Adam and Rosa Bonsey set me and Jemille up. He told me that he showed Jemille a picture of me and she thought I was a cute. That was a fat lie that led me to call her.

We met 3/5/13 at Starbuck's in Salinas. We were suppose to meet at Peet's Coffee but we had a last minute change and I had to race to the new location. She sent me a Yelp pic of the Starbuck's profile and address. I didn't even know phones could do that! Don't judge. I arrived a little earlier and waited for her. Some time had passed, and I was wondering if she was going to show. Then she called sounding annoyed and asked me what I wanted to drink since she said she was at Starbuck's already. I was confused and asked her what she wanted because I was already at Starbuck's too and didn't see her. We discovered that she sent me to the wrong Starbuck's. She later told me that she thought I was nice. At least, I didn't get the shoulder pat good night.

I wanted to surprise her, but she will swear that she knew the whole time. I picked up the ring weeks before and hid it in my sock drawer. Hiding anything like that is stressful. I don't have secrets and normally don't worry about her going through stuff. One day she helped put away laundry and I freaked out. I quickly had to move the ring.

The proposal was planned for Thursday 3/5/15 at the Starbuck's where we first met. Her family was going to surprise her there. Jemille thought it would be fun to go back to Starbuck's on our 1st date anniversary. However, after a trip to Salinas the weekend before, Jemille told me she didn't want to go back to Salinas later that week. My jaw dropped and I told her family we had to cancel. Her mom persuaded Jemille to come back down. She was reluctant but decided to go. I was so relieved because at the moment, I didn't have a back up plan.

3/4/15, Jemille and I went out with my friend David, her coworker Roy, and her boss Tess. She got sick that night and I was worried that she wouldn't feel well enough to go to Salinas. Jemille said she would be fine.

Finally 3/5/15 had arrived. Hiding the ring was nerve wracking and the repeated threat of plans changing was like walking through a mine field. After work, I got some flowers, pizza and a polish, thinking she might get a little hungry for the ride down to Salinas. Jemille came back home nauseous and sick, and when she got home, she didn't want to go. Her mom had to convince her to come down again. Jemille was getting suspicious. I felt bad, but I was so close to proposing.

The food helped her feel a little better, but by the time we were close, I had to exit so she could vomit. I felt horrible! She wanted to go home and then leave. I told her we might as well go to Starbuck's. We got there super early and she saw her siblings through the window. We walked in and Jerome explained that there was a family meeting, but the parents were running late. When the parents arrived, Jemille and her siblings were talking. I took out the ring and got down on one knee. I tried to tell her, "I love you and I want to take care of her. I wanted to run around going on foodie adventures for the rest our lives." In the middle, she started laughing and turned red. I choked and started stuttering and asked her, "Will you marry me?" She said "okay." I saw it playing out differently in my head.