Marrakech Magic Theater · San Francisco · October 2021
A Love Story
"The only thing worse than a magic show
would be clowns."
Marrakech Magic Theater · San Francisco
Flora had always known her own mind. While visiting the East Coast with her friends, she found herself inside the storied blue-box world of Tiffany & Co. — and there, among all the glittering cases, one diamond ring simply spoke to her. She bought it herself: her own engagement ring, chosen with certainty and love.
Of course, one of the stones had a small imperfection — a loose diamond needing replacement not long after she brought it home. Tiffany's, true to their legacy, handled the repair with utmost care. The ring came back flawless, ready for the moment it was made for.
And so the ring waited — while Flora, a high-powered executive with a calendar that never slept, traveled for work and family across weeks that kept slipping away.
The plan came together through years of shared service in Scouting — and through one remarkable introduction.
The Connector
A lifelong San Jose community leader and dear friend through years together in Scouting. Heather is Senior Director of Philanthropy at Jewish Silicon Valley and recently completed her term as President of the Rotary Club of San Jose — a fitting capstone to decades of civic life in this city. She made the introduction to Jay, and wouldn't have missed that Friday night for the world.
The Mastermind
Heather's partner — one of America's foremost mentalists. Owner and star of the Marrakech Magic Theater, where his Mind Tricks Live! show is the #1 rated show in San Francisco on both Yelp and TripAdvisor. He arranged a videographer for that evening so every moment would be captured on film.
By midweek, the night was chosen. Friday. Heather would be there. The videographer would be there. Everything was set — except getting Flora through the door.
By the end of a long week of travel — criss-crossing for work and family — Flora wanted nothing more than a quiet evening at home. When I suggested dinner and a show, her response was swift.
Flora, it must be said, absolutely hates surprises. But faced with the unmistakable weight of those words — I've been trying to propose to you — she agreed. A partial reveal, made necessary by weeks of missed windows. She knew something was coming. She did not know that Jay Alexander had something up his sleeve.
We arrived in San Francisco early — deliberately so. Traffic on a Friday evening has a way of turning a carefully arranged evening into a scramble, and this was not a night to be late. With time in hand, we settled into a nearby steakhouse, close to the theater, for dinner.
There is something quietly surreal about sitting across from the person you are about to propose to, making easy conversation over a good steak, with a Tiffany diamond in your pocket and a mentalist waiting around the corner who already knows exactly how the evening ends. Flora, tired from the week, was relaxing into the evening. The city was doing what San Francisco does on a Friday night — alive, unhurried, lit up.
She did not know that Heather was already making her way to the theater. That Jay was preparing the stage. That a videographer was setting up a shot. That two playing cards were waiting to be signed.
Dinner was lovely. Then we walked to the show.
The Marrakech Magic Theater. Friday night. Heather in the audience, watching the plan arrive. Jay commanding the room. And Flora — the executive who'd rather have stayed home, who ranks magic shows just above clowns — somewhere between suspicious and unexpectedly charmed.
Then Jay turned his attention to the two of us. What followed unfolded in three acts of its own:
The Cards
Jay had us each sign a playing card with our names. Two cards — two people, two separate lives. Then, in a way that defied easy explanation, he presented them back to us on stage: the two cards fused together into one. Two becoming one, right there in front of the whole audience.
The Ring
Jay produced his wand — and there, balanced upon it, was the ring. He draped a scarf over it. A moment of stillness. Then a flash of fire, a puff of smoke — and when the scarf fell away, the Tiffany diamond was revealed, gleaming under the stage lights.
The Question
I took the ring from the wand. I bent a knee. And with the audience, the videographer, Heather, and Jay all bearing witness — I asked Flora to marry me.
She said yes.
Jay's videographer captured every second — the ring revealed on the wand, the knee, the question, and the answer that made it all worthwhile.
Flora had found the ring. Tiffany's had perfected it. Heather had made the introduction and taken her seat. Jay had set the stage, scripted the magic, and pointed the camera. All of it — the scouting friendships, the East Coast adventure, the weeks of missed evenings, the reluctant executive who thought magic shows ranked just above clowns — had been quietly conspiring toward this single Friday night.
Two cards, signed and separate, pressed together into one.
She said yes.
Two days of work in Compton. A drive down to Long Beach. A Southwest flight home to San Jose — about as routine as a trip gets. Seat 22C. Tired, ready to be home.
The woman in seat 21C turned around as I was settling in.
It was Heather.
Four and a half years since the proposal. A Long Beach–to–San Jose Southwest hop is nobody's idea of a likely reunion — and there she was, one row ahead, grinning like she'd arranged it. I moved into the seat beside her and we spent the flight catching up, the kind of easy conversation that picks up right where it left off.
I texted Flora the photo the moment I had signal. She recognized it immediately for what it was — the universe, still conspiring.
