Our Day

I was eating my yogurt gearing up for a night of ‘too many tequilas’…waiting for the crew when he turned the corner. He was decked out in a blazer & holding a bouquet of roses. My initial thoughts - "Why is this man dressed better than me?" And of course - "Why is he here?" He told me we were going for a walk down memory lane. I looked down at my 5-inch heels, prayed for my feet, and said “Sure. Why not?!”

He lugged my laptop, lunch bag & change of clothes while I held the roses - totally checking off one of the top reasons I wanted a boyfriend: To carry all my stuff.

First stop was outside the apartment building he used to live. He stopped in front of it, faced me and started with “This place means so much to us….”. I became anxious. I could see a hobo directly across from me, a dumpster behind me and a stray cat ready to attack…and in my head I thought “Oh bubs – not here. Please not here”

Thank his good sense, he did not propose here.

We then walked to our next stop (rather inefficiently – later to realize it was so the (secret) photographer could snap some shots of us). As we walked, I kept pointing to restaurants & attractions we had been to figure out where we were going next. I was wrong 100% of the time – but it was great because it made me realize how much Toronto really meant to our relationship. It was our third wheel.

Jack Astor's restaurant was the next stop and this time my eyes lit up. No not because it was Jack’s (HEYALL-to the freaking-NO) but at the thought I would be fed. But again – he stopped in front of Jack’s, faced me, took a deep breath and said, “This is the first place I felt…”. It was sweet, but I felt my heart racing again -at this corner the smell of garbage was much more prominent and the rowdy sports fans more obnoxious. Was he going to do it here? Like really?!

He did not propose here.

We then headed to the Harbourfront. At this point, the pain of hunger was stronger than my aching feet and there was no end in sight. I was not allowed to have dinner – “it was not time yet”. I settled on pasta from the nearby supermarket. It was cold. It was dry. But it was ok – I just needed to survive. Five seconds into eating this pasta suddenly – “it was time”. Ok.

We ended up inside one of the Harbourfront condos. We went up to the 20th floor. He opened the door and I wasn’t sure where to look. There were balloons with pictures of the adventures: from 10K runs to family dinners. There were snapshots of our initial text messages to a time when “Please & Thank You” & “Hey, how are you?” was a must.

We turned the corner. On the floor – there were lilies in the shape of a heart (good time for a shout out to his helpers: Pamila, Mahrukh & Nayantara. You guys rock!). The windows were dressed in lights and candles laced through the lilies. After taking it all in, I tip toed my way into the heart and into Ayesh’s arms. There was a sense of vulnerability in that room I have never felt before. It felt – so good. I cried. Partly because of what was being shared but also maybe because there was no hobo or dumpster in sight.

It was here he proposed.

I said Yes & pledged my life to a new set of memories with my best friend, my greatest love, and my forever cuddle muffin.