It was a dark and stormy night in May of 2009 in Houston, Texas. I (Jonathan) was stuck on the side of the road in a thunderstorm due to car trouble when a strapping man (Stuart) pulled up beside me, rolled down his passenger side window and yelled out "Hello Miss, do you need some help?" I was overwhelmed with the gentlemen like demeanor of said man and politely replied, "Take a walk!" He pulled over anyway, went to his trunk and pulled out a tool box. He walked over and proceeded to look under my hood and started to fix my car. After he finished I asked how I could repay him and he said, "Come have a coffee with me." We went to a nearby coffee shop and the rest is history. THE END...
Anyone who knows either of us know that this story is very far from reality, 1. Stuart knows absolutely nothing about cars and 2. I do not talk to strangers. Unfortunately, the true story is not as dramatic as that. We did indeed meet in in May of 2009 in Houston, Texas but at a 24 Hour Fitness and it was not dark and stormy. While working out separately at the gym we both made eye contact a few times during our workouts and I (Jonathan) initiated a conversation with him (Stuart). We immediately hit it off and exchanged phone numbers.
The very next day Stuart called me and asked me out on an official first date where we went to Cafe Lili. We proceeded to see each other for a while off and on afterward and I eventually moved away to Dallas, Texas for work. Shortly after my move Stuart moved back to Aberdeen and London for a year and a half for work as well. We made sure to stay in touch as friends throughout this time and Stuart promised that we would start over whenever he returned to back to Houston and he would ask me out on another official date.
In March of 2013 I returned back to Houston and Stuart returned in October of 2013. Upon Stuart's return to the States he made good on his promise (although I was highly skeptical that he would) and he reached out and asked me out on another official first date. We met up on November 9, 2013 and went to The Fish in Midtown of Houston. The chemistry that we had was still there and the rest is history, we have been inseparable ever since.
Stuart and I got engaged on February 10, 2017 at the Bloomsbury Hotel in London, UK during high tea. Stuart had some business meetings in Aberdeen, Scotland and I decided to meet him in London for a brief holiday. I arrived from the states the morning of February 10th. Stuart met me at the airport and we went to the Bloomsbury Hotel where we were staying and I took a needed nap while he went to the passport office to renew his passport.
He woke me up upon his return form getting his new passport for an already scheduled tea downstairs. Still a bit out of it from jet lag I proceeded downstairs (looking a complete mess by the way) and we started enjoying our champagne tea.
During tea time Stuart and I participated in an ongoing crazy fairy-tale of how our dramatic wedding would look and the different events that would take place during our big day. This funny conversation was all in jest and had been ongoing for years. I started it off this time by saying that I wanted a high tea reception at the Bloomsbury Hotel during our wedding week and that I wanted an elevated solid gold throne to sit upon during the reception. I included that I also wanted the biggest hat in the room and elbow high white gloves. Stuart then said, "I can see it now, a long line of people in procession to greet you." I then said, "Yes, but I will not look them in the eye!" It was then that Stuart pulled out a ring and said, "Let's make it official then."
I saw the ring and of course said yes. As you can imagine we were both over taken by emotion. We celebrated the occasion by going to Paris, France for a bit and enjoying this monumental event in both of our lives.
If you follow our social media, you will know the name "Jedidah" or "Jed". Jed is our 7 year old Airedale Terrier dog-child and plays a huge part of our life together. Jonathan is definitely Jed's pack leader as he and Jed have been inseparable since Jed was 8 weeks old, but Stuart has been playing the role of "Funkle" (Fun-Uncle) by taking Jed on very long walks and sneaking him treats when Jonathan is not looking. Stuart is looking forward to officially transitioning into the role of full-time "Second Dad" after the official marriage.