Ever since I was a child and learned to hula, I've dreamt of going to Hawaii . Even more so, I always wanted to go for my birthday. My sweet Ritchie took the initiative to coordinate our flight and stay.

My dream had finally come true. We were off to Hawaii to celebrate my birthday. I was so happy that my eyes could not believe. For my birthday, we went to the Polynesian Cultural Center (PCC) in Oahu . Our agenda included visiting each island exhibit, watching a canoe pageant, dinner and then a night show to follow. The place was so magnificent and beautiful.

We ate dinner at the Ambassador Buffet Restaurant. Whenever we go to buffets, Ritchie likes to pile a lot of food on his plate while taking his time. However, I found it really odd that he was gone longer than usual. I even wanted to go shopping for souveniers and he refused to leave the restaurant. Then there were times he would disappear and then reappear as if he had run a mile. ‘What is going on?' I thought. But seconds later it all made sense.

While enjoying our dessert, a Hawaiian man with a guitar walked around the tables. I thought that he was the restaurant's live entertainment. But then he walked directly to our table.

“Aloha, Magnolia!” he said. “I heard it was your birthday and so I want to sing a song to you.” Immediately I thought that this was probably what Ritchie was putting together. This explained all the strange behaviour. As the man strummed his guitar, Ritchie took my hand and we started to dance. I couldn't help but smile 1000x more than usual. Then as soon as I heard the man sing the first 4 words of the song, I knew my huge smile was about to get bigger.

“This is the moment...” he sang. He was singing the Hawaiian Wedding Song.

Ritchie leaned over and whispered these words in my ear: “I'm so happy to have found you. I love you. And I have something I want to give you.”

He released from our hold and reached into his pocket. However, he seemed to struggle getting the box out of his pocket. With a swift pull, he finally got it out. He went down on one knee and opened it. When the box opened.....there was no ring inside. Very confused, I thought, ‘Maybe he didn't bring the ring because he didn't want to lose it on vacation.' As the song kept playing, I smiled at him and he smiled at me back. But then, his smile turned into a worried look. In order to break the awkward silence, I asked quietly as I pointed to the box, “Is there suppose to be something in here?” He looked embarrassed when he discovered that the ring was missing. He quickly looked around the floor that surrounded him. He had finally found it next to the guitarist's foot. The ring must have slipped out as he yanked the box from his pocket. Ritchie grabbed the ring, held it up to me, while getting back quickly onto one knee and said as he almost ran out of breath, “Will...You...Marry Me??”

“YES!” I said as a nodded my head. He put the ring on my finger, got up and gave me a passionate kiss and a big hug. At the same time, the people in the restaurant cheered and clapped. I had tears in my eyes. After the song was done, the guitarist congratulated us as well as some of the staff and patrons who witnessed the whole thing. That was the best birthday I have ever experienced in my life. My dream of paradise had finally come true and it's all because of him. His proposal was so romantic with a twist of the unexpected.