He asked her out that night and she accepted.
A few nights later, they went on their first date to
Windows on the World on the 107 th floor in the North
Tower of the World Trade Center. “We had so much
fun,” she said.
So much that the two young doctors kept seeing each
other, scouting out quiet back street bistros, one night,
grand five-star restaurants the next, they’d shop, see the
sights, or spend time with their numerous mutual friends.
The months rolled by. Soon it was spring of 2000 and a
new restaurant had opened up that they both wanted to
try out.
“He called me and asked if I’d like to go try out the
new place that night,” Catherine said. She asked him if
she had time to go home first and change, but he said,
no, she was fine.
“He acted like it was no big deal, just a quiet dinner,”
she said. Once they arrived at the restaurant, she discov-
ered that the new eatery was a gloriously beautiful bistro
with a fabulous orchestra playing her favorite songs.
There were flowers everywhere. The orchestra members
suddenly surrounded their table and began to play, “I will
always love you.” Suddenly, he got down on his knee
and took her hand. “He looked into my eyes and I started
tearing up, then he started tearing up. Everyone in the
restaurant had stopped talking and stopped eating as he
asked her to marry him. “I was stunned,” Catherine said.
“I couldn’t talk. It was magical. I never expected it. He’s
so unpredictable.”
The ring he selected was perfect. “It was the ring I had
dreamed of,” she said.
A year earlier, they had strolled into a jewelry store
58
and he’d taken notes on what she said as they browsed
through the rings, acting like he was not paying much
attention.
They were married at a charming place in the country
in a December wedding in the company of 600 of their
closest friends, almost four years to the day from when
they met.
Like that first magical night when they met, it snowed.