There are less than two days remaining before another great dream between Allie and I will come true. The road that has brought us here has been long and filled with memories I’ll carry with me for the rest of my life. Each and every day brings something new. And on most days, we somehow find a way to hopelessly fall in love all over again. There are many times I can say that has happened in the near year and a half since we confessed our love to each other. But in the past few months, no moment can hold more truth to our passion and everlasting love for one another than the surprise we received two months ago, as we romantically fell in love once more in the greatest of ways and blessings.

It was during the last weekend of April. It was planned earlier that week that we and a bunch of our closest friends would have good night out filled with dancing, drinking, and being the great party group we are, as it has been awhile with all the work most of us were putting in because of the rise in sales we, as a company, we’re having, and the absolute absence of Allie’s parents who decided to take one last and extended vacation prior to the wedding. We had thought about going to San Francisco and hitting the club scene there. But instead, we brought San Francisco’s club scene to us in the form of a DJ, namely my cousin, Carlos, who Allie and I decided would DJ the later part of our wedding reception. So I made the call to Gold Country Casino’s Director of Entertainment asking him the favor to bump their usual and repetitive DJ for one night of the weekend and to give the paying gig to my cousin. He obliged to my favor and my cousin was all for it, especially since I told him I’d pay for his gas expenses to make the drive up here and put him up for the night. Not only would it be our chance to have a great night out dancing away to the best my cousin can offer, but it also meant it would be our first chance to hear what my cousin has done and put together with the music samples we gave him that we want played at our wedding reception. So later that week on a Friday Night, after I helped my cousin set-up his equipment and made adjustments to the casino’s stationary equipment and lighting earlier that day, Allie, myself, Christy, Heather, Jenn, Kelly, Jamie, and the added mix of my sister, Jona, and her boyfriend, Spencer, got ourselves ready for a full night of fun.

We headed to the casino that night when it was finally dark. And instead of taking two separate vehicles, we opted on 3, because Allie wanted to drive for the last time the new Jaguar XKR Convertible we bought a week before for her mom’s upcoming birthday before fully garaging it. That left Spencer and Jona driving our Z4 and the girls taking dad’s H2. When we got there, after the vehicles were valet parked, we headed up to the second floor for a light and casual dinner at their café. Allie’s shrimp scampi platter looked and tasted questionable, but nothing more was really thought about it since the restaurant allowed her to re-order another item free of charge.

About an hour later and 2 rounds of drinks for everyone but Spencer and Jona, who only had swigs of everyone’s drinks, we headed down to the club. Amazingly, posted at the door was a new security guard who wanted to card all of us. I suppose it was fair enough for that to happen with the bit of roaming Spencer and Jona did with us with the casino’s new 21 and over only policy throughout the casino floors. But still, it sucked, because that meant Jamie, Jona and Spencer would be booted. And while that was going on with all of us, we were hearing Carlos mixing Baby Bash’s “Cyclone” Thankfully, and to our surprise, the casino’s manager, and a good friend to the family followed us downstairs and seeing us in the rather rude and unnecessary predicament, he gave us the pass and literally warned the rookie. And after a few minutes talking with Ed White, we finally got to go in the club.

The first thing we noticed when we were fully in and past the corridor was all the people. I believe it was Kelly who remarked about that. On any typical weekend, the peak numbers are around 40, 50 at best, and less than half of them actually hit the dance floor, while the others simply go there to drink, be social, and pick up on potential one night stands. From what I recall, there were about 30 people getting it on the dance floor, 20 around the bar, 10 doing nothing, and 10 sitting around probably thinking this is the greatest time of their lives (lol). And in the mix of it all was my cousin dropping the beats. While Jona, Spencer, Jenn and Kelly got into the crowd and started dancing, the rest of the girls got us a table and ordered drinks while Allie and I went up to my cousin to let him know we were there and for small talk. And it was amusing and interesting to know that before we had gotten there, he got several phone numbers from girls and some good money in tips for being a better DJ, which is something I’ve never seen done with the casino’s regular DJ. So it was working out better than what was expected, particularly with all the people that were there and kept coming in., and he told us he’d get into our mix later that night. And essentially, for the whole time we were there we all danced the night away, kept a good perk so neither of us would be too buzzed to drive back to mom and dad’s house, and had a blast like we knew we would. My cousin truly went above and beyond meeting our expectations for the music he will be spinning at our wedding reception. I don’t know how he did it, but he made it all work, mixing track after track of the songs we wanted including the Japanese and Italian songs Allie and I selectively wanted to be played, and those there who danced with us to our music mix are a good testament to the success of the evening. And if that night was a small sample to what we could look forward to at our wedding reception, I can only imagine how much of a party it will be two days time.

