Keisha Shakespeare,Freelance Writer
HE CALLED her every day for two years before she agreed to go on a date with him.
Then they dated for two years but he was never able to see her alone. Theresa Stone said she was so scared of men that on each date she made sure that they had company.
Stone, 22, met Jason Beckford, 23, in a Sunday school meeting at Power of Faith Ministry in Portmore, St. Catherine.
"Sunday school was about over when Dawn Brown (Sunday school teacher) asked us to turn to the
person on the right and introduce ourselves. Jason was on my right so we introduced ourselves. From that day whenever we bumped into each other we would say hi."
THAT TELEPHONE NUMBER
Beckford, a JUTA driver with the Pegasus Hotel in New Kingston, wanted to be friends with Stone and grabbed the first chance he could to get her telephone number. He was a member of the youth choir and so was Stone's twin sister, Tanisha. When Tanisha became ill the choir director gave out her phone number and asked everyone to call and encourage her.
However, Beckford's first call to the Stone household was not to Tanisha but to Theresa.
"I only spoke to him for five minutes. He asked if he could call again but I told him no I would see him at church. However, he called me back the next day and every day after that for two years."
At this point, they started dating.
"I was a very shy (and still am) person and I was afraid of going out with Jason, or any guy for that matter.
"I was scared to go out with him alone so on our first date I took along my twin and I told him to take his sister, Keiza," says Stone who, in September, will be studying to become a travel agent.
The couple dated for two years but never went on a date by themselves. She remembers that he used to tell her that when he was going to propose to her she would get upset. Beckford adds that she didn't know what he meant until last June when he popped the question.
THE DAY HE PROPOSED
Jason came to my house and picked me up and told me he was taking me somewhere. I thought he was going to pick up something. However, when I realised that he was heading to Hellshire beach I told him to take me home. I had told him on many occasions that I would not go to the beach with him unless at 12 other persons came with us.
Jason wouldn't turn back he just kept on driving. I told him I was going to call my mother and tell her that he was taking me away. But he just kept driving and I started crying. Even then he didn't pay any attention to me. I hit out a coconut water bottle out of his hand that he was drinking from.
When we arrived at the beach he tried to get me out of the car but I refused. He then came around to my side of the car, opened the door and sat beside me. He started crying, and then asked why was I behaving like that. Then he went down on his knees, reached into his pocket, took out a ring and asked me to marry him.
He started crying again and told me that I didn't let him do what he had planned to do properly. He took me down to the seashore, knelt in the sand and proposed to me once more. I was so embarrassed at the way I had reacted earlier so I apologised then accepted.
He also reminded me that he had told me that I would be upset when he proposed.
HOW TO TELL HER FATHER
Stone says she was excited that she told her mother as soon as she got home. However, she was less certain of her father's reaction because he had always told her that he was not going to give up his daughter to any man.
She waited for two months before telling him the good news.
"He just asked me if I was sure that I was ready. I told him I was and he gave me his blessings."
The couple got married in shades of cream, blue and burgundy. Her parents, Maurine and James Stone, gave away her away. Bishop Delford Davis was the officiating pastor at the church where they met.
They honeymooned at Crane Ridge Resort in Ocho Rios, St. Ann.
