From the moment we saw each other, Gino and I felt once in a lifetime connection and decided to extend that feeling for the rest of our lives. In December 2011, almost one year after purchasing our first home together, the time seemed just right for us to start thinking abouth marriage. Gino and I had been shopping for engagments rings for a few months. There were so many wonderful choices the more we looked, the more it became hard to decide on anything. Two weeks before Christmas, we decided to design my ring together. The ring would have been ready just in time for the holidays.

 Gino and I had been working very hard and had arranged a date night, the only night we could go out together before the holidays' crazyness began. On the morning of the evening date, Gino told me with great disappointment that the engagement ring was not going to be ready on time and that we had to move the engagement till after Christmas. My heart sank, as I had been waiting for that moment for so long. Since we had been planning our date for some time, we decided to go out anyway. During breakfast, however, I happened to overhear Gino on the phone telling one one of his friends how beautiful the ring looked. I got so excited and I shouted at Gino, " I can't believe you tricked me." I was smiling from ear to ear. At that point I knew that December 20th, 2011 was going to be a very special day. However I had no idea how he was going to propose to me.

It was no surprise that Monica and I were going to be engaged on our date night. However, I decided to make things a bit more exciting. So, on the morning of the date, during which we both knew I was going to propose, I told her that the engagement ring was not going to be ready on time. Obviously, she was clearly saddened by it, even though I knew that feeling was only going to last till the evening when I would surprise her with the beautiful ring that we both had decided on. While having breakfast at a Glastonbury restaurant, I received a call from my good friend Narin, who was shopping for a wedding ring and wanted to ask me if I could refer him to the same place where I had purchased Monica's engagement ring. Without hesitation, I told him how great Monica's ring looked and that he would like the place. I had just ruined my own surprise for Monica. Thank God she didn't mind that. She was so happy about receiving her ring that she did not care about anything else. Once at the restaurant, during a romantic dinner with my future fiancee, I was picking my brain on how to finally propose. Fortunately, Monica decided to use the ladies' room toward the end of the dinner. As the waitress came to the table to ask if we wanted dessert, I produced the ring and asked if she could place it on the wipped cream of our dessert. She got so excited I became fearful she would take off with the ring or switch it with a glass ring. I almost changed my mind. However, I decided to trust her. With Monica back at the table, our dessert showed up. It did not take Monica very long to see the ring floating on top of the whipped cream, and her beautiful green eyes lightned up as they never did before. She looked as lovely as the first time she saw and smiled at me. I felt like our love would never end. I still feel like that...