Marisa Trujillo and Brandon Jacques

I have known Brandon’s family and have been best friends with Brandon’s sister, Shannon for about 10 years. We have shared many great times, memories and lots of laughter and still do. Brandon was that pesky little brother you adore (yes, he is younger) who would go with us sometimes if we went out to movies and the like. He even got his older cousin to give him his ID just so he could hang out with us when we went out for the occasional Happy Hour. He would always joke around that he hoped that I wouldn’t marry anyone until he had a chance to get older. I always thought that was cute although I didn’t really pay much attention to how quickly he was growing up.

In 2004, a group of us gathered to celebrate Shannon’s and my birthday in July. I remember walking into the backyard and this tall, fully bearded “man” who was very easy on the eyes came up and gave me a big bear hug and said, “Hi, Marisa. It’s been a while.” At first I didn’t recognize him but enjoyed the hug immensely because he smelled so good. I couldn’t believe it was the pesky little brother! He had definitely grown into an amazing person. We ended up gabbing the whole night and catching up on the last few years. Even though we were not paired with each other in his sister’s wedding party later that year…the connection was most definitely there. Yes, the sparks flew, the sky parted and we began dating.

During the last several years, Brandon and I have enjoyed so many great times together like keeping tabs on our two dogs, Yoshi and Wilson making sure they stay out of trouble. We love listening to the laughter of our soon to be combined families who enjoy sharing holidays and special get-togethers.

There have been lots of concerts especially our favorite, the Dave Matthews Band and another most memorable concert, the Rolling Stones in El Paso (no 67 year-old man can pull of leather pants like Mick Jagger). Our most fun times are spent off-roading in our Jeeps and seeing spectacular scenery. You can count on us being in Moab, Utah every year for the Easter Jeep Safari as well as taking as many trips up to Durango and Silverton, as time and budget will allow. Colorado is one of our favorite places.

Last January, we decided to take one of those “get away from it all” trips for New Year’s Eve. We thought it a good idea to stay close to home and agreed to spend the weekend in Taos. We were really excited because it had recently snowed there and thought it would be a great time to take some winter pictures. During the trip north, I busied myself with messing with my camera off and on and it seemed when I finally looked up, a road sign read “You are now leaving New Mexico.” I asked Brandon where we were going now and he just smiled. Since we both love Durango, I knew we were on our way there.

When we got to Durango, I thought we were going to stop somewhere to rent a room or do some sightseeing except that Brandon drove directly to Outlaw Rivers and Jeep Tours and rented two snowmobiles. That day we saw landscape that few ever get to see from a car. It is so incredible to be out in the middle of nowhere surrounded by the natural beauty of the mountains. It’s also a lot of fun driving fast, snow flying in every direction, chasing one another around and enjoying the immense freedom of it all. Afterwards, we were so exhausted that we had a quiet dinner and called it a night.

The next day we had planned to walk through downtown Durango and window shop. We stopped for my morning coffee fix at a little café across the street from the Durango-Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad station. I had never been on this particular train but every time we came to Colorado, Brandon always commented on what a fun trip it was. We were always disappointed because the train was always sold out whenever we came to Durango. Surely there was no way that we would be lucky enough this time since we had no reservations and it was a holiday. So, I sadly resigned myself to a day of shopping, sightseeing and good eatsJ. Brandon casually suggested we stop by the train station anyway just in case there were any last minute cancellations.

When we got to the ticket window, Brandon
had a surprise for me. He told the ticket agent, “Reservations for two under Jacques.” I had no idea he had planned everything from the snowmobiles to the train reservations before we left Albuquerque. I gave him a big hug and ran to hold a place for us in the now long line of people that were waiting to board the open air gondola cars. When Brandon came out of the station he called me over and said, “Honey, we’re not in that line…I reserved the parlor car.” I was a very happy camper at that moment with the thought of enjoying a nice glass of wine or the infamous Steam Engine Lager while taking this awesome ride.

