The Day

So I had this ring burning a hole in my pocket, but I wanted to wait for that perfect moment. That day came on December 8th. We had planned a trip to Brazil for my birthday, and it was the day before we were to leave. We both had stressful days at work, and 7pm rolled around and Alexandria was still at work. I offered to pick her up, and take her to dinner.

I got downtown and the presidential motorcade was circling her building. She had left her cell at home, and could only call me from her office. A few times, she called me, I would tell her where I was parked, and before she could get to me, the police would come and ask me to move. Unable to find me, she went back up to her office, called me again, and the whole process repeated itself. Eventually I got her, and off we went.

The place we were originally going for dinner did not serve alcohol, and by this point, that was no good. She talked me into trying this new place, which to my surprise, had a two hour wait. (It was 8PM on a Tuesday night!) I put our name on the wait-list and we stopped at the local bar next door/downstairs while we waited. We sat cuddled up on this wooden park bench, her legs in my lap, beers in hand, surrounded by a bunch of interesting (she says I can't say ugly) people, engaging in normal, non-DC-like, conversation. - No one introduced themselves with their verbal resume, no one asked/cared what we did or where we worked, and no one name dropped their favorite politician... 

We felt like we were back in Philly. 

Finally our table was ready and we ventured upstairs... Toki Underground... Now our favorite DC noodle bar. The food was amazing, the drinks got us loose, and I looked at Alexandria and realized, this was the moment.

The Proposal

I made an excuse to leave the table and let the waiter know what I had in the works. I told him I was going to propose, and when I handed him her phone and asked him to take a picture of us, to just keep snapping. At the end of the evening the waiter brought us the check. I took Alex's phone and told him to take a picture of us... Alex was so busy telling me how rude I was for telling rather than asking, she did not notice me pulling the ring from my pocket....

You are my heart - M 

Special Thanks To:

Uncle Scott who facilitated our first encounter. 

Iman, who had a BF at the time, which forced Alex to be the third wheel.

Uncle Bubby who provided the pool, wine, and Portuguese cheese.