Engagement at Starbucks

As you may already know, Galya and I were recently engaged, but most of you don't know the way in which it happened. To say it occurred at Starbucks would make many people cringe, so please bear with me.

You see, it was several years ago, at a Starbucks in Little Rock, Arkansas, where I fell in love. I looked across our little table, where we went to spend a mere thirty minutes talking, and eventually realized that over two hours had passed. In retrospect, I barely know what was said, but I know that I thought and dreamed of what "could never be."

All those years ago, knowing that this girl lived on the other side of the world, I felt doomed to love, but never have her. Like an ancient and classic tragedy, pulled into modern day times.

What force could draw a beautiful, brilliant, and amazing girl to want to pick up her life and move it to a foreign land? We know that only love can do that, but the time of a trip is never enough time, except in a fairy tale or Ethan Hawke movie, and so we both went home.

Three years had passed since that first time in that first Starbucks, but I remember it like it was yesterday. I hold a special place in my heart for this coffee house – Starbucks – and I hoped that Galya would to.

It was Galya's first day back in the United States, and I had carefully planned out what to say and how to say it, and I knew it would be easy. I live within walking distance of a very bright, happy, and open Starbucks, so we walked over to Antonio Plaza for coffee.

As prepared as I thought I was, on the way out of Starbucks, I still hadn't built up the nerve to ask. As we stepped outside and the door closed, I took a deep breath and ask her to sit back down.

I must have been very nervous, because she asked if she'd done something wrong. I shook my head "no" and have virtually no idea how I said what I said to her. I know I told her how much she means to me, how much I love her, how fondly I recall our time in Starbucks so many months ago, and how much I cherish those first moments alone together.

Sitting in the warm California sun, in front of Starbucks, surrounded by people, but somehow alone, I told her how much I loved her and how much I wanted to spend my life with her. I asked her to marry me and held out the ring. She said yes.

I guess this Starbucks is now "our" Starbucks