Our hostess and tour guide announced that we would be making two stops during the train ride. One stop would be for water midway through our 53 mile roundtrip and the other stop would be for about an hour or so to “stretch our legs”
at Cascade Canyon. As soon as we got off the train at the canyon, I started taking pictures. Brandon had an idea that maybe we should take a path that took us over a footbridge that spanned the Animas River. As we moved across the bridge and further away from the train, he kept telling me we should go further up because I could take some great photos at the higher elevation. So, here we are, trudging through almost knee-high snow to get up to one of the most beautiful open fields that a person can “accidentally stumble” on. No one was out there in all that huge space except for us. It was stunning. Although we were enjoying being out there, I kept worrying that we wouldn’t have enough time to make it back to the train after the last whistle blew signaling us to board or risk being left behind. But, Brandon told me not to worry that we would make it back in time. So, I kept taking my pictures.

Then, Brandon called out to me and asked if I had seen something out in the trees. I got kind of scared and asked what he had seen. He said, “I saw a monkey*.” I started laughing because I knew it to be highly unlikely that even an abominable snow monkey would be out in all this cold. Hey, it could happen! He said, “No really, I saw a monkey and it’s sitting right over on that tree branch.” I looked over to where he was pointing and sure enough there was this little bitty monkey holding bananas sitting on the branch! Brandon told me that I should go over and check out the monkey which I did and it turned out to be a ring box with the most beautiful engagement ring that I had ever seen. Brandon put his arm around my shoulders (remember knee deep snow) and asked, “Will you marry me?” I don’t even remember what I said because I started crying and then he did, too. There we were, in the middle of a beautiful snow covered mountain top on a very cold day and everything just seemed right in the world. It was just the most perfect time. I can’t tell you how we got back to the train or even how it was that Brandon had hidden the monkey in the tree without me seeing him. All I know is that I must have looked like Alice Cooper because all my mascara had run down my cheeks and that if I hadn’t said yes, I think I would still be stuck on that snowy mountain.

Our wedding day is July 25, 2009 beginning with the church service at
Nativity on Alameda followed by an outdoor garden reception at the Hotel Albuquerque. The original plans of a small and intimate wedding were out of the question (considering that Brandon is related to half of New Mexico and some parts of Texas). It’s going to be quite a party, singing with Mariachis and seeing our new familia dancing to a live band all night long.

*The meaning behind the monkeys with bananas: there are always times in everyone’s life when everyday worries and stresses like The Job, bills, money and the instant realization that your “bum” DOES in fact look big in those jeans (my fiancée is a big liar!) can really wear on you. During one of these times, I decided the best remedy for me was to get a great horror movie and my fav bottle of wine and feel sorry for myself at home. While I was standing in the checkout line at Hastings pretending to read the articles of the latest US News but really just looking at the pictures, I noticed what I thought was a gag necklace hanging on the magazine rack. I say gag necklace because I don’t know anyone with the least bit of sanity that would wear a necklace with large cartoon-like monkeys on one side and bunches of bananas on the other. For some reason, looking at that necklace brought out such a sudden and extremely loud burst of laughter that I think the people behind me took a step or two back for fear of catching the “Kooties” from the Crazy Lady. I felt so calm and relaxed after laughing so hard that I realized that all the things that I had been worrying about just a bit ago, now seemed so much less important. I took the necklace to the counter and asked to purchase it, wondering what the cost was since it had no tag. The checkout girl looked at it and took it to the back to get a price check. She eventually came back and said they did not carry that item and it probably belonged to some kid that left it in the store. I think she let me have the necklace based solely on my reaction to it and also because I think she got a kick out of hearing me laugh so hard. Five years later, I still have that necklace hanging on the review mirror of my Jeep as a daily reminder that while there will always be something to worry or stress about…nothing is ever too big that laughter, time spent with family and friends, the enjoyment of having pets (dogs rule!), a fine glass of wine, a loving and supportive fiancée and even monkeys with bananas are what matters most.

It still moves me to tears to think that he remembered the story of the monkeys and bananas after so many years and that he took the trouble to find the perfect way to tell me that no matter what happens we will always be alright because now we have each other.