Robbie and Chrissy met (sort of) at a church houseboats trip when he was going into his junior year of high school and she was going into her freshman year. They really didn’t think that much of one another, and that was that.
Fast forward four years.
Robbie and Chrissy met (again) at houseboats with their church when Robbie was a leader for a group of freshman and sophomore boys while Chrissy was going on the trip with her fellow high school graduates to their last summer camp before college. They became fond of one another (secretly), but Robbie had a girlfriend back at college so that was the end of that.
Fast Forward five months.
Robbie was single again and Chrissy was mid-way through her freshman year in college. One of his best friends was dating one of her best friends. They saw one another at gatherings of friends during the holidays and had taken to liking one another (less secretly this time). They talked on the phone and online for months before they officially became “boyfriend and girlfriend” after watching Disney movies and holding hands at Robbie’s house on Valentine’s day. After driving her home that night, Robbie gave Chrissy a rose he had hidden in the car prior to the date and walked her to the front porch, where they shared their first kiss- a little smooch in the early morning hours. And that was that.
Fast Forward Four-Plus Years.
On Valentine’s day 2008, Chrissy and Robbie celebrated four years together. They had shared all kinds of experiences- Robbie’s college graduation… Chrissy’s time in London… Robbie’s bout with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma… Vacations to Hawaii, the Caribbean, and the Sierras… Chrissy’s graduation and first job… five trips to Disneyland… all sorts of emotional ups and downs. They spoke openly about getting married- they had known they wanted to marry one another for some time, but didn’t want to get engaged until it was actually time to make it happen. Robbie had convinced Chrissy that it would be a couple of months before she should start expecting any big surprises, and she thought that was that.
Fast forward two weeks.
Having sent Chrissy three dozen red roses at her office on Valentine’s day and having hid another seven roses at various spots in Chrissy’s apartment (and at Disneyland) near photos and reminders of their four years together, Robbie leaves clues leading Chrissy to the house where they first held hands and then to the house where they first kissed as the final legs of an elaborate scavenger hunt. A final clue leads Chrissy to the backyard of her dad’s home, at the spot where they first said they loved each other. Dressed in his best suit and surrounded by candles, Robbie produces another six roses and proceeds to shock Chrissy by getting down on one knee and proposing (somehow she had no idea it was coming). It took her a good five seconds to catch her breath and reply.
She said yes.
