We're Getting Married!

Shelby and I met on the 6th of January, 2016, the first (and last) day of our Economics class. Okay, so it wasn't the last day for us, but it was the last day we actually paid attention to Mrs. Barrie's seemingly muddled lecture. We very quickly became friends, bonding over our jobs at Fossil- where I was a manager at the outlets and she was an associate at the mall. Every Tuesday and Thursday it was like we would hit the pause/play button and pick up where we left off. Shortly after we met, I began to pursue a relationship with Shelby. She didn't reciprocate these feelings immediately and we decided to stay friends. The very next day, at Firebirds in North Hills mall, we were having a very awkward "just-friends" lunch together, and I couldn't stand it anymore. "This is just STUPID! Why don't we just date each other..." I said, in exasperation. "I know you like me, and I made it pretty obvious that I like you so why can't you just be my girlfriend?!" So she did. From the very beginning of our relationship, Shelby and I have been very open in communication and emotional support of one another. I've known my love for Shelby was real from the first few weeks and months of our relationship; this led to many conversations about marriage and weddings under the guise of humor and joking, but I think both of us really meant those conversations even from the start.

Zip forward to August, 2017- about a year and a half after all of the "joking" conversations of proposals and all of the bells and whistles that come along with popping the question started- here we were, sitting in Firebirds at North Hills mall, again. Ring in my pocket, waiting for a table because I forgot to make a reservation. Shelby's frustration building, because she totally suspected what was coming, and I should have known better than to wing it and risk not getting the same table we started dating at, we decided to leave and go somewhere else. Which totally ruined my plans; the plans she didn't actually know I had. I think how upset I got let the cat out of the bag, and she talked me into pulling over in the parking lot of a Harris Teeter where she coerced me into telling her what was wrong, and when I did she got upset and asked me to ask her in the parking lot- of Harris Teeter. It wasn't even a NICE Harris Teeter, and I shared that thought with her, which made her laugh. Even through the tears, we laughed together and fell even deeper in love. She gave up trying to convince me to ask her in that parking lot and make up a beautiful, fake, story and told me to take her to somewhere special to us, no pressure. So I took her to the rose garden in downtown Raleigh, the same place we took my Eno hammock and strung it up between the rock walkway late one night and sat and talked forever. I asked her which color rose was her favorite, to which she responded white. I knew she was gonna say white, but only because there aren't gold roses. In front of the white roses is where I told her how much I loved her, and I made her several promises that'll remain just between us. In front of the white roses is where she said she would be my wife.