He Said: One of my brother's just got married and while the reception was underway I prepared for my speech as Ryan (brother) walked towards me with the most interesting woman I've ever seen. Never have I seen a woman with this presence or her beautiful face and I just had to know who is this woman in question. I approached them and I was amazed at Ryan's consistency of having a beautiful woman by his side. Ryan and I exchanged greetings (as I tried to keep my eyes away from the woman in question), I asked to be introduced and Ryan said the woman in question is his cousin. I quickly became excited and reached out for the woman's hand and introduced myself (as KHALFANI). I then asked, "what is your name, and are you black" (I have never seen a woman like her)? The woman in question then shared her name, "Nandi Shabazz"! At this point it was time to sit, and I made sure I sat next to Nandi Shabazz! I was later told to move. We met at the bar (discussing drink preferences, and her big beautiful forehead), we locked eyes on the dancefloor (didn't dance with one another), and saw each other at the after party (I asked her and Ryan for a ride home). In the car headed home her music choice was A1, and I mentioned her big forehead again before asking for her number. She was confused and I continued with "all the pretty girls have big foreheads". As smooth as always I got the number and have yet to see another soul like Nandi Shabazz yet.
She Said: We actually met at a wedding August of 21. My cousin Ryan hit me up one night asking if I'd be down to go to a wedding with him. So I thought to myself hm, free food and drank and a party with black folk, say less. So we make our way out to Orland Park, he tells me these are his friends from high school and it should be a good time. We arrive to the ceremony which was beautiful and I thought I saw a member of the 5 Heartbeats. Remembering I was in gods house I turned my attention back to the ceremony. Soon after we made our way to the reception. That's where I got to meet the Temptation in real life. He introduced himself being suave and gentlemanlike, and once he learned I was Ryan's cousin and not his date he tried to change table seating cards as if there wasn't months of coordination behind it. He was unsuccessful and had to go back to his seat. Once the bar opened back up and we began talking about drink preferences and it wasn't until long until he cracked his first joke talking bout "whaaaaat all pretty girls have big foreheads" and somehow it worked.
He Said: So Ms. Shabazz and I had exchanged a few texts after the wedding and she asked if we could hang out. I remembered she lived near downtown Chicago at the time and we met at her rooftop terrace for a low key second introduction. We planned our real date a few days later and decided to go to my favorite pizza spot Palermo’s. I arrived ahead of the time to be sure I was there, and Nandi told me she would be late. Surprisingly I wasn’t too worried about her tardiness given I was meeting up with the boys at D&B afterwards. I placed the food order thinking it would be ready once she arrived. When Nandi walked in the first thing I noticed was that big beautiful forehead, the second was her outfit (Kendrick Lamar concert tee,
jean shorts, and flip flops). I was surprised to say the least and I called it out. But we started our date and there was a connection! We smiled, laughed, drank wine, and discussed our limited time in Chicago. I was moving to Miami a few days later and knew I wanted to see her again. We were both excited to have met, but it was low pressure and we gave ourselves a feel of one another and that a west coaster and a southern-Chicagoan could coexist. I told her that she could visit me in Miami and our second date was in Miami in October of 2021.She said: The date was set for August 11 for 2 p.m. So naturally I plan and prepare, and show up at 2:45. In my defense I was still learning my way around Chicago and getting used to their traffic. I felt so bad for being so late on a first date with this guy. To lessen the blow I suggested he put in the order so when I got there we wouldn’t have to wait as long. He was very kind about my poor timing and told me to not rush and worry and he would see me when I got there. I dashed through traffic trying to keep my cool so I wouldn’t sweat my deodorant while praying for green lights. When I finally arrived he greeted me with open arms, and looked very nice. At that point I realized I was a tad underdressed, some first impression I was making. Despite all of that I put my best smile forward and hoped my personality would shine through. We had a great time talking about our journeys, where we would like to go, and how life's timing works. He was actually moving to Miami I believe a couple days after that date, so there was no pressure or expectations, but the connection was so natural miles seemed to be just a number and a phone call away.
