March 13, 2018. Miami. 9:30AM. The sun is bright by the Biscayne Bay, Stephanie receives her daily morning text from Jason: “How are you? How’d you sleep?” ---she’s on one of her frequent work trips and while usually short, this one stole her from Michigan for a solid week.

March 13, 2018. Michigan. 10:45AM. Jason boards a plane in the Spring-chilled air with a lump in his throat, while clutching the box-shaped lump in his pocket. He’s found Stephanie’s travel itinerary and hotel location. With determination, Jason sets out to the unfamiliar landscape of Miami.

2:30PM. The Hilton Miami Downtown. Biscayne Bay. Jason stands in the lobby restaurant of Stephanie’s hotel, where the conch fritters soothe his nerves. He anxiously sends Stephanie a text.

2:31PM. Sunset Miami Clinic. Amidst a routine work visit Stephanie receives a text from Jason: “What time are you leaving the site?” –couldn’t be soon enough, she thought. “Maybe in an hour, LOL.” The wait is shorter than Jason anticipated, but the excitement only spins his wheels faster. He sends another message: “In an hour, call me when you leave work.” He steps out of the hotel, and sets out to find the perfect location to meet his best friend, and (hopefully) future bride.

3:30PM. Free from work, Stephanie calls Jason, happy just to have a phone conversation with her man in the middle of a long workweek away from home. Jason’s heightened tone of excitement brings a smile to her face. “Guess where I am?” he asks with a sly tone. Stephanie mulls over the question for puzzled beat, “Where?”.... “I’m in Miami!” He happily replies. Stephanie’s heart begins to flutter with confusion and exhilaration. “What are you doing in Miami?”.... Palms less sweaty, Jason proudly reveals, “I came to surprise you.” Her heart stops. She races to her car.

4:00PM. Margaret Pace Park. Jason is perched on a perfect patch of luscious green grass overlooking the calm waters of the Biscayne Bay. He checks his pockets again--just to be sure. Thinking through the nights falling asleep together on the couch watching Power, the first time hearing her hum to herself (to the beats of Lauryn Hill) in the car, and the way her brow furrows when she yells about his clothes being on the floor--his nerves slowly fade. He waits.

 4:08PM. Margaret Pace Park. Stephanie arrives to the park, she doesn’t know why Jason has surprised her, but she fixes her tightly knotted bun, anyway---if he’s flown across state lines, it must be special. Her fuschia silk blouse pops brightly against the trees as she walks along the park searchingly until she spots Jason’s navy blue button-down.

As they stand face-to-face, Stephanie’s thrilled confusion mixed with Jason’s fervor electrifies the air. Without hesitation, Jason recites a familiar phrase: “I love you, I want to spend the rest of my life with you.” He kneels, finally revealing the box, and true surprise, he’d held close all day. Stephanie stands in a stunned silence. Making sure she heard him the first time: “I love you and I want to spend the rest of my life with you.”

Memories flood as she recounts the feeling when they first held hands, the cute date-night meals he cooks to bring a smile to her face, and his funny obsession with detail when it comes to home projects – what seems like minutes is actually seconds as the words slip through her lips: “Yes!” ... And then, making sure she said it correctly the first time, “YES!!” The tears begin to flow, and like the bond they created, her tears last for a long, long, long, time.

THE PROPOSAL