Anthony went to the "schoolhouse" to receive training. Adriana had just been assigned to the "schoolhouse" to instruct the training Anthony was taking.

As it is customed to do, they were introducing new staff members during our big gathering in an auditorium at work. The presenters would tell us who they are, if they have family, and perhaps some fun fact.

< Sidenote: it gets harder to find people to hang out with as you get promoted, become a leader, and have more responsibilities. So, when another single person comes on board, that person could potentially be a friend and someone to hang out with.>

When Anthony's supervisor was introducing him, she told us who he was, where he was coming from, how many years he had been in the Army, and about his family (or lack thereof). As she started to say, "He is a single..." (Adriana perked up) "parent of..." (Adriana lost interest) "two dogs" (Adriana became really interested). Clearly, Anthony is a dog lover as much as Adriana is.

Not only could they hang out, but they could also have a playdate for their dogs!

Adriana and Anthony did not have offices, they had desks in cubicles. Everyone can hear other people's conversations if they are not whispering. It makes it difficult to concentrate on work when people forget that cubicles don't have doors.

Adriana knew when Anthony was nearby because he would sing the grunting part of "Hooked on a feeling" by Blue Swede rock band.

This is how Anthony wooed Adriana; by serenading her with this song.

While Adriana and Anthony worked on the same floor and were in the same department, they worked in different sections in the "cubicle world." There were times when neither one of them saw each other. This is normal since there is always something to do and other sections need help. During a two-week training that Adriana was instructing, she came back to her cubicle-desk and found chocolates and a coke. As much as she tried and asked around for who gave her these wonderful gifts, she never did find out. Maybe her NCO knew who did it, but she too denied knowing.

You must ask Anthony about the first date.

But to get the real story, you must ask Adriana.

Justice came into the picture unexpectedly a few days before 4th of July and botched Anthony's plans on the delivery of the engagement ring. Anthony had rushed back in the house to grab puppy JuJu to deliver the ring in time for the fireworks to start, but his collar was too wide to fit through the ring and had to abandon that plan. By the time Anthony came back out, the fireworks had begun--it was 4th of July then. He handed Adriana a small box, she examined it and said it was nice. He told her to open it, she did.

You must ask Anthony for the rest of the story. Or Adriana for the real story.