‘She Saw the Ring Box [And] Looked at Me Smiling; I Smiled Back, ‘Will You Marry Me?’

K.J. AND GERALDINE JOHNSON BY JE’DON HOLLOWAY-TALLEY | Special to the Birmingham Times Live: McCalla Married: Sept. 7, 2003 Met: Spring 2000, at Faulkner University. K.J. and Geraldine were in the same history class and wound up in the same study group. K.J. said that Faulkner’s college campus in Birmingham was 70-80 percent women, but he wasn’t looking to find a new mate, as he was a divorced single father, and focused on earning his bachelor’s degree so he could qualify for promotion at his job at UPS. “When I first saw Gerry in class, I noticed her because of her walk it was the motion of her arms with her little shuffle that caught my eye,” K.J. said. Geraldine said K.J.’s dapperness caught her attention. “…he was very nicely dressed. [K.J.] always came to class in a crisp button-down shirt, slacks, and nice Johnston Murphy dress shoes, and he was very articulate. I wasn’t looking for anyone either, my goal was to go to school at a later age [she was in her 30s] and get my degree. But we ended up in the same study group and things went from there.” First date: Early fall 2000, at K.J.’s...