How We Met
I was just two days out of a relationship when I decided to go out to my favorite country bar with one of my friends instead of staying home crying. When we arrived, my eyes met Brodys in the parking lot of Incahoots just as bar opened and Brody was about to go in for his shift. I stood waiting in line with my friend and Brody and I looked at each other and smiled. I saw him talking to one of the workers outside as he and I looked at each other. I asked my friend, “who is that beautiful man in red?!” Later I found out he was telling his boss how pretty I was. My friend and I proceeded to find the bar where the beautiful man was bartending and we were quick to order drinks from him. We spoke for a few minutes until his bar was busy with customers. I was intrigued because we both had attended SDSU and studied communication but never crossed paths. Throughout the night I proceeded to keep ordering drinks from him just to know more about him in quick 1 minute conversations. When I had enough to drink, I started throwing my drinks away and continued to order because I wanted to keep talking to him. At the end of the night I left him a big tip and said, “If you aren’t dating anyone I’d like to give you my number.” He had the biggest smile and told me he wasn’t seeing anyone and took my number. I called my mom as soon as I got home to tell her I gave my number to the bartender, he had some tattoos, and everything else I knew about him. Being two days out of a relationship I wasn’t expecting anything serious or for my mom to approve but it was the first time I’d ever heard my mom so happy and excited about a guy. He texted me the next day and we’ve been inseparable since.
Fast forward a year and a half later Brody moved to northern California to start the Sheriff’s Academy while I stayed back in San Diego. We planned on doing long distance for 6 months, most likely get engaged, and I would be moving up shortly after he graduated. But our world was turned upside down and our plans were put on hold when my mom was unexpectedly diagnosed with stage 4 cancer and passed away a month later. Brody let me know that he had been planning a proposal for months and had planned to ask my mom for my hand 2 weeks prior to her passing and proposing shortly after. He unfortunately never had the opportunity to speak with her prior about his plans to her passing. During the months that followed, Brody was my rock getting me through the hardest times in my life. Brody lost his father 3 years earlier, so he was incredibly patient and understanding of all my emotions. I couldn’t have asked for a more understanding man by my side during that time.
how they asked
Months later we planned a trip with my best friends to visit the east coast in early December and go see New York for the first time. I had been hoping that this would be the trip when “it would happen” and tried to pick up on any little hints I could from Brody or my best friends, but got nothing… When going through the security at the World Trade Center I even tried sneaking at peek when Brody had to empty his pockets… but saw nothing. Throughout the day Brody kept putting my hands in his pockets because it was so cold, so after all these “signs” I took that as a give-away that nothing was happening on this trip, so I decided to let it go. We traveled all through New York and were checking off all these incredible sights off our lists of things to see. I was most excited to see the big Christmas tree in Rockefeller center that we saved for last. I was in awe and so excited to take pictures next to it. As my friends and I took some pictures we had a professional photographer approach us and volunteer to take some. He took a lot of my friends and then started taking some of Brody and I. He was telling us to do some poses and then that’s when Brody took my hands. He said, “Chloé, I don’t want to be your boyfriend anymore…” He took the ring out of his pocket and got down on one knee; I looked at him and then the ring and my hands collapsed over my face.
The rest was a complete blur but I said YES!!! We hugged and cried for about 5 minutes standing next to the tree. The photographer was in shock because he actually was not expecting to capture a proposal – in fact he thought we were on a first date because Brody looked so nervous. He took the most beautiful pictures of the proposal and we all couldn’t believe the incredible timing of him being there. Brody told me he had given the ring to my best friend to hold in her purse and how they were purposely trying to throw me off and were even taking pictures with the ring behind my back all day. I loved that Brody included my best friends to be a part of it and I even felt like my mom definitely had a hand in the photographer being there at the right time to capture our special moment. I couldn’t have imagined a more beautiful and magical proposal and I’ve never been happier.
