By Chris Cosci

It started over twenty years ago. Two kids, Christopher Cosci and Kristin Lane, met in first grade. At such a young age, there are no thoughts about having a long-term friendship. The concepts of relationship and love are unknown. All we cared about was acting like kids and having fun, whether it was hanging out on the playground or playing a mean game of Scrabble (yes, some of us were geeks even when we were six).

Over the next few years, old friendships were lost and new friendships were found. Such is the life of children. However, our friendship lasted. By high school, we were still friends and spent a lot of time together. Eventually, graduation arrived and we both went our separate ways. Our college choices pretty much defined the separation of our individual personalities. I went to a small college in (very) rural Pennsylvania just minutes away from the Amish country. Kristin went to Boston College, a high-profile school located near a major city with subways and skyscrapers. The number of students in her graduating class outnumbered the entire population of my college - and that very well may include students, professors, and the entire surrounding village.

Nonetheless, we stayed in contact throughout our four years at college. Our friendship was as strong as ever. Shortly before we graduated, Kristin brought up a suggestion. She thought it would be a great idea if, after graduation, instead of living with our parents, we moved into an apartment together. I laughed.

Then, I moved back home after graduation. I stopped laughing.

Although I love my parents, living at home was no longer an option. Eventually, Kristin and I found an apartment together. Our move was met with curiosity. Would we start dating? Would we become a couple? How long would it take? Adamantly, we answered these questions with No, No, and See the answers to the first two questions.

Our denial lasted four months. After nearly twenty years, our friendship had turned into a relationship. It's not exactly a conventional method of finding a relationship, but it worked for us. Now, a few years later, everything comes down to one word. Even after over twenty years of friendship, one word will be responsible for completely changing both of our lives: "Yes."

Getting engaged is a huge step in a relationship. While people in show business make it seem like something you do just for kicks, for people in the real world, proposing is serious business. Despite all of our time together, despite everything we've been through, the answer to one question makes all the difference in the world.

After months of delays, I finally found a ring. I didn't want to wait much longer. I chose a date and stayed home from work. Before Kristin came home, I set up the apartment. I laid a few roses down in a trail to her bedroom, where more roses awaited in a vase with a card. After reading the card, she came into the living room, where I was waiting with a covered plate in front of a chair. She sat down, and with Frank Sinatra in the background, I lifted the cover to reveal the ring box.

Up to that point, everything I planned had worked out exactly as I hoped it would. But it all came down to her answer. Everything - twenty years of friendship, all the preparation, all the buildup - depended on that one magic word: "Yes."

"Yes." She said it. We've traveled a very long road, but it feels like we just got on the highway. Now, we are faced with all new questions. Where do we register for gifts? Where's the honeymoon going to be? Do we have a band or a DJ at the reception? A lot of questions. A lot of answers. But the most important answer has already been spoken - "Yes!"