Afterwards, back at mom and dad’s house, our home away from home, we all somewhat settled down for the night in the entertainment room upstairs. At least that was the case for the girls who did their girl things of doing each other’s hair and nails while talking about this and that, listening to music and drinking mixed drinks. On the other hand, Spencer and I got into play mode and went game after game in pool, darts, video games, and cards. I’ll admit he’s a fun guy to hang around with. And I don’t know if that’s because I’m always hanging around the girls, but still, he’s fun, youthful, and is the first guy to really make my sister as happy as she is now. I do hope those two make it through the test of time and end up having as good, if not the same, of a life Allie and I have. Some time later, Allie began to have stomach cramps and wanted to sleep, so we turned in for the night, as I’m sure everyone else did. There really was no greater thought put into Allie’s cramps than it being a side affect from the bites of bad shrimp she ate and all the dancing. Apparently we were all wrong, because awhile after going to sleep she woke me up telling me how the cramps were hurting her more. I wasn’t quite sure what to do about it, so I went and found Christy who would know what to do and be able to help. Unfortunately, she didn’t know, nor did Heather who walked in a few minutes later, and Allie was feeling worse by the minute. And because it was hypothesized that Allie was having a bad case of food poisoning or a bad reaction to the food in general, we found it best to get Allie to the emergency room as soon as possible.

Heather volunteered to come with us to the hospital and even drove us there in her car. All of us couldn’t help but worry, especially since Allie was saying this was a kind of cramp she’s never had before. When we arrived, mom and dad called my phone to know in detail what was going on, as Christy made the call to them about what was going on. And because a doctor has yet to see her, I simply speculated with them and told Allie’s parents I would keep them updated. Registering and getting into one of the rooms did not take long with no one else there seeking emergency help, and getting seen by a doctor did not take long as well. She came in asking general questions on how Allie was feelings, and asked for a sample. And about 20 minutes after the sample was taken, the result to Allie’s cramps was in. And to our absolute surprise, we found out Allie is pregnant. The happiness and love that filled that room upon hearing the news is still indescribable, but for Allie and me, we couldn’t stop ourselves from saying how much we love each other. And it truly felt like falling in love all over again.

The news of Allie being pregnant really came as a big surprise, especially with how well she kept up with her pills. With how we planned our future, we didn’t plan on starting a family until we returned from our honeymoon, which we expected to be several months long with all the traveling we wanted to do before finally coming back home and settling down. But it felt right, and Allie and I couldn’t have been happier with each other and the blessing. After getting done at the hospital, we woke everyone up and broke the news to them when we got to the house. Mom and dad were ecstatic when we called them, and mom’s first reaction was a deafening scream. They were very proud and happy for us, as were everyone else.

For Allie and me, our life together truly cannot get any better. We live a fulfilling life that most can only dream of. We have all we need and all we can ever ask for. Above all, we have each other and a love that is truly meant to be. I would have never guessed on that winter morning when Allie and I first met at the post office that we would ever come to this. But it has, and in just a few more moments of time and more memories, and a short walk away from the very spot where I proposed to Allie, it will, as I marry the most beautiful woman in the world, the mother of my child, the love of my life, and my dance of a lifetime. I love you, Allie, Forever and for Always.