No amount of FBI skills or intuition can prepare you for a day like this. Evidently it’s taken me over two weeks to process what resulted in one of the best days of my life. As someone who is blessed enough to experience love & joy on a daily basis, believe me when I say, 5/24/24 now takes the cake.

How far into the beginning should I start?
20 days later and I’m still trying to figure out how in the world this man was able to make this happen.

The Lowdown:
Kenny’s Family = Miami
Banks’ Family = Texas

We hadn’t been to Texas since Christmas of last year, which is not a normal span of time for us to go without visiting. Work was booming and time was flying.

In February, B tells me he booked our next trip to Texas for MDW.
Me? Thrilled and think nothing of it.

B is a man of many things, but two noteworthy mentions are his composure and planning skills. From December ’23 to May ’24, this man said to himself, “it’s time”, then proceeded to consult my best friend on the ring.

Then, told his parents, then bought the diamond, then asked my parents while I was on a trip in NY, then shipped the ring up north to be set, then shipped it to Texas, then reached out to our friends & family, then coordinated logistics with everyone to get them to Texas on MDW.

Then, had a secret spreadsheet and email thread with his Dad titled, “Project May.” Which outlined every detail of the weekend long event – rental cars, stays, logistics, maps, the MAPS they made everyone…

6 months of planning. 6 months of composure. All while doing his job which is extremely demanding (I won’t even try to romanticize investment banking), and being so freaking normal. Guys, I cannot stress the normalcy enough…

I cannot help but think back to so many weekend trips, long car rides, bedtime chats, dinner time spit-ball idea sessions, drunken hallway walks home, birthdays with friends, dinner parties, family facetimes, family bbq’s, MOMENTS on MOMENTS where anyone could have broken cover, or he could have (less likely), and this man had everything and everyone under control. With the exception of my Father, which now looking back was so emotional I should have noticed something was up. (lol, ily Dad and yes we will use that song as our father-daughter dance that you made me watch the music video of, 2 weeks before the surprise engagement).

So we get to Texas, it’s Friday, May 24th and we go to our friends place in Dallas to pick up our SUV to head to the Ranch. We have dinner at 7:30pm and we have a bit of a drive ahead of us.

Important details:

These friends, just visited us in Miami for Banks’ birthday. These friends were in sweatpants and WFH when we swung by. When we left they said “see you in a few months!” for their next visit to Miami. And just like that, we were on the road.

We always stop at Whole Foods before our drive to the Ranch, we are big on rituals, B and I. So we are pulling up and this man starts driving into the garage…
I said, “what’re you doing?” (you have to understand, I know this man well, he is a creature of habit and those habits rarely change) He NEVER parks in the garage and always does street parking. He changed the subject and said “Oh wow they demolished that building,” pointing in the opposite direction, so I look and go “oh wow, they did huh” and we carried on inside.

We approach the ranch, and I roll down the window as I always do (rituals) and record the gate opening as Banks let’s out the deepest exhale he’s taken since meeting me probably.

All of these details matter, keep them top of mind for later.

We get to the house and see his parents waiting for us outside. I’m so happy. Ya’ll I love the ranch and his family so much that I require a bigger heart to fit it all.

There’s a storm rolling in so we head inside and after some quick catching up, it’s already time to get ready for dinner.

The big question, how did the odds pan out for me to wear a white dress, you ask?

A week before, Banks and I were at the mall (you won’t catch me saying that sentence ever again), and his mom calls:

“Hey guys! My best friend is going to be in town with her husband next week, is it okay if she joins us for dinner Friday?”

This best friend, is one of the only people I hadn’t met, and I knew how important she was to her, which is what led me to say, “of course!” and then led me to Zara.

See, some people have almond moms, and other people have the “what’re you wearing” moms. I have the latter. If I’m meeting someone, anyone, for the first time, I better look nice. So obviously I needed an outfit. Life is in fact, a fashion show and presentation matters, according to how I was raised.

But the best part about all of this, is Banks knew.
That phone call from his mom wasn’t random, it was planned.
He knew I would want to look nice for this dinner considering how I feel about first impressions, and what better time to have her call than while we are in a mall.

I bought 2 dresses and one shirt. White, Black & White, and purple.
Lucky for the engagement, Banks liked how the white dress fit the best.
And so it was.

We get to dinner, and the table is set for 6. Perfectly.
The storm was building and so, “They’re running a little behind but let’s get some drinks.”

We’re close family friends with the restaurant owner. We greet her with a big hug as she shifts her attention to Ma & PaB (Banks’ Parents), “Do you remember that painting you gifted me for Christmas, I finally found a place for it, come! Let me show you really quick!”

And before I can say, “I wanna go!” like the art child that lives within me, Banks grabs my attention to tell me a story in such a way the painting suddenly became of little importance.

And once the story ended, there was a silent stillness.
For the first time I noticed that the restaurant was nearly empty.

Banks shifts his seat towards mine, “may I have your hand?” and looks at me in a way that took me back several years, Friday July 1st, 5:00pm, Dade blvd, Miami Beach.

I’m on my vespa and I approach the red light.
Two men on bikes in front of me turn around.
It had been 6 months since I’d seen him and we only met once.

“Kenny?”
Vespa. Stoplight. Timing. Kismet.

He looked at me just like that day, “It’s you”

Back in my body, in Texas, May 24th, 2024.

“Is this really happening?” I say without being able to see out of the river in my eyes.

It’s true what they say, you sort of black out from the adrenaline. One moment to the next he was on one knee, I had my face in my hands and my knees buckle down to meet him. I get to marry my favorite person in the world.

He wakes me up from the daze, quickly lifting me from the ground and my eyes meet a bunch of lights from flashing phones. Suddenly one turns off from blinding me, and I see my sisters face.

Dreams become reality.
(I’m crying writing this, Jesus)

My sister and I collide rib cages but not long enough to get my arms around her fully as she grabs one hand and Banks grabs the other, “There’s more!”

Cheering and clapping from restaurant staff leads us toward a brown wooden door that swings open before I can even catch my feet from tripping underneath me.

I think to myself almost instinctually, “If my sister is here, my parents….” and I pan the room full of smiles and tears on faces I love, to meet the eyes of my Mom and Dad. Running towards them felt like flying.

And so it was.

My awareness came in waves, remembering I was in my body all the while recognizing each person that was in the room overjoyed to share this moment with us.

Those friends we picked the SUV up from in Dallas who were supposed to see us “in a few months” were there. Incredible actors, I now know.

We went into the garage at Whole Foods because our Miami & NY friends found themselves pulled up in their rental car beside us at the light and Banks had to detour.

Banks took the biggest inhale of his life at the gate of the ranch because he was moments away from asking me to marry him.

Oh, I said yes. I didn’t blackout before I said yes.

The night continued with tear jerking and belly cramping speeches from our favorite people. PaB went over the weekend itinerary and all of the maps of the property that him and Banks curated. My dad drank bourbon which only happens in the presence of PaB, (new rituals).

And once the happiness reached every corner of the room, we found a window to climb into for just us, I turned to Banks, “How the hell did you do it?”

Happier you’re here,
Kenny