Max picked the place for our first date. So in a move couched as a gentlemanly nod toward fairness, Max had Elaine pick a place for the second date. The place had to be public enough that we both felt safe (from Elaine’s perspective: Max is a man of the internet. How do I know if he’s legit?  from Max’s perspective: Elaine’s Asian, travels a lot, and works for a organization called Triad. She’s probably an assassin.) and yet private enough for us to have the candid conversation we were both hoping for.

Elaine suggested we meet at “the boat statue on the Embarcadero.” When looking up the actual spot to give Max better directions, she was mortified to find out that the statue was actually called “Cupid’s Bow” and had more to do with Eros than with boats.

We met. We talked. And at the end of the conversation, Max asked Elaine to be his girlfriend.

Caught off guard, Elaine punted the question. Four weeks and a couple of trips across the country later, she realized that having this oddball bearded guy as her boyfriend might actually be pretty nice.

Fast forward to August 2015 — As Max tells the story, there are few things more perceptive than a woman hoping for a proposal. Max asked Elaine to block off a Saturday. Elaine immediately texts her best friend Allison wondering whether Max blocking off the day means he’s going to propose. Allison (who was in cahoots with Max) tells Elaine she shouldn’t read too much into it. Elaine foolishly trusts her best friend. Elaine accidentally glances at an email in Max’s inbox to her brother with a provocative subject line and starts to wonder. She asks her brother and sister-in-law what they are up to that weekend, and they talk excitedly about installing a second-hand dishwasher.

Come Saturday, Max shows up at Elaine’s apartment wearing a button down shirt. (And Elaine thinks: He normally wears t-shirts on weekends…) We wander the city as is often our custom, getting text messages from Elaine’s sister-in-law about the dishwasher installation. In walking along the Embarcadero, we just so happen to come alongside that nice little boat statue.

We sit down under the premise that Max would like a drink of tea. Max asks if Elaine remembers the last time they were here, and together they chuckle at how long it had taken her to agree to be his girlfriend. Max says that he has a different question to ask Elaine today, and hopes she will answer a bit faster this time — would she be his wife? We’re happy to report that without hesitation or delay, Elaine said yes.

It’s then that Elaine notices her brother snapping photos from the bushes and her sister-in-law and niece surrounding them from the other side all helping to capture the moment.