He was staying in her guest house and would return each night. She would call each day to make sure he would be returning in case he got “too comfortable” at my place. As you can imagine, that got old real quick! But in spite of that, we continued to find happiness in the most mundane of things. So much so that when the three weeks were up, Brian didn’t go back to Philadelphia, but instead made plans to relocate to Georgia. We knew things were getting serious and could not bear the thought of being without each other. Our second “official” date was longer and staring into his beautiful steel blue eyes, I forgot that anyone else was around. Though we sat in the mall food court during one of the most busiest shopping days of the year, it was as if we were the only two people there. It was Christmas eve and we did some last minute shopping and strolling around the mall. We looked at a jewelry store and I saw the most beautiful heart shaped diamond engagement ring I’d ever seen. It was 3.3 carats. Brian noticed me looking at it and said it was beautiful, just like me. I smiled at him and he leaned in to kiss me. When we got back to my place, the kids were getting ready for bed. We prayed with them and kissed them good night. After that, we sat in the den near the fireplace and Brian held me close. I closed my eyes and took in all the things we had done up to this point. I got lost in the scent of his cologne, the softness of his sweater, his warm embrace.

Everything seemed so perfect. We are so right for each other and now he was moving here and I couldn’t have been happier! We shared a kiss and then he did the strangest thing, he slid off the couch and got on one knee! My heart raced as he reached into his pocket and pulled our a ring box and held it out to me. “I know this is soon and its not exactly the best way, but I know that I love you and your kids and I can’t imagine my life without you all”, he smiled. “Would you do me the honor of becoming my wife and allow me to be apart of your beautiful family?” he asked as his eyes sparkled in the firelight. I opened the ring box and the heart shaped ring from the jewelry store sparkled back at me! How could I refuse! I said, “yes!” We hugged immediately. The ring fit perfectly and looked beautiful! The next day, we called his daughter and told her and made plans for her to come down and live with us. After that, as my kids were getting ready to open their presents, I showed them my gift from Brian. My youngest daughter, who is five years old, jumped up and asked, “Does this mean we get to keep him?“ We told her yes and she gave Brian a big hug. “This is the best Christmas present ever, I get to have a dad!”, she yelled. Everyone laughed and began to open their presents. This was truly a “gift” for everyone, a husband for me, a wife for him and a father and mother for our children.