Vinay and Neha were lucky to be neighbors when they moved to Durham, North Carolina for medical school. The first time they met, Neha thought Vinay was standoffish and talked too much! Their friendship grew during those first few years of medical school, courtesy of Indian dinners with their “browntown” friends, rooting for the Duke Blue Devils, and playing board games.
For months during their third year, Vinay was building up the courage to ask Neha out. Over dinner Vinay nearly inaudibly asked Neha to be his girlfriend. She decided to have some fun with this and didn’t respond! He assumed that she hadn’t heard him. On the way to the car after dinner, Vinay built up the courage again to ask her out. This time she decided not to be so cruel but did embarrass him by revealing she had heard him the first time!
During intern year, Vinay made up an excuse to bring Neha to Boston where he planned to propose to her. He took her to a coffee shop they had come to a year earlier while interviewing for residency. Just as Vinay was about to propose, Neha went to the bathroom! After he finally got his chance to pop the question, they FaceTimed their families, walked around the city, and celebrated with friends. For the final surprise, Vinay took Neha to an Italian restaurant in Boston’s North End, and asked for a table for two. Neha was disappointed, secretly hoping their families would be there to surprise them. They walked to the back room, and she saw a table full of their families :) They had pretended to be in their hometowns while on FaceTime earlier in the day to trick her.