“Will you be my Jenerator?”
It all started with loadshedding (thank you Eskom) and a clever pickup line - thank you Nancy for also telling her it's the best pickup line ever. The year was 2019. Jennifer was throwing back vodka sprite specials and melktertjies at Springboks, celebrating finishing her degree, while I dutifully studied in order to complete the last stretch of my CTA.
After we had begun talking to each other via Instagram, we both moved to Johannesburg to begin our careers. Both in the throes of our first few weeks at our first real jobs, I asked Jennifer if she would be interested in a drag race. A drag race of two Hyundai Grand i10s. How romantic. In any event, I suggested that this drag race take place in Rosebank. And so our first date happened – at Crazy Plastics in Rosebank Mall (with a short trip to Starbucks for a caramel latte and a hot chocolate). Since I had asked Jennifer for a drag race, I just had to see what I was up against – the grey, automatic version of my own car. So I walked her to her car, and instead of drag racing, we spent hours in the mall parking lot, talking. Jennifer then had to go work – nothing new.
Two weeks later, my wifi was being installed at my new flat and Jennifer visited to supervise (an excuse to see me I am sure). For lunch, I stole her heart with Debonairs from the Engen garage in Parktown.
A few more dates were had, where Jennifer visited me to cook me chicken soup, and cut my hair during lockdown (sorry for breaking lockdown regulations Oom Cyril, but romance and Wahl clippers were top priority). Once lockdown ended, I knew what I had to do – lock Jennifer down myself – so I laid out three boxes of Salticrax to spell the words “WILL YOU BE MY GF”.
Skip ahead three years, and we have added Gerhardus, Jakobus and Christoffel to our little family, we cook dinner together every night and watch documentaries together.
The magic then happened at Emmerentia botanical gardens, with Jennifer wondering why she was being sent there for the third weekend in a row despite never having gone there in the three years that we have both lived in Johannesburg.
The first weekend was cleverly disguised as a picnic with friends (thank you for the discreet organisation, Jess), the second weekend was just to go for a walk on a Saturday afternoon, and the third time Jennifer was to attend a high tea party with one of her friends (dankie Alta).
Little did she know that I had set up a picnic with her favourite snacks (Salticrax, caramel treat and of course, Krispy Kreme).
As Jennifer and Alta walked to the fountains at the botanical gardens, I magically appeared from behind a tree with the second best question I have ever asked:
“Sal jy met my trou?”
*Story as told by Vian, recollections may vary.