A day to remember

It was the Saturday before Halloween in 2021, when Tony was bouncing at Aloysias Lounge in Staten Island. Paula went to the bar after work like she did with her friends after a long shift. Tony came up to Paula to introduce himself formally, since he heard the bartender telling her he was just playing pool with her brother that she just missed by about 10 minutes. Well, when he introduced himself, Paula was less than interested in anything he had to say. In fact, she even replied with a “ uh-huh” once he said “ Hey, I'm Tony”. As the weeks went on, Paula and Tony became friendlier and Paula became less of a bitch. Fast forward to a holiday party happening at the bar when there was an undesirable man there. This man had made Paula so uncomfortable to the point of her wanting and needing to leave. Once she said her goodbyes, the bartender said she should not walk to her car alone. At this point, Tony over hears her say her goodbyes and decides to walk her to her car. Paula just thinking he was just doing his job as the bouncer…. It was at that moment Tony decided to shoot his shot. He put his hand around her waist and pulled her in close and asked for her number to take her out on a proper date. Having been so taken aback by his forwardness, she obliged and gave him her number. Their first date was ironically at Aloysias Lounge on Christmas Eve Eve where Tony surprised her with a bowl of venison chili and all of her favorite fixings for it. The rest has been history since.

While Paula is one of the most difficult people to surprise or keep secrets from, this was going to be a challenge. This was proving to be more trying than anticipating, especially since Tony wanted to do it the moment he had bought the ring. The best way to surprise her since she knew about the ring and a few spoiled attempts later, do it when she least expects it. Paula and Tony had decided to go down to AC to see Meduza at HQ2 Memorial Day weekend. Since they knew they would be at the day party on Saturday, they decided to go to Morton’s Steakhouse Friday night to have a “classy” night out for once! When they got down to the steakhouse, they asked if they were celebrating anything, to which they replied “it’s just date night”. Now the New York Rangers are in the Eastern Conference Finals against the Florida Panthers. Paula, being the hockey fan she is, has the game playing on her phone on the table, they had just finished their appetizer, gripping onto her glass of wine while Krider scores a hat trick, Tony goes on to say “Wouldn’t it be nice if we were celebrating something?”. Her immediate response was “You're not about to drop to one knee.” Tony goes on to say “Oh but I am.” and gets down on one knee.