We met while working at the Royal National Institute of the Blind (RNIB) in September 2019. Harneil had been working there since April and I arrived in September. After a couple of days at the job, I noticed this man furiously pacing around the business. I didn't know who he was but he was going somewhere- that's for sure! So I made a mental note of that and continued on with my day. A few days later, we were in a meeting together and that's where I was introduced to this fast walker, it was Harneil. What pursued was weeks of getting to know each other better, a night out where one of us professed their love to Idris Elba (I'll let you guess who that was), and a series of flirting interactions that were equal parts suave ... or reminiscent of Chandler Bing.
In November of that year, we went out on our first date that started at 6pm and ended around 5am. The night consisted of cocktails, beers, burgers and bantz (as the Brits would say).
A night that forever goes down as "Date Not Date", as each of us intended to 'play it cool' and figure out what the other person was thinking. I think we can all say that it went down as a successful evening.
~ Gaby
Harneil and I moved in together at the height of the pandemic in August 2020. Both of us had tense roommate situations and as luck would have it, the timings to renew our leases coincided.
We found ourselves cleaning our hands together whilst singing "Happy Birthday" twice, watching the daily briefings from the Prime Minister, and helping each other put on our hazmat PPE as we braved trips out to the supermarket. In the midst of great uncertainty, nothing says new-love like fearing for our lives.
We've been living together for just under three years now, and no one has died... yet. There's something great about living with your best friend who has forced daily dance parties with you, hosts epic birthdays and pretends to think I'm an amazing singer - all in the name of love!
~ Gaby
For many months we had only spoken about taking the ultimate vacation of a lifetime, but when it came to deciding where, our conversations always came back to the same place- the Grand Canyon.
As a result we planned an extensive road trip in May 2022, which included stopping by the Grand Canyon on my (Harneil’s) 30th birthday. Starting off in San Francisco, we would drive down the PCH to LA, then stop by Las Vegas and Flagstaff. Since we’d be on the great North American continent, it would make sense to visit Gaby’s parents in Washington DC and then could terminate our long trip with some beach days in Miami. A great plan, Gaby and I both thought!
We embarked on our travels at the start of May, seeing sights, visiting great friends and having amazing food. We really were having the time of our lives!
On my 30th, we took a flight over the Grand Canyon, engaged with the native culture, and spent a night in a sleepy cowboy town. Why am I mentioning the Grand Canyon here? Well, despite thinking I had the day focussed on myself, Gaby proceeded to announce her points of view at multiple of the look-outs along the South-rim of the canyon. “Harneil, I’m just saying, but this would be a beautiful spot to propose to me.” My face had a smile of encouragement, but I was grimacing behind the facade at the irony that would soon follow.
Little did she know, that months before, I had introduced the idea of going on this trip just so that I could coincide a proposal in Washington DC at the National Archives in the Library of Congress, involving both her parents. With the incredible help of my Mum & Dad, I had chosen an engagement ring months before, and sent it via courier to Minnesota so that my very good friend Maurice could hand it to me when we “coincidentally” were in DC at the same time. I had asked for her parents’ blessings via video message and told them I was planning something spectacular. With Moe and Katie (his wife) agreeing to help capture the spectacle on camera, we had all carefully coordinated our dates to execute the proposal, pin down a special location, and achieve the logistics of how we were going to get the ring there. I had even worked closely with the staff at the Library of Congress to make it happen. But to Gaby, all she knew was that we were just innocently traveling the USA.
On the 27th of May, on a stormy afternoon, I had planned for us to meet with Moe and his wife for lunch. This was Gaby’s first time meeting them and it was certainly going to be an occasion she would never forget. We had tapas at a famous Iberian restaurant in DC, which soon followed with a spurious walk down to the Library of Congress since Moe wanted to see some sights of DC with us before we left. Turning up to security at the entrance, I had convinced Gaby to delay entering the building so that Katie could enter with the engagement ring without raising suspicion.
Being an avid map enthusiast and former cartographer/surveyor, I had suggested to see a special place called the Waldseemüller Map Room, famous for displaying the first map of the continent to have the word “America” on it, known colloquially as the ’Birth certificate of the Americas’. A symbol of new-beginnings, I saw this as the perfect stage to hold the proposal. When encouraging Gaby to come and see this room, she proceeded to use it as a great time to stand her ground and tell me sternly that “…No man can tell me what to do!”. She continued to read about Aztec sport, a topic I, nor anybody else realised it meant so dearly to her. To my advantage, Gaby’s stubborn delay allowed me some time clear the floor by announcing to the public spectators that a very special event was about to take place. When Gaby entered, she found her parents standing to the side. But instead of registering the formality, she bellowed “Hi! What are you doing here?!”. With a gentle nod and a finger point from Gaby’s Mum, suggesting for her to turn around, she confusingly twisted to see me kneeling down on one knee. The room was met with a loud scream. I lost all recollection of what I said next; and well, the rest was history. Thank goodness Moe & Katie were there to capture the moment:
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~ Harneil