How We Met
We met while I was on vacation in China. Bob and I are only one day apart in birthdays, the same year. After college graduation in 2010, Bob went to Shanghai to work abroad. I was visiting family there and during the last two weeks of my 3-month vacation, I stumbled upon the fated love of my life. I was out with a friend one night at a billiards bar and spotted Bob with a group of friends across the bar and decided to strut myself over and say hello. We immediately hit it off and truly enjoyed the conversation. He asked me if I wanted to join them for the rest of the evening and we couldn’t stop talking till we were ready to go home. He politely asked for my number to show me around the remaining days of my trip. I took him up on the offer and a whole whirlwind of events happened within the last two weeks of my trip. From romantic cafe dates to cutting my knee open from falling on an escalator (Bob was so sweet to clean the blood off my shoes), we just seemed to be destined to meet. We believed we were soulmates.
However, the clock ticked midnight and the magic came to a halt when I came back to the U. S. And he was planning to stay in Shanghai for an unknown amount of time. We tried to make it work but alas the light at the end of the tunnel dimmed and after 6 months, we decided to face reality. But 3 years later, I received a text from Bob simply thanking me for the time and effort I put into our short relationship and if I was ever in Shanghai again, we should grab dinner. Lo and behold, I was planning on visiting family again that year. We had both met and dated other people in between the years but we were both single at the same time. So in 2014, I took him up on the offer. Again on vacation in China, I relit the flame on our love and it has remained strong since then. When we met up again, the flood of emotion and a sense of belonging to each other was undeniable. We decided to try long distance between Shanghai and Florida and though we only saw each other twice a year for 2 1/2 years, I finally convinced him to move back to the states in 2017, first back to Michigan, then to Florida!
How They Asked
In March 2019, we were planning on going to Paris for a four-day trip. I told him months before that I really wanted to take sunrise photos at the Eiffel Tower. I had researched all the different views and locations where I’d like to go and chose the Trocadero train station for the most perfect view of the entire tower. I rented a really nice lens for my camera, got a tripod and a Bluetooth clicker. I was ready for my photo taking. Unknown to me, Bob had his own plans and the night before Friday morning when I wanted to take photos, he couldn’t sleep. I thought he was crazy and it must’ve been jetlag. Friday morning, I woke up extra early to get ready and before we left the Airbnb, he told me to leave my tripod. I didn’t understand. How were we going to take photos of ourselves without one?? He simply told me to trust him. With some struggle, I went along with it. When we got to Trocadero, I caught him waving to a stranger who was approaching us.
I once again thought he was crazy for waving to strangers at 5:30 AM in a foreign country. We were greeted by an adorable girl with pink hair named Rachael who told me she was our photographer that morning. Bob said he wanted nice professional photos taken for us to remember the trip. At this point, I was still completely clueless cause we’ve been on many international trips over the years and nothing has ever happened so I simply thought this was a nice gesture. After some casual shots and walking around, Rachael asked me a few questions, one of which had a trigger word for Bob so as I turned back from looking into her eyes to answer her question, he was already down on one knee, ready to go.
I was in shock. Luckily Rachael captured the moments of my shock. I didn’t know how to react and without thinking, I jumped ten feet off the ground and shouted YES for everyone in Paris to hear. It was everything I dreamed of and much more. He saved up a lot of romance for this one moment cause he is not the most expressive or romantic man in the world. It was beautiful and in the most wonderful city of love. Our long and difficult journey was moving into the next chapter. For the rest of the trip, I couldn’t help but stare at him lovingly and then stare at my ring adoringly. I was so much in awe that when the customs agent asked me what I brought back from my trip to Paris, I answered my engagement ring and my fiancé!!
