We're getting married!

We met the day after Jocelyn’s birthday on November 11, 2016 at a wine bar in Manhattan called Uncorked. It was love at first sight. We connected immediately and bonded over: our love for Italian food, cooking, traveling, upstate New York, and especially our love for our families. Like the gentleman Gabe is, he offered to walk Jocelyn home 30 blocks to her apartment on the Upper East Side. We made it three blocks uptown before Gabe snagged a first kiss while waiting to cross the street at the corner of 62nd and 1st. It's been smooth sailing from day one and we both knew pretty quickly that we are each other's person.

We were visiting my parents in Florida at their winter home. Apparently, Gabe was planning to propose for a while and thought this week would be the best. I remember he and my dad took a kayak ride and my mom asked me “do you think Gabe is asking permission right now?” I said “no way,” but apparently he was asking and my dad said yes! Story goes that they almost fell into the gulf when my dad gave Gabe a congratulatory hug. We had beautiful weather and Gabe claims he was carrying the ring all week trying to find the perfect moment. On this particular day, we swam in the pool for hours, had a few hotdogs, and Gabe asked me to go for a walk. We stopped on top of a pedestrian bridge for a moment to look around. There was a man washing his boat close by and I turned to leave (Gabe had the ring in his hand at this point). When we got back to the house the rain came in for the first time all week. I took a shower and was lounging in my pajamas playing the Sims. Gabe was pacing around and I told him “you need to sit down and relax.” He asked me to go outside and look at the rain with him and I refused. He literally dragged me across the house on the floor (I was playing with him—not getting up). When we got outside he gave me a hug and I asked him “are you ok? your heart is beating really fast.” He said he was fine and I asked him to go back inside. He said to me “before we go in, I have one question for you…” he bent down and said “will you marry me?" Instantly thinking he was joking I started to walk away and said "get up." But he was serious! He shocked me so much that I grabbed the ring and forgot to say yes! After some hugs and kisses he said to me “wait, is that a yes?” We had a great night surprising my parents and going out to dinner on the island.

After I asked Jocelyn's father for her hand, my mission was clear. I needed to ask her to spend her life with me. The good news was that I had a whole week to find the perfect moment. After squandering a week of beautiful days, I was left with only one full day before leaving for home. The moment was at hand. After a lovely morning, I asked Jocelyn to join me for a walk. So immediately after starting our walk, Jocelyn told me how her feet hurt. I insisted on pressing on so I could find the perfect spot to propose. After dragging Jocelyn all over the neighborhood, I found the perfect spot; a bridge over a canal with the sun shining on a beautiful day. The only problem was that there was a gentleman on the side of the canal washing his boat. So I reluctantly put the ring back in my pocket and we walked back to the house, Jocelyn telling me about her feet the whole way. Shortly after we returned, we made hotdogs and each ate more than I'm allowed to divulge here. While we indulged the sunny weather had given way to a rainstorm and I saw my final opportunity slipping away. By this time Jocelyn had settled in her chair playing the Sims. Cognizant of my dwindling time, I suggested to Jocelyn that we go out under the porch and watch the torrential rain. This idea did not go over well with Jocelyn so I was left with no other choice than grabbing her by the wrists and dragging her to the door, picking her up and taking her outside. So there we were, standing under the porch hugging her very tight, with her head resting on my chest. At this point, she asked me, "why is your heart beating so fast?". To which I cleverly replied, "No it isn't". Jocelyn was done with me at this point and our warm embrace ended. It was at this moment that I got down on a knee and popped the question, to which she responded, "get up". She didn't see the ring and thought I was joking. After ensuring her that I wasn't, she said yes! The perfect moment was attained. The end.