We first met 20 years ago at Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina. I, Veronica, was a girl from Long Island, New York who went down south for higher education. Jason was a good ol’ southern boy from Black Mountain, North Carolina. We both started our college career off at different colleges and transferred to Appalachian State in 2000. The stars must have been aligned back then but nothing romantic came out of it. We would see each other out at parties and around campus but lost touch after graduation. We’re talking pre-Facebook, people!
It’s 2018. I, Veronica, was at home, swiping left on Bumble when Jason’s picture pops up! I couldn’t believe it! Jason was living in Charlotte! I was excited because I remembered what a great guy he was in college, all the fun we had together and how nice he was and I couldn’t forget those dimples! I swiped right but nothing happened! I was freaking out because I had a million thoughts running through my mind... What if he swiped left on me? Maybe he doesn’t remember me? Or the worst thought... he was dating someone and forgot to take it down! I knew he had to have a Facebook account so I looked him up, or stalked him out, and found him! I debated on sending a friend request for a minute or two but thought to myself, “What do you have to lose?”, so I sent it! I waited and waited and nothing happened. I think I looked at my phone a hundred times waiting for a notification that he accepted my friend request. When I woke up the next morning I saw that he did! I jumped out of bed and messaged him! We started messaging back and forth, catching up on the past 18 years when I finally got the nerve to ask him if he wanted to get together that weekend. Jason started laughing and said that he already asked me if I wanted to get together but I blew him off by not responding! Well, in my defense, I just woke up and didn’t have any coffee and with all the excitement, I missed it! I about died! I quickly scrolled back in our messages and saw where he asked! We made plans for that Sunday. After talking all day and night, we didn’t want to wait for Sunday so we moved our date to Saturday! Jason said he was going to bring his dog Orville with him and how he had one condition, if Orville didn’t like me or if I didn’t like him, it wouldn’t work out between us because they were a package deal! On Saturday, June 9th, we had our first date and it’s been me, him and the lab ever since!
Veronica and I, Jason, planned a trip to go to New York City for Christmas. Veronica kept talking about how beautiful New York City was at Christmas and I’ve never been so we decided to go! A couple of days before our trip, I asked Veronica’s parents for her hand in marriage and I decided that I was going to propose while we were in New York. I had the ring in my backpack and took it everywhere we went. I protected that backpack with my life! I wouldn’t even let Veronica touch it or get a bottle of water out of it. She should have known that something was going on but she just thought I was being extra particular about my backpack. After a jam-packed day of sightseeing, we bought tickets to go to the Top of the Rock at Rockefeller Center to see the skyline on Saturday, December 21st. With an hour wait ahead of us, we decided to go see the famous Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center and grab a drink. After taking in the sites and freezing half to death, Veronica said she wanted to use the restroom as I was looking to find the perfect person to take a picture of us. I wanted them to capture “The Moment” but Veronica couldn’t wait and said she was going to use the bathroom and started to walk off. I thought to myself “it’s now or never” because this was the perfect spot. I grabbed Veronica and said, “You know I love you, right?” Veronica replied, “I know! I love you too babe!” I took a deep breath and said “Veronica, will you do me a favor? I then began to get down on my knee as I asked Veronica to be my wife. She looked at me with a shocked face and pushed me away and asked: “Is this for real?” “Is this really happening?!” With tears rolling down her face, I pulled out the ring from the backpack she said: “Yes, yes, yes, a million times yes!” There we were, in the middle of Rockefeller Center with thousands of people all around, feeling like we were the only two people in the world. It was such a magical moment that we both will never forget.