Aaron and Frances met the old-fashioned way: on the Internet. The year was 2011, when flip phones were still in style and hula-hooping was considered cool. At the time, Frances was blossoming into a fine medical resident at Harlem Hospital, while Aaron was busy training to become a professional ping pong player (and applying to graduate school in case things didn't work out). With time at a premium, and love an enigma, they decided to undertake what any rational person would do: post a few photo-shopped images, embellish their life stories, and see who takes the bait. Soon thereafter, Aaron stumbled upon Frances' personal narrative and eagerly messaged her. It was a cold winter night, and despite suffering from a recent bout of nasopharyngitis, she responded. After a few back-and-forth emails, Aaron suggested meeting in person. Frances was hesitant at first, but she eventually mustered up the courage to hire a personal body guard and join Aaron for dinner. A pork butt, whole chicken, and many libations later, they were well on their way to a happy, long-lasting relationship.
THE PROPOSAL
During the winter holiday season, Aaron took Frances back to his hometown (Dayton, Ohio) for a magical weekend. They stuffed themselves with homemade brisket, cheered on the University of Dayton basketball team, and even learned about the birth of aviation. The day of the proposal, Aaron convinced Frances to go hiking in Yellow Springs and rewarded her with ice cream from Young's Dairy afterwards.
However, just when Frances thought they could finally go home and escape the cold, Aaron made one last stop. He pulled the car into a dark parking lot where a crowd was beginning to gather. They got out of the car and walked passed a ticket booth. The surrounding buzz grew stronger. And suddenly, when the clock struck six o' clock in the evening, 3.5 million Christmas lights lit up the sky! But nothing was brighter than Aaron's face as he got down on one knee and asked Frances to be his wife. After silence, a runny nose, followed by a "I thought we would have talked about this beforehand," Frances said YES! And boy did they have lots to talk about on the ride home.
