come celebrate love

(As told by Prentice) Our love story begins in The Fall (November) of 2019. While perusing through Meta’s (at the time it was still Facebook) Dating app, I came across Natalie’s dating profile. “Sweet Baby Jesus!”, I exclaimed to myself as my eyes were fixated on her profile and viewed her for the first time. Natalie was an Olive-hued, delightful Sunkissed beauty complete with a luminated smile and enigmatic aura to match. Shortly after (Approx. 35milliseconds after viewing her beautiful smile), I sent my formal love request into the Metaverse. A short time after, I received notification that I had successfully matched with Natalie, and we began to converse. “Damn (Darn if my grandmother is reading this)” is the phrase uttered to myself as Natalie and I continued to chat and get to know each other. Our conversations consistently produced feelings of butterflies in my stomach and lit an intellectual fire that always left me eagerly awaiting our next conversation. We discussed topics in detail that ranged from Wine to the Social Determinants of Public Health. I was able to quickly ascertain that Natalie was smart, compassionate, emotionally intelligent, and a true dynamo. “I need to ask for her number” is what I exclaimed to Sean (my co-worker) as I nervously paced in his office for 2 hours explaining that the conversation, energy received, & overall feelings about Natalie were unlike anything I’ve experienced before. The more we conversed, the more nervous I became. I did not want to wait too long to ask Natalie out on a date, as she would potentially think I’m not interested. “What do you have to lose? You will never know what potentially awaits you if you don’t ask”. Sean (Nostradamus? Aristotle? Messenger of God?) was 100% correct in his advice. I asked Natalie for a formal date, and we agreed to meet. Our First Date was on December 18th, 2019 at Lolinda, an Argentinian steakhouse in San Francisco. I arrived first at the restaurant. As I sat down, my chinos seemingly became tighter and tighter with each passing moment as jitters/nervousness began to set in (Thick Thighs Do Save Lives) “Can we take a picture with the tree?” was the phrase that sprung me free from my involuntary 1-on-1 consultation with my pre-frontal cortex. I will never forget the moment Natalie walked into Lolinda. Natalie’s hair was Jet Black complete with perfectly proportioned curls that stretched down her back. She has a beautiful white top with highly fashionable pants and boots. She saved her Smile for last which was brighter than the Christmas Tree which stood directly behind us (Yes, I was speechless) Natalie and I arrived at our table around 6 pm. The food, respectfully titillating, was the last thing on my mind. The energy, quality, and ease of our conversation are what provided true nourishment. It truly felt like I was talking to a beautiful person for the first time that I’ve known my entire life. I remember looking at the clock periodically throughout our first date. The first time I glanced, the time read 7:45 pm. The second time I peeked, the time read 10:00 pm. The last time I peeked, the clock read 11:20 pm! I had to inform Natalie that I had to depart as I took Bart transportation (Only Fitting, Right?) and needed to catch the last train home. As we walked out and I waited for her Uber to arrive, she planted a respectful kiss that forever sealed our fates…..

(As told by Prentice) It’s Wednesday morning (approx. 4:30 am) March 30th, 2022. I’m currently pacing through our Parisian hotel suite like Pink Panther (to avoid waking Natalie). A current nervous wreck, I’ve sat on our couch, lounge chair, and bathroom toilet in 15 minutes. Once back in bed, Natalie woke briefly and softly uttered “Are you okay babe?” I replied, “Yes Honey, my stomach just hurts a bit (Wink, Wink)." Almost on cue, my body began to race again & I proceeded to the bathroom because I didn’t want Natalie to sense my unsettled state. Once I arrived back on the Porcelain throne, I continued to endlessly process each detail of the surprise proposal. I went over the words that I wanted to say (made a few edits for smoothness) and continued to talk to myself + God to calm my nerves and then I received a text message. The message was from Natalie’s friend, Monica (Messenger from God). We chatted for a bit and the convo, and positive reassurance provided by Monica helped my mind calm to a tranquil state and to walk forward as my date with destiny was awaiting my arrival. I emerged from the heated seat primed & ready to move forward with the big day. Once Natalie arose from her slumber, she immediately began to get ready for our “couples photo shoot” (Wink, Wink). She was unaware that I had a proposal planned (women’s intuition?) and I sold the shoot to “celebrate our journey as a couple”. I felt like a kid in middle school who was trying desperately to not tell my best friend a Bigggggg Secret. I had to continue to play things smoothly, as the Marriage Proposal was right over yonder (Sorry, I watched Yellowstone last night). I chuckled to myself as I thought about the journey or bringing her engagement ring to France. From pure anxiety felt from passing the ring through TSA/Customs & praying to the Lord that they didn’t force me to perform an impromptu proposal in terminal 1 of The San Francisco International Airport to me rushing across the room each time we arrived back to our hotel rooms in London to ensure that the ring was in the Safe. When Natalie proceeded to the bathroom, I attempted to take videos/photos to capture mementos of this day that we would be able to show our Children, Grandchildren and truly cherish forever. Natalie Stood in front of the bathroom mirror in an Obey T-Shirt in a Golden State Warriors (Defending NBA Champions) colorway that read “Make Threes Not War” (I was definitely shooting my shot today). Her shorts were from a previous Nike Running collection in the Pink/Black colorway. Natalie’s hair was in an in-between state of long, luscious black curls & straightened hair. We took photos, and videos and proceeded to get ready until our car arrived to take us to the Eiffel Tower. Once at The Eiffel Tower, I simply became speechless. We arrived early in the morning, so it truly felt like we had the area to ourselves. The Eiffel tower was a striking sight to see, however, Natalie, was The Main Attraction with her perfectly fitting Satin Magenta Dress and Accenting Nude Colored Heels. The photographer soon arrived, and the Surprise proposal had officially commenced. The photographer & I agreed beforehand that he would give me the signal to propose at the third photo location and I would take it from there. Through the first 2 photo locations, I must’ve mentally rehearsed my proposal speech 14 thousand times in my head before we arrived. When we arrived at the third photo location, I took a deep breath and begin to truly tell Natalie how beautiful, special, and How much I LOVE her. How much my life had changed for the better since she came into my life Natalie officially said “YES” to my proposal, and then proceeded to help me peel myself up from the French cobblestone as my “check knee” light had activated 30 seconds into my speech. We then proceeded to the last photo location before returning back to the Louvre hotel in the Bliss of Engagement.