Real-Life Fairy Tales

Keisha and Rob

When Atlanta couple Keisha and Rob met, it was not exactly love at first sight.
 
Keisha: We had mutual friends, Tisha and Jevon, they were dating. She was throwing her boyfriend a surprise birthday dinner [in December 2003] and I went over to the restaurant to help set up early. I had all of these things, trying to balance them in my hand, and I see a young black man in the parking garage and he walks right past me and gives me the "head nod." So I walk in and I have an attitude, and Rob is sitting there. He turns to me and says, "Do you need any help?" And I said, "The time to offer your help would have been in the parking garage."

In February 2004, I received flowers at work. It has an anonymous message, so I am like who in the world is this? We go another month into March, and I am shopping with Tisha, and Jevon calls her and wants her to come to some basketball game, I didn't want to go but she asked me to, so I went and Robert is there.

Afterwards, they want to get something to eat, so we go to a restaurant. While waiting to be seated, Robert tries to talk to me but I am very short with him and proceed to flip through a [local magazine]. Then he says, "Did you like the flowers I sent you?" That night, Rob asks me for my number, and so I gave him the number and he called me the next day.

Robert: I started planning the engagement in August 2006. At this point I wanted to marry her and wanted to give her an engagement she would never forget. I talked to my parents about it and then in August I moved in with my sister and rented out my house [to save up]. I decided to do it on her brother's birthday, and he was going to tell her he was having a big formal birthday party at the Ritz. There was so much going on. I was real nervous. I wanted everything to be perfect.