We met TEN years ago in Kansas City in 2011....and started dating in 2014. So what happened during those first couple of years? Arina was too busy scouting out every bakery in the Midwest and Ankit was either in the Taco Bell drive-thru or playing basketball. Eventually we could not fight the inevitable and fell drunken in love.
On June 2nd 2014, I took Arina on our first date and despite already knowing her, I was really nervous.
I showed up at her place with a Red Velvet Cupcake wine bottle which of course she really liked. I planned on taking her on a date to Beer Kitchen knowing she would love the red velvet chicken and waffles (Arina really likes red velvet). Of course, I got lost on the way and at one point was even driving on a train track. By the time we eventually made it to the restaurant (& Arina was convinced that I wasn't trying to kill her), my reservation was given away and we could not get a table. We ended up across the street at McCoy's, where everything finally went according to plan. That night, Arina and I had the first of many great nights.
During our last year of medical school, Ankit and I had already starting envisioning our futures with each other. We decided to couples match (link our rank lists together). On March 17, 2017, we matched together at the University of Miami's Anesthesiology and Interventional Radiology programs.
It was no secret to anyone that I had been waiting for this day for a LONG time but of course Ankit wanted it to be "special" and do it his way...
Leading up to the proposal, Ankit told me about an Interventional Radiology Banquet at the Rusty Pelican on 10/6/2018. I did everything in my power to figure out Ankit's plan: went through his phone, talked to his co-residents, asked my friends & my family. I was very suspicious, but eventually decided that Ankit was not going to propose and planned a residency potluck that Friday night.
Saturday morning as I became suspicious again, Ankit's cousin Ravi left to go to a Miami Hurricanes football game. That confirmed it for me, Ankit was not going to propose!
It was a beautiful sunny day. Tina (Ankit’s sister) had arranged for me to get my hair and makeup done for the “banquet,” Cat made sure I painted my nails. As we walked up to the restaurant, I was yelling at Ankit for taking the "scenic route” to enter. However, I saw & admired a table set up on the patio with a beautiful flower arrangement and a Harry Potter book overlooking the bay and the Miami skyline. And then, everything happened so fast, next thing I knew Ankit was on one knee asking me, "Arina, will you marry me?”. This perfect proposal was completed with my best friends and family running out to congratulate me. Ankit had even flown to Birmingham to ask for my parents' permission & organized for our friends to be there! After the proposal we ate brunch and partied the rest of the weekend.