They say fact is stranger than fiction...
We met at a party just over 3 years ago at a mutual friend's place. It wasn't exactly love at first sight, but felt very comfortable and familiar... A couple of weeks later we found each other in another party and this time spent nine hours talking to each other in a little cubbyhouse in a friends' backyard... It was a little special... A few weeks later, we started chatting online and we haven't stopped...
Not long after we started dating, Zena was going through Alanjohn's photos on Facebook & noticed he knew her first flat mate, Carla, from 2002. At the time Zena had just arrived in Australia to study & was sharing a home with Carla and her sister. Carla's boyfriend was a regular visitor and had made an impression on Zena because he always asked intriguing questions and they always had good conversations.
Zena hadn't hear from Carla since she had moved out late in 2002 and wanted to know what happened to them and mostly, what happened to the boyfriend. Though she couldn't remember his name or his face, she had always wondered about him. So on their next date, she fessed up to Alanjohn about looking through his old photos and asked him how he knew Carla. Alanjohn explained she was his old girlfriend & he in returned asked Zena how she knew Carla. Zena explained that they had been flat mates in 2002. Alanjohn explained that was when he dated Carla. That's when the penny dropped and we recognised each other! Alanjohn was the boyfriend Zena was wondering about!
And here we were 14 years on...
I've been a performer for quite a while now and SO love dressing friends & partners up. Most are very reluctant & don't really get into it. That's why I was quite surprised when Zena was willing as our first date to dress up & go out to a friend's fancy dress birthday as a cat.
She took on the whole idea with her own willingness & creativity so much so that I at the time started to see that I had a keeper on my hands. We had a ball & ended up prowling about Merri Creek by ourselves for most of the day after leaving our friend's birthday party.
From this Zena's cat persona Luci was born & we have had many misadventures as pussy cats since. It makes me smile every time I think of this first date & how I discovered my fellow enabler.
On a beautiful drizzly morning on Dec 30th 2018, we went on a hike up Cathedral Ranges... It was a very difficult hike for me and Alanjohn had tried to make it fun the whole way. We got at the top around 2pm, sat next to each other to enjoy the view. It was wonderful... It was warm and sunny, but not too hot and we were all alone...
Then out of the blue, kneeling down next to me, talking about conquering mountains together, he brought out a ring (that was way too big and only a spaceholder because we had agreed to go on a quest to find my ring) and asked if I'd marry him. It was super sweet and I said I had to think about it, before I said yes :)
After the pressure of the first place holder proposal & the agreement that we would go on a journey to find a ring I was determined to surprise Zena which in it self is no easy task.
Once she discovered the heirloom ring online & we took delivery of it she helped me immensely by handing it over without looking at it in its little box. I proceeded to hide it & then inform her she can't see it until the official proposal.
Seeing as we had met at the Decompression party 3 years ago I thought it appropriate that I propose there as a full circle. So secret messages where sent out to all the right people & plans were set for the right time late in the day just after a friend's DJ set.
On the day she had no idea. To the point that unsuspecting friends kept asking her if anything exciting had happened as yet to her today. In the end as the photo shows she was totally surprised & over the moon. Up to 20+ of our friends where there to see the down on knee proposal happen.
Heres to many more surprises in the future babeh...