last minute and told me to make plans with her line-sister Alexandra instead. The interaction was indeed short. A polite hello, with a few laughs, a picture to cement the moment in time, and we all went about our business. I think because we had no other interactions, it was surprising to me that the next day, I would receive such a pleasant text from Alex saying, “Have a safe trip”. It was a courtesy that no one else that we met that weekend cared to extend, and so Alex absolutely stood out. Coincidentally, I drove the majority of the way from Maryland to Atlanta and was therefore not responsible for any driving on the way home. This left me with 10 uninterrupted hours to return Alex’s courtesy. That 10-hour car ride turned into a week, which then turned into a month. Now here we are, seven years after the fact, ready to take a trip down the aisle and onto a journey of forever.

I pulled off the greatest surprise of our relationship to date, and I say “to date” loosely because the likelihood of it happening on this grand scale again is highly unlikely. Alexandra’s unnerving attention to detail and the fact that she knows me inside and out made the idea of surprising her with a proposal an intimidating task. The funny thing is, the first conversation we had about marriage probably occurred within the first week of knowing each other. But it wasn’t until the tail end of 2018 that I knew that 2019 would likely be the year I asked for her hand in marriage. After months of having no real vision for the execution, it hit me that the biggest determinant for my choice of execution was whether or not it would surprise Alex. Alex likely felt my brain working because one night, she called and asked me flat out, “Are you asking me anytime soon, or do I need to wait another year?” Well, how do I answer this? Admit the facts and ruin my chance at the perfect moment, or throw her off the trail. I chose the latter, “More than 6 months, less than a year away.” I could hear the disappointment ring loudly through the phone, but it had to be done. November 29th, 2019 I woke up with all the nerves anyone would expect to have on the day they ask the love of their life to marry them. It was a day that typically meant family pictures in the Desir household. So everyone in the house was in a state of preparation. The whole family took a group picture, after which the children and their spouses would have individual photos. First, Carl and his family, Matt and his family, Camille and Chrysanthemum, finally, it was mine and Alexandra’s turn.

We stood on the grand staircase of the family home, surrounded by both of our families. Taking pictures. Little Elodie, Alex’s niece, would interrupt us from the top of the stairs distracting Alex for just a few seconds. I got on one knee, Musiqsoulchild’s “Love” already cued to play through the house speakers. Balloons would begin to fall from the second-floor banister bringing her attention back to me. Tears began to flow as I spoke words I’m sure she doesn’t remember. After asking two times, I was finally able to get an affirmative head nod. We still joke about whether or not that was a real “yes,” but I’ll take it! lol *Special thank you to Nialah and Andrea for their help solidifying the execution plan, to my brother Stefan who worked tirelessly filling the balloons with air so we would have the perfect aesthetic for the moment, and to our respective families for all the help they provided to make the day as special as can be*