He Said: There comes a time when a man must make a decision to pick a wife and become a husband. For me that came when we took a trip to San Diego so I could meet Nandi’s father. I contacted him beforehand and mentioned that we would discuss my asking for her hand. We spoke on his boat for what had to have been 2-3 hours before I asked for her hand, and he gave me his blessing to become his son. The day was June 10th, 2023 and I had a day planned for us, but wanted Nandi to think she planned most of the day. In order we went to see sea lions near La Jolla, we hiked a trail at the Torrey Pines, joined her dad and his frat for a golf banquet, went to Stone Brewery, drove to Ocean Beach (OB) for tacos, and went to Sunset Cliffs!!!! We did a lot of driving that day and I did a lot of texting her parents, and friends to coordinate my plans. At Stone Brewery Nandi deduced my plans and asked if I was going to propose to her. Of course it was not time to confirm her suspicions. I said, “No its not time yet. We are moving in that direction but we have more to work on.” She proceeded to cry in disappointment after getting so excited, and it hurt me to tell her no, but I was not leaving San Diego without making this woman my future wife. The prior day I told her I would present her with a gift to show my appreciation for this trip and her presence in my life. The “gift” was running interference for my true plans. Once we left Stone, we headed to OB to grab tacos (Nandi), and grab the interference gift (Khalfani). We then headed for Sunset Cliffs where the stage was being set and laid a picnic on our beach towel. I texted her family ahead of time to ensure they were there at 7:30pm PST; they were on time! Nandi and I spoke and ate in peaceful bliss as she was having her perfect day. I held her in front of me as we looked out to the Pacific, and her family had arrived. I said, “oh wow, look behind us”, as her family stood at the ready to be our witnesses. I could tell she was frazzled, but unfazed I took one knee and presented the ring to my queen. “Nandi, will you make me the happiest man in all the land, and help me continue to build the life we dreamed about”, I proclaimed. Nandi said yes… SOFFFTLY!!! Then she repeated YESSSS!!! We then embraced and her family swarmed with love and congratulations!!! Nandi cried happy tears this time!!!
She Said: The day of our proposal caught me by surprise. We took a trip back to San Diego so Khalfani could meet my dad, friends from high school and see where I grew up. I was pretty excited because I love going back home, and I could finally show Khalfani all the landmarks that are too beautiful to put into words. Now in the past he has claimed to visit San Diego but in truth has only been to the ritzy part of the county, La Jolla, which technically isn’t the same city. So I was excited to give him a more authentic look into the city and the things I would spend my time doing. We started the day ironically in La Jolla to visit the sea lions on the way to a morning hike. Parking is not easy near any beach area so to my surprise Khalfani agreed to rent a street scooter to get around on. He is a bit afraid of bikes, scooters, small motorized vehicles, might have to do with his height and the long drop down if he fell, idk. So we rode through the La Jolla shores looking at the sea life and ocean views. Then we were off to my favorite scenic hike at Torrey Pines State reserve, a trail that starts atop some cliffs then trails onto the beach. It was a great time. We then headed off to a luncheon hosted by my dads fraternity Kappa Alpha Psi to show support and get a quick bite before the next stop on the tour. Khalfani and I both share a love of beer and breweries so I had to get him to at least one local brew spot. Stone Brewery in Liberty Station was our pick for the beer, and scenery. The day was nearly perfect, I got to pick out the car playlist, we rode scooters, and visited my favorite places. On top of that the day before I was taken to get my nails done. So putting all that together I told Khalfani, “this day is too perfect are you going to propose?” And of course his answer” what? Huh? No? What makes you say that” And so I proceeded to point out the small things that normally wouldn’t fly but he agreed and said it does sound like it but no. “The ring isn’t even in the state” And then realizing that I unexpectedly began to tear up a bit. I started to tell myself reasons why it wasn’t the right time for us to get married, and how I jumped the gun. He did begin to feel bad and assured me that this was just the first visit to get to learn more about each other. We were having a good time and that’s what we should be focusing on. I think we agreed to table the conversation until we got home because tacos and catching the sunset was the last thing on the agenda for that day. I had brought him to Sunset Cliffs the prior evening to see how gorgeous the sun looked setting on the ocean’s horizon and he insisted we went back the second night. I had zero objections since it’s my favorite place, so we got some of my favorite tacos and headed back to the same exact spot as the night before. Odd. We ate our dinner on a towel and he told me he had a gift to give me for sharing my home and old stomping grounds with him. He picked out a shirt from one of my favorite beaches and expressed his gratitude towards me by showing him the places that were dear to me growing up. I thanked him for the shirt and he asked me to then turn around and that’s when my parents and friends were all standing in a row behind us. That completely caught me off guard. It was as if I was in a dream, I turned back towards him and he was on one knee with a ring in his hand. He asked me if I wanted to continue to build the life that we dreamed of, becoming his permanent partner for life. In a daze I lightly said yes, the moment was surreal. I can’t believe I have found a partner that thinks the world of me and wants to share it.