The first time I ever saw her she was sitting in a coffee shop at my brother’s college 3 1/2 hours away from where I lived. My brother knew her and introduced me near the end of the night. As he and I were leaving I told him she was cute and he should be nice to her. Fast forward 14 months and I knew that she was the one for me. I picked out her ring myself so she had no idea it was coming. I drove the 3 1/2 hours on a Thursday afternoon; I had a dozen roses, 12 cards and a spool of twine. Her roommates were keeping her distracted while I set everything up. The first six roses were scattered around campus at all of the different places that were important to the development of our relationship. Each rose had a card with a poem that hinted to the next location. The last of the six led her to the coffee shop where we first met. The last 1/2 dozen roses were in a vase on a table and the card told her to order some tea for the both of us and imagine being on a date with her amazing boyfriend. What she couldn’t see was that I was hiding behind the counter, where I had been crouched for the last 40 minutes waiting for her to arrive. When the tea was ready, the man handed it to me and I carried it out to her. I set both cups on the table, got down on one knee, unfolded the napkins to expose the ring and then asked her to marry me. I had arranged for her closest friends and my brother to be waiting for us at her apartment when we got back. I also knew that she loves dessert pizza so I had three of them delivered. She got to spend time alone with me and then show off her ring and tell the story to all of her friends at the same time.
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- Ehren W., Des Moines, Iowa