How We Met
It started out in 2007 when I was a sophomore in high school. I saw a picture of a cute guy in my best friend’s wallet. I remember it was a middle school graduation picture and he was wearing a royal blue cap and gown. I asked my best friend who the cute guy was and she said it was her cousin. His name is Kevin and he lives in Reno. I found out later that she told him about me and showed him a picture of me too. It turns out that he finds me cute as well. One day during winter break of that year, I received a phone call from my best friend and she told me that someone wanted to talk to me. It was Kevin. He was visiting Las Vegas with his family and he asked me if I wanted to go to the movies with them. I even remember his family teasing him in the background while he was on the phone with me. Being the super shy girl that I was, I declined and made an excuse saying I needed to finish my Biology project. On midnight of January 1, 2008, my best friend called to greet me for New Year’s and she said someone else wanted to greet me too. It put a big smile on my face when I found out it was Kevin again. From there we became friends on social media and then we eventually exchanged numbers. We started talking everyday. We would text the whole day in school, talked on the phone after, and video chatted on Yahoo Messenger at night. In a very short amount of time, we fell in love.
On January 29, 2008, he said I love you to me for the first time and asked me to be his girlfriend over the phone. My heart was so full. I told him I love him too and just like that we became official. Thinking back now, it was hard to believe two kids that have known each other for only a month and never met each other in person were already in love. But it honestly felt like we’ve known each other for a long time. Our feelings for each other grew so strong that we decided to go for it. It was a little tough at first because we were in a long distance relationship. He lived 7 hours away from me. But no distance was going to stop us. In May of 2008, Kevin and his family visited Las Vegas for the Memorial Day weekend. I finally saw him for the first time and it was one of the happiest days of my life. I remember having a full day with butterflies in my stomach, especially when we shared our first kiss. A couple of months after, during summer, he eventually moved with his family to Las Vegas. And luckily, he ended up going to the same school as me. Fast forward 10 1/2 years, he became my high school sweetheart and now we are starting our life together in Phoenix. Who would’ve thought that being bored in French class in high school and deciding to go through my best friend’s wallet to find a picture of a cute guy would change my life forever? ♥
how they asked
For my 27th birthday this year, Kev and I had been planning to go back to Las Vegas to celebrate with my family. My whole family even took the weekend off for me so that we can all be together in honor of my birthday. My sister has a friend who reserved a table for us at this fancy restaurant at the Bellagio called Lago. Her friend supposedly was the manager of the restaurant and was going to give us a complimentary lunch. Everything was already set and I was very excited. However, on my actual birthday (June 29), our friends and business partners, Luisa and Andy asked Kev if he was able to do their emergency appointments the next day (June 30), which is the day we were supposed to have my birthday lunch with my family. Given the circumstances, even though it broke my heart, I understood that Kev had to do it for them. So the next morning, Kev and I drove to Vegas together. But as soon as we arrived, he had to fly back to Phoenix for his appointments. He even FaceTimed me at the airport to make me believe he was leaving. My family and I got ready for the lunch and headed to Bellagio. Our table had a front row view of the beautiful Bellagio fountains. So while we were eating our delicious food, we were watching the dancing fountains. I enjoyed the time with my family even though in the back of my mind I was still a little sad that Kev wasn’t able to make it.
Suddenly, our server told me I had one “special order” and he handed me a laptop. The server played a video and it started out with the sound of a FaceTime call. At first I thought someone was going to FaceTime me but then Kevin pops up on the video. He starts apologizing for not making it to my birthday lunch and proceeded to say that “Today was supposed to be a special day”. Then he started talking about our relationship throughout the past 10 years and all the things he loves about me. Now it all started making sense. There were no appointments that he had to go to. My sister doesn’t have a friend who reserved a table for us. It was all a set up and he planned it perfectly. I watched and listened to Kev’s proposal speech wearing a big smile on my face.
At the end of the video, he says that if he could put it into words how much he loves me, the best way is not with a statement but a question. THE QUESTION. Then the video focuses on his face, and he says, “Kathrina Marilao Dy…” but then he stops and says that it’s better if the person behind me finishes the question and asked me to turn around. And there he was holding a small box in his hand and his family was behind him. We were both laughing and couldn’t contain our happiness. He went down on one knee and everyone in the restaurant started clapping. Then he finally asked me the question that I’ve been wanting to hear for years. “Kathrina Marilao Dycaico, will you marry me?” And I said yes without hesitation. Everyone started clapping for us again. I stood up to kiss my fiancé, and he put the most beautiful ring I’ve ever seen on my finger. Now I cannot wait to marry my love and spend forever with him. The End ♥
