So...June 28, 2016. My boyfriend sat down on his knees and asked me to marry him. I had the biggest zit on my cheek, wearing like a home wear, with not much make up on because I thought we were going to a shop or something. Totally unexpected. I even had Rex in my bag when he asked me to marry him. So yes...Rex did witness the proposal. Probably no clue what was going on though.
I am so happy that I will be spending the rest of my life with him. I really really am.
Pepe really played a huge role in our relationship. Pepe liked him from the start. He was wagging his tail. Usually when I met other guys back then, he was kind of protective of me or just really weary and his tail would go down. But for Clay, it was different. After we hung out a few times, he came along to walk Pepe alongside Ala Wai river. He made a poop and I forgot the bag. So I was going to leave it there and he said maybe we should pick it up. We used like a leaf, and picked it up and dumped his poop in a garbage. i was thinking to myself, here is a guy who got so much tattoo (which I never dated a guy with tattoo before, so I was being very judgmental! lol ) and so sweet and got some manner about picking up dog poop. This must be a nice guy.
I think Pepe did open up to him slowly too though. I remember one time, when I went back to Japan and he was watching Pepe. Apparently there was a thunderstorm. Pepe came to him under the sheets on the bed and hiding from the thunder. I think from that moment on, their bond just got stronger.
We always had Pepe in our relationship as we were getting to know each other better. When we fought, Pepe always looked really sad. He would go check on him and come back to me, and he was just lost in between, hoping that we would make up. It was like we had a child.
My boyfriend took such good care of Pepe and I always had so much appreciation for that. He was so good to Pepe than anybody else that I know. I knew he would be a great dad and great dad is usually a very nice guy.
I think Pepe was observing my boyfriend over the years and knew that he would be a good fit for mama. In the beginning Pepe was really worried about me after the divorce. I wasn't even sure if I could take care of Pepe by himself so right after the divorce, I would leave him with Jan and Joey for a while and I would only take him for a bit at the time. But I decided to keep him full time after my boyfriend came in the picture. It was a tiny condo and I know that it took some time to get used to that tiny condo living for Pepe. He was always used to the house and pee and poop on the grass. So it was hard to adjust.
Even when we moved into a new place, he had to learn to walk over to the grass outside Lanai to poop and pee. I am sure he was confused. But he tried to adopt to a new environment. He loved us so much unconditionally and I think we both became a better human being by watching him and spending time with Pepe. Pepe was just an awesome dog who had so much love to give.
Pepe made me believe that I could completely count on my boyfriend when he passed away. Pepe's passing was not an easy thing to deal with, but as a result, it had a benefit of showing me how much my boyfriend cared about me and how supportive he can be for me. My boyfriend's dedication and love during that time was more than I could ever ask for.
Pepe's existence in our lives was so important to us, that I feel like we met through Pepe's approval. we learned to love each other by watching how Pepe loved us and we are forever together because Pepe wanted us to. He knew he could count on my boyfriend to take care of me and knew that I will be okay.
I am forever thankful to Pepe for bringing such a wonderful sweet man in my life and making sure of everything before he went to heaven. Pepe, we are officially together forever now. I hope you are smiling from above.