CELEBRATE LOVE WITH US

Her vantage: After shopping for Hallmark ornaments, I decided to run into the neighboring grocery store to pick up a few things. As I was loading my car with the things I had bought I heard, "Excuse me miss." I remember finding it odd that this area would have beggars in the parking lot. I turned around to find that I was wrong. It was not someone asking me money. Instead, it was a man that was going to ask me for my number. I fixed my mouth to thank him for the compliment of coming over and to tell him that I was not interested. But he addressed me so politely and with such manners that I was in fact interested. We talked in the parking lot for so long that we both wanted to go to the Starbucks that was in walking distance to continue the conversation except we both had work to get to. We exchanged numbers. Went on our first date days later and we have been vibing ever since. His vantage: I was at work in-between sessions. I figured I would slide down to the grocery store for some snacks and things of that nature. Thats when I seen something niccceeee that caught my eye. I had to investigate. And I cant front. Once I got a closer look, I knew I needed that. I tried to set the scene so that we could leave out the store at the same time. My timing was off. But I wasnt going to let that stop me. Once I got outside, I seen her loading her car up with a bunch of groceries. I was wondering how many kids she had. But I approached her on some "excuse me miss" type of energy to disarm her cause I know theres a bunch of weirdos out here. We talked for about five minutes. The conversation had a natural flow. The more I talked to her, the more I realized that she wasnt a fly young hood booger with mad kids. I was pleasantly surprised that she was actually a nice young lady. Not only was she aesthetically pleasing but she actually had a good head on her shoulders. A nurse. So I had to go ahead and slide her the number and exchange information. We met on a Thursday. Linked up on Saturday. And she has been on me ever since.

The scene was set almost exactly one year prior when Lucretia surprised Cokley with a celebrity chef that came to their home to cook a private dinner. For this dinner, she decorated the dining room and wrote him a letter detailing how much he meant to her. The letter now sits framed in their living room. Cokley presented Lucretia with the idea of having a weekend staycation at a Zen retreat house on the outskirts of Charlotte, NC. Lucretia obliged. He made reservations at a nice restaurant...at least that is what he told her. In actuality, Cokley hired the same chef to come and prepare a special dinner for the two of them. They sat and ate a candlelight dinner where the conversation naturally flowed to them both professing their love for each other. Cokley expressed that no one had ever "shown up" like she did and made mention of the dinner and letter that was gifted to him. Lucretia elaborated on the letter and how she wanted to fully express how she felt for him. She explained that she wrote that letter when she realized she wanted to spend her life with him. As if it were on cue, Cokley gets up, pulls out the aforementioned letter, and tells her that the receipt of this letter is when he knew he wanted to marry her. He then pulls out a tiny box, gets on one knee, and asks her to do him the honor of being his wife.