Dubai's Hottest Couple!

Greetings from Dubai's Hottest Couple. Howzat?

Well, it all started like this. Janene noticed a Valentines Day competition in the local rag to find Dubai's Hottest Couple., with the prize being a hot air balloon flight. Such flight being one of Janene's dreams, she got all excited and instructed yours truly to enter. To enter, yours truly had to write the story of how we met and began our relationship, and submit it to said local rag.

Needless to say I did so and happily wrote the romantic story yesterday morning. Imagine my surprise when my phone rang later on and the voice said that we had won and were officially Dubai's Hottest Couple! Janene is seriously excited because now another of her dreams will come true. Tomorrow it’s off for a photo shoot and the story & pics will be published on Valentines Day. And shortly thereafter the Hottest Couple will take to the skies!

Some of you may not know (although I don't know why) that your favourite blogger was a really romantic dude in his younger days. So, just so that you know for future reference, the story of how we met goes like this:

It all started on a warm Friday in December of 1988. My phone rang and it was Tony, friend of many years and bass player of note. He explained that the band he was with had a gig at, believe it or not, the annual year end function of a local singles club that Saturday and that they were in desperate need of a singer and guitarist. Being a singer and guitarist, I readily agreed to come along and play. Done and dusted. (I must explain that I’d got to the point in my life where I was happy being single and not interested at all in a relationship. I had good friends, a jeep, a motorcycle and had, coincidentally, just that week explained to all my friends that I was happy with life and asked them to stop trying to “fix me up”)

Unbeknownst to me, Tony’s wife Marilyn, matchmaker of note, phoned her friend Janene – single at the time – and invited her to the function. Janene, being somewhat “financially challenged”, declined on grounds of being unable to afford the entry fee. “No problemo”, replied Marilyn and put her legendary matchmaking skills to work.

Next thing I know, its Tony on the phone again telling me that Marilyn has a friend who would love to come along to the gig but can’t afford to. However, he explains, if she says she is with the band, she can get in for free and would I mind saying that she was with me. I figure this is no risk to my confirmed “singlehood” because I’m going to be on stage most of the evening, so I agree.

Saturday evening rolls around. I arrive at the gig, climb on stage and start rehearsing with the band when in walks Marilyn with this dark-haired vision in cream trousers and a light yellow top. I am naturally smitten to the extent of nearly falling off the stage, guitar and all. I spend the rest of the evening alternating between looking for excuses not to be on stage and reminding myself that I am happily single. The evening passes and I can’t get her out of my mind.

Now, being a cool muso dude and not wishing to appear over eager, I manage to hold out about a week before calling Janene. When I do get around to it, I discover that she’s flown off to visit her dad who lives in another city. I figure this to be providence setting in. The way Janene tells it is that she is bombarded with “has he called yet?” questions from her friends but she, too, is not that interested in a relationship. I remain stuck between really liking this beautiful lady and wanting to remain single. And so a year goes by, during which we date a few times and generally enjoy each other’s company while not getting “serious”.

We get to know each other, though, and begin to realise that we like each other. One of the things that Janene confides in me is that one of her dreams is to be proposed to on water. I tuck this snippet away for future reference.

New Years Eve 1989 rolls around and I’ve arranged a big party. In the week or 2 before New Year’s, it suddenly dawns on me that I’m in love with Janene. It kind of grew slowly without me realising it and then crept up and bit me in the rear when I least expected it. I decide to share this with her during the party. At some point during the evening, Janene says she wants to talk to me, so we go outside into the garden, where she shares with me that she’s noticed my growing interest but that she’s really only interested in being, yes you guessed it, “friends”. This bums me out but there’s nothing like a good challenge and my resolve is strengthened. I resolve to take steps to pursue this lady.

I go out, buy a notebook and commence writing a list of ways to impress her. Flowers, dinner, movies, the whole 9 yards. And, miracle of miracles, it works so quickly that at the end of the first page of the notebook, I end up writing something like “the roses worked, no need for the notebook anymore.” It culminates with the 2 of us sitting in my car at the Apple Bite roadhouse sharing milkshakes. I pluck up the courage and ask her to go “steady”. Janene, her beautiful eyes shining, agrees. My heart leaps. Later on that night, we share our first kiss. My mind is blown. It’s late January 1989.

But now the pressure is on. I realise that if I want to keep this wonderful person in my life, I’d better act quickly. Valentines Day is 2 weeks away and I intend to propose. Bigtime! The little snippet about being proposed to on water surfaces in my memory and I begin a quest to find the most romantic way to arrange this. I can’t afford a cruise liner and a rowboat on the local duck pond just ain’t going to cut it. Then I hear of someone who owns an authentic Venetian gondola. I manage to track the owners down and put my plans in place.

Imagine the scene. It’s the evening of Valentines Day. I’ve booked a romantic lakeside restaurant and bought a “Don Johnson” style linen suit. I pick Janene up. We drive to a local waterfront development, where I park the car. I get out of the car and ask Janene to wait, saying that I’m going to check on our booking.

Next thing Janene knows, a young guy is knocking on the car window, saying he’s been sent to escort her. The young man escorts Janene down to a jetty on the lake. As she arrives, 2 guys row the gondola out from underneath the jetty where it has been hidden. In the gondola is yours truly, holding a bottle of champagne and 2 glasses. Janene is helped into the gondola and the guys row us into the middle of the lake, where I pour the champagne and produce and small velvet box, within which is nestled a ring. I get down on one knee (tricky in a gondola, I can tell you) and propose. Janene says the word I’ve been waiting a lifetime to hear and the rest of the evening passes in a happy, romantic blur.

The final part of the story is that we plan a wonderful breakfast wedding on the 1st of May, which turns out to be a Tuesday. In our home country of South Africa, the 1st of May is a public holiday, so for the first 16 years of our marriage, our anniversary is on a public holiday. We now have 2 wonderful children and will have been married for 18 years on Valentines Day this year.

Janene shared another dream with me while we were dating. She’s always wanted to fly in a hot air balloon…

And that's the story.

The only downside I fear is that I will be inundated with offers from the local Arab women to be my second wife, once they read how romantic I am. I have discussed this with Janene and she's happy for me to proceed, subject to a dowry of 10 million Pounds.

The other downside is that I may get chucked out of the balloon...

Cheers from Dubai's hottest husband!