THE STORY OF US

The Meeting: by Maggie Hendrix

It was December 2003, a friend of mine from high school, whom I had not talked to in over a year, called and asked if I wanted to hang out with her and her boyfriend and some of his friends. I agreed to go and waited over at her house for her boyfriend and his brother (Grant) to pick us up. When Grant walked in with Ryan, my heart sunk....he was so good looking! He was wearing this navy blue sweater with a hole in it (I still kid him about that!) and just looked so handsome. We hung out all night long and had so much fun together. I never gave him my number but figured that if he wanted to call me...he could find my number some how. Well that next weekend my girlfriend called and said that Grant and his brother wanted the two of us to go to the movies with them...so of course I agreed. The four of us couldn't agree on one movie so Grant and I went to one by ourselves. Luckily Grant had driven separately than his brother, so after the movie was over, Grant and I just drove around Decatur and talked all night long, literally all night...until 4 in the morning. Well that entire next week...He never called me! Ugh I was so mad...and I didn't call boys so I wasn't going to call him! Well that next weekend was my mom's birthday and I was going to come home from school anyway....so it only made sense that Grant and I should see each other! But how would he know that I was coming home if I didn't call and tell him?! Well my friend Erin was cooking for me and a couple of other girls and was the one encouraging me to call Grant, even if I never called boys. According to Erin, you always make exceptions when it comes to cute boys. However, on the other hand, my little angel friend Holly was telling me not to call him...because nice girls just don't call boys. Well thank goodness I didn't listen to Holly, because when I called Grant he was thrilled that I was coming home and we spent all weekend around each other. Ever since then...He has been the one to call Me and we have been inseparable!

The Engagement: by Grant McKelvey

Two years and some odd months later, Maggie and I had acquired that look in our eyes that excites your parents and but annoys all your friends. We knew what would become of our relationship and often discussed what it would be like WHEN we got married. Maggie also joked that since I had recently taken a job working for her grandfather she would be able to tell when I would be popping the question (please note at this time she wanted what every sorority girl wants, “A Candlelight Ceremony”) so I should just go ahead and ask. I accepted the challenge and assured her she would have no clue, to just be patient, and that the candlelight was not that important. Little did I know the repercussions regarding the later part of that statement, but we won’t delve into that. Anyway, one Tuesday afternoon in late April I told Maggie’s grandfather my intentions, and asked for a couple of days off. I also asked that he and anyone else in the office give her the run-a-round when she called, just to let me know what they told her so I could play along. I left early Wednesday morning, with my mother and her best friend, in search of the perfect ring. Once the search was underway, the sweat started mounting. I was very confident in what I was doing, but had never been so stressed out in my life. Twenty jewelry stores and a hundred diamonds later I found the perfect combination of stone and setting. I stayed up all night staring it up and down and contemplating where to go from here. Thursday afternoon I made the call to her parents and asked them to meet me that evening for dinner. I wasn’t that nervous when I asked for their daughter’s hand, but once I started they made it easy. That was a moment I will always appreciate and remember, especially asking her younger brother as well. Then came Friday (yes I was on a roll and I couldn’t wait to get that ring out of my hands), I asked my parents to set up a candlelight setting at our river house while I got all the food and picked Ms. Clueless, a.k.a. Maggie, up. She thought we were just going out to a movie; again, CLUELESS. I conveniently changed the plans telling her I picked up some food and wanted to cook for her, and that I wanted to go to the river house so we could be alone; still no clue. She walked into the house to find candles, rose petals, a white table cloth, table fully set, and white chair covers with little bows on the back (Thank you Mom and Dad). I thought that would tip her off, but not so. I cooked, we talked, and right before we finished, in keeping with tradition, I got down on my left knee (Think she figured it out now?), told her how much I loved her in the most mushy of fashions, and asked her to be my wife. She cried, said YES, and called her mother. All of this accomplished just in time for her to have that cherished “Candlelight,” and as of that Saturday we are now set to be married June 30 of this year. Man, what a week!