At this point in my journey, Tiffany and I had been dating for over a year and a half. We had been officially in relationship for about a year. I knew that this woman was the one that God had made for me, but honestly I was hesitant and afraid to jump back out there in the water “so soon” and get hurt again like before. It took my always blunt Aunt Lottie to put things into perspective for me. She had asked me “when do you plan on marrying her?” I told her “maybe in a couple of years.” Her response (and I mean verbatim) was “boy, you must have lost your mind! Ain’t no good woman gonna wait that damn long on you!” LOL! She did have a valid point. I had brought Tiff around some close friends and both sides of my family several times, which I made the mistake of not doing in the past. Everyone that mattered most (especially the women who are usually good judges of character and intentions) gave me their seal of approval on Tiff. Really, when it all came down to it, it was just my own doubt of failing again standing in my way. Although I enjoyed my trips from Houston to Dallas to see her, the long distance was getting annoying and I wanted to see my lady everyday. It was time to lock down this amazing woman and not let her get away.

Before starting to plan this secret proposal, I had to get Tiff’s dad’s blessing. It was very important to her that I respectfully went to him, as a man, and let him know how serious I was about his daughter. It was also important to me because I want to be a good example for when it comes time for Crystal (many many years from now LOL). Tiff always told me that her dad was old-fashioned in what he looked for in a good husband for his daughter. One weekend that Tiff came to Houston to visit, I suggested that we go spend time with her parents. We rode around Baytown and she gave me a tour. She showed me where she went to high school. She talked about some more of her life experiences living there. We made it to her parent’s house and sat around and talked for a couple of hours. I saw her dad walking into the garage. I got up, followed him and asked him if I could talk to him for a minute. I think Tiff knew what was going on but her mama was curious. It was just he and I in the garage and I asked for his blessing to marry his daughter. He looked me square in the eyes, reached out his hand, and said “you got it Chris.” I shook his hand and a grin of happiness immediately came on his face. I guess it’s safe to say that he was ok with Tiff’s decision to be with me. We walked back into the house and he shared the news with Tiff and her mom. Only he and I knew at this point the exact date when I was planning on proposing.

It was now time for action. I had previously used the help of Sami, Kate, Bre & Will to surprise Tiff on other occasions. This was because I had their contact info saved in my phone for an “in case of an emergency” situation related to Tiff. I had to find a way to be craftier this time. It’s funny how fate aligns though. I was on Snapchat one day and it suggested Heather under the “Quick Add/Someone You May Know” section. I added Heather and that’s when my sinister plan began (insert evil laugh here). Tiff KNEW that I didn’t have Heather’s info so I knew that her built-in private investigator radar would be down and she wouldn’t suspect a thing. Heather, Sami, Kate & Tiff usually met up for Happy Hour at least once a month. I asked Heather to reach out to the ladies and set up HH on Friday, May 5th, Cinco de Mayo. I told her that I was going to propose at 5 PM at Pappadeaux. I chose this date and time because (a) you don’t need an excuse for drinks on Cinco de Mayo and (b) this moment made exactly a year, 19 weeks and 08 hours since the first time that I told her that I was taking her out on our first date at this same restaurant. This was significant because Tiff is an AKA and we met through Greek Life.

Heather set the plan in motion on her end and got creative. She told Tiff that they’d be meeting at Pappasito’s (next door), which really would fly under Tiff’s radar and makes sense because it’s a Mexican restaurant. I reached out to Tiff’s linesisters about the plan so they could govern themselves accordingly as well. I made the reservation with the restaurant so that I could propose at the exact patio spot where we talked all night on our first date. I made sure everything was a go with the jeweler for the ring that I had customized for her in Dallas. I had told my boss, Kody, what I was about to do and he gladly switched his off Friday with me. Tiff had just come to Houston to visit the prior weekend so she assumed that I wouldn’t come to Dallas during the weekend of the proposal, since I’d be coming there the following weekend anyway. I told my mom and my daughter about my plan to propose, since they were the most important ladies in my life. I was able to convince Tiff to get her hair done during the week on Wednesday, instead of waiting on Saturday after AKA Chapter Meeting, because “I knew she would be tired.” Tiff, being herself, even unknowingly helped with her own proposal. She kept messing with Heather about her having a beautiful ring and not having her nails done since her wedding in March. Heather told Tiff that she would get her nails done if Tiff came with her on Thursday and get hers done too. Everything was now in place!

Friday arrived, I drove to Dallas, picked up the ring and went to Tiff’s apartment, since I knew she’d be at work. I had decided to leave my car there at Tiff’s place and Uber to the restaurant because private eye Tiff might recognize my car. It was a hilarious ride because the Uber driver had that “mom aura” about her and she could tell that I was nervous about something, so she asked me. When I told her I was about to propose, she literally stopped the car in the middle of US-75. I had to remind her that she was driving and that I didn’t need to die in a car accident before the proposal. LOL! She laughed at me and then told me that she had been married for over 20 years. She gave me some solid advice, especially since I was about to be the head of our future household. We arrived at the restaurant and she asked if she could pray for me & Tiff. I told her absolutely. She wished me good luck and pulled off. I arrived first and the ladies arrived shortly after. Heather gave us a head’s up that she and Tiff were on the way since they rode together. The ladies told Tiff that the wait time at Pappasito’s was too long so just come next door to Pappadeaux instead. Tiff walked up towards the patio, I came out of hiding to surprise her, told her what she meant to me, dropped to one knee and asked her to spend the rest of her life with me.

Writer: Mr. Robinson
Editor: Mrs. Robinson