Part Two: Permission

So I needed to ask Allison’s father for permission.

I’d met her father twice before on two trips to New Jersey, and we’d gotten along great. But that was in MY eyes. For all I knew, he was secretly saving for a sniper to take me out the next time I visited. But I knew that if I was going to do this, I wanted to do it right. My best friend Jorge Urbina had just done this himself; it went very well for him.  I was pretty confident that I’d get a positive response, but not enough that I wasn’t close to peeing myself.  We were going out there for Christmas again; it was my only opportunity to ask the man that raised the girl I wanted to marry.

There was a lot of snow in New Jersey in December 2010. A LOT. But, it gave me the opportunity to shovel 6 foot drifts with Allison’s dad and work up the nerve to ask for his daughter’s hand. It took about six different opportunities before I got the words out of my mouth. I tried to be all cool about it.

Rob: (shoveling) So, I’m going to ask your daughter to marry me, and I kind of wanted to get your approval.

I caught him off-guard for about 2 seconds, then he started asking me questions. Can you provide for her? Do you think she’ll say yes? I told him all the things I told you people about how much she meant to me, and mid-conversation, he put down his snow-shovel, extended his hand, and said “I give you permission to marry my daughter.”

Then he joked, “I won’t tell anyone, just in case she says no. Boy, that would be awkward.”

I called Jorge almost immediately back in LA, and suddenly, this huge weight was lifted. I think the anticipation of that moment was the hardest part, because I was fairly certain of Allison’s response, but I didn’t know her family like I know her, so I was nervous of the acceptance.  I felt like the hardest part was over.

I was wrong.

to be continued…