It was the night of Friday, April 4, 2014. I had just flown in from Chicago to San Francisco for Stanford Law School Admitted Students Weekend 2014. I was exhausted, however, after being convinced to go out to NOLA with my host for the weekend, I made my way to Downtown Palo Alto. It was late and many of the students had already left the restaurant by the time I was first introduced to my future wife. She was wearing a red sweater and as she turned around she reached out her hand and said “Hi, I’m Krista.” Her eyes and smile were captivating even in the dim light. We did not speak much that night, but the next morning, I called my parents and told them, “Mom, Dad, I’m coming to Stanford . . . ” -Darryl Admitted Students Weekend 2014. I was Co-President of the Stanford Black Law Student Association at the time and preparing to meet all of our new recruits and convince them that Stanford was the place they should settle in for the next three years to start their legal careers. That night we planned an event at NOLAs, a local restaurant in Palo Alto. I spent most of the night speaking with eager future law students who had questions about the law school, what exams and professors were like and stressing over which school to chose. Then he walked in. He was wearing a long white sleeve t shirt and a cross chain hanging just below his chest. He had just flown in from Chicago and was happy to be in warmer weather. He had squinty kind eyes and an incredible smile as he was beaming ear to ear as we introduced ourselves. From there, I no longer found myself just talking to sell the school. I wanted to know anything and everything about him. I spent the rest of the weekend finding time to talk to him in between all of the official activities. At some point during the weekend, Darryl walked into the courtyard wearing a Stanford Law t-shirt. I held my breath as I asked if he had decided on a school. He said, "I'm coming to Stanford." The rest was history. -Krista

It was April 7, 2018 and we had plans to go to a friend’s birthday brunch on the Lower Westside. I woke up early that morning to go to our favorite cafe to bring back coffee and croissants before we took a cab across town. Or at least, that's what I told her. Little did she know, I had a surprise planned for her that had been 4 months in the making. On the way to pick up coffee, I dropped off 5 letters at meaningful spots in our neighborhood. I also used that time for a bit of last minute coordination with her friends and family who had flown in from all over the country for the occasion. I got back to our apartment with an hour to spare. I was getting nervous. As the minutes ticked by, I tried to collect myself and make everything seem normal. It was just another Saturday. At 10:55 AM, I began waiting anxiously for our phone to ring as I checked my watch. 56. 57. 58. 59…Our house phone finally rang. I asked if she could answer...And then the fun began. -Darryl "I started the day of the proposal very flustered as we were rushing to get out the door for a friend’s birthday brunch (or so I thought). As I was frantically running around to find my shoes, I received a call from downstairs that there was a package waiting for me at the front desk. When we arrived downstairs, the doorman handed me an envelope and told me that the man who dropped it off had to run back to his car (which I came to find out later was obviously made up). The outside of the envelope read “April 7, 2014.” The date that Darryl and I first met. Inside the envelope was a poem in Darryl’s handwriting about that day and meeting me for the first time. The last couplet prompted me to head outside where Darryl handed me a second envelope that read “September 25, 2014.” The date of our first kiss.

Overcome with confusion, excitement and a little bit of panic, I started to wonder what was going on and may have dropped an expletive or two asking Darryl what he was up too (and worrying that we were going to be late for brunch). The third envelope was waiting across the street at the building I lived in prior to Darryl moving to NYC. When we arrived, my old doormen (who I adore) handed me an envelope dated “October 16, 2014.” The date that we made our relationship official. I now knew something big was clearly happening. The envelopes held a series of poems each leading me to the next location and poem and each about a significant date in our relationship. The poems ultimately lead me to one of our favorite italian restaurants in our neighborhood, where I find out that we are still having brunch, just not the one I expected. Inside the restaurant, Darryl handed me the last envelope that read “Today.” The poem inside finally revealed Darryl’s plan to propose. He lead me to a private room in the restaurant where at least 30 of our friends and family are waiting holding large white letters that spelled “Will You Marry Me?”. At that moment, Darryl dropped to one knee and in front of everyone asked me to spend the rest of my life with him. I, of course, said, “YES!” -Krista