The story begins late on a Friday night: August 22, 2014.
Carrie had just spent the evening with her friends who were visiting from out of town and was heading back to Sterling Heights. As she drove north along Mound Road, she realized that the night was still young and Kuhnhenns would be the best place to finish the evening. She pulled into the lot, walked inside, took a seat at the bar and ordered her favorite Crème Brulee Java Stout.
In the meantime, Peter had finished dinner and was driving south on Mound Road deciding whether or not to return to Kuhnhenns for a last round with his friends. As he drove, he actively debated with himself, “Do I really want another round?” The answer was obvious as he turned his car into the lot. He rejoined his friends who were sitting at the corner of the bar; two seats away from Carrie.
By this point, Carrie had been conversing with the person to her left regarding the Tiger game that was on the big screen above the bar. The conversation was nothing spectacular. In fact, it was downright boring. The person to her right had proven to be quite inebriated and an even worse option for conversation.
Peter had noticed Carrie sitting at the bar, but did not want to interfere with the conversation that had been taking place. Instead, he focused on his Crème Brulee Java Stout and continued to chat with his friends.
That’s when everything changed.
The person Carrie had been speaking with decided to call it a night. No one sat between them anymore as the chairs remained empty. As she took another sip of her stout, she realized that someone else began to speak to her.
“Excuse me, but aren’t you with him?” Peter did not hesitate to ask, and Carrie looked over to him trying to hide a smile.
“No, I’m not,” she replied with her best ‘disinterested tone’, wondering where this was leading. She secretly loved the fact that he had a British accent, which made it hard not to smile.
“I’ve been wanting to talk to the girl who knows how to drink a good stout,” Peter said.
“Oh? And what is a British Ex-Pat doing on this side of The Pond?” Carrie was intrigued. She did not expect a new conversation to begin, let alone with someone from England. She slid two seats down to join Peter and his friends.
The conversation lasted until after 3am. Kuhnhenns was officially closed at 2am, but no one wanted to interrupt Peter and Carrie as they talked and laughed.
Sixteen months later, on December 28, 2015, Peter proposed to Carrie at the Brasserie Blanc French restaurant in London’s West End.