How We Met
Tom and I both have similar backstories. I was born in Vietnam and Tom was born in the Philippines. I moved to the United States in 2001 and went to college at VCU in Richmond, VA. Tom moved to the United States in 2006 and went to college at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, VA. We never crossed paths during college even though Tom would visit VCU with his friends. As we began our individual careers, we both found our way to Southern California. We met through the only mutual friend who visited me in September 2015. She invited me and Tom for a dim sum which we both cannot turn down.
How They Asked
Fast forward four years later, Tom and I bought a condo together with our cat Izzy. Tom bought the engagement ring in May 2019 and was planning to propose in Aug 2019 when we travel to Vietnam to visit my family. Tom was still scheming for the perfect moment to propose in Vietnam. On a random Sunday night in August (8.11.19), we were having a conversation about marriage and our relationship. It got late and we decided to postpone the conversation to get ready for bed. I went to the bathroom while Tom was still out in the living shuffling through things, I thought he was giving Izzy some treats. Turned out, Tom decided to make a spontaneous in the moment proposal because the moment felt perfect to him.
I came out to the living room and saw Tom cradling Izzy with a shiny red box on Izzy’s fluffy belly. I was so confused, hysterical, and emotional all at the same time that I almost just left the room. Tom kept telling me to open the box and I kept saying no. He kneeled on one knee with Izzy still in his arms and proposed. Both of us crying and laughing at each other in the living room because we were both just in T-shirts and underwear. I felt so ugly because I had whitening strips on my teeth and laughed at how silly I looked at this special moment. However, it was such an intimate moment in our first home with our family of three. I wouldn’t have it any other way.
