BY JE’DON HOLLOWAY-TALLEY | Special to the Birmingham Times
ARKAYA & WILLIE PACE JR.
Live: McCalla
Married: July 16, 2022
Met: Fall 2002, at the Teletech call center in Fairfield. Willie and Arkaya worked the overnight shift as call center representatives, and while they can’t remember who began working there first, they remember when they met.
“I had recently gotten out of a relationship and I was on the hunt,” Arkaya laughed. “I was looking for someone new because I was ready to get over my ex …
And when I first noticed him, I said ‘oooh, he’s really handsome’, and asked one of my coworkers/mutual friends who he was, and she [initiated the connection].”
“Sarita [the mutual friend] came to me and told me there was a girl on another team that thought I was handsome and wanted to get to know me, and unlike Arkaya, I had never been in a relationship in my life so that piqued my interest and I wanted to see who the young lady was that she was talking about. And since we [Willie and Arkaya] were both on the overnight shift, we got a chance to talk and exchange numbers,” Willie recalled.
Because of their overnight schedules, planning a date took a couple weeks. “But when we would get off work, we’d stay outside talking until the sun came up, we’d be out there for hours …,” Arkaya said. Eventually, their off days synched up and they scheduled a day date.
First date: October 2002, at the Wildwood Movie Theater where they saw “Texas Chainsaw Massacre.” Willie picked Arkaya up from home in Ensley.
“I could tell he was nervous because it was his first date. He was 21 and I was 22, and he had no experience dating so he didn’t meet any expectations of mine,” Arkaya said. “I expected him to plan more. Maybe put his arm around me but he didn’t because he was raised in the church and was very respectful, which was new to me. And even though he [was a novice], he was a gentleman and different from the other guys. He was able to come and pick me up for the date, I didn’t have to meet him there,” she laughed, “and I didn’t have to worry about paying for anything, he bought me whatever I wanted…it was still a nice date, I remember enjoying him.”
“It was a day date, so there weren’t that many people in the theater with us, but I enjoyed being in her presence and we had a great time,” Willie said. “I was definitely nervous being that it was my first date… I had no idea what to expect, but like she said, we were able to build that rapport [beforehand] because we spent a lot of time talking.”
After the first date, Willie and Arkaya’s connection cooled down. “I thought he was cute, but he wasn’t my type and we drifted apart but remained good friends. He was there through all my many relationships [that followed], and I was there for his, and we would give each other relationship advice,” Arkaya said.
In 2017, both had gone through bad breakups and vowed they were done with love. “He and I became companions. We went out on dates but we were just friends,” said Arkaya. That was until spring 2019, when she considered that her feelings may have been deeper than she realized.
The turn: In spring 2019 “I realized I was in love with him,” Arkaya shared. “He told me he was taking an ex to a gospel concert and he made a request of me that made me go off,” she said. “I realized I had deeper feelings for him, but going off on him almost cost me our friendship because he is not the type of guy that likes confrontation. But we sat down together and had a conversation and realized we both felt the same way.”
“From the conversation we had after the conflict, she helped me realize she was for me and had my best interest at heart, and [moving forward] I realized she was someone I could build with and I was ready to take our friendship to the next level,” Willie said.
The proposal: Oct. 27, 2021, at Arkaya’s home in McCalla. “I asked to come over so we could have dinner like we did often, and she didn’t think anything of it. She had made lasagna that day, and we ate and watched tv like a typical night. And around 11:30 p.m., I went to the bathroom to get the ring out of my pocket and came back into the living room and got down on one knee like I was reaching down to pick something up and revealed the ring box,” Willie said. “And at first, she didn’t acknowledge that I was down on one knee because she thought I was just picking something up, so I stayed there until she turned her head and looked at me. And when she looked at me, she started crying and said ‘yes’ before even seeing the ring, and I said ‘you said yes before seeing the ring’, and I opened the box and she started crying even more. It was a custom ring and she was really excited about it. And then Kaytlyn [Arkaya’s daughter, then 10 years old] came out of her room [and joined in the excitement].”
“I was so tired that night because it was my first time making lasagna. I had spaghetti sauce all over my shirt and I was looking a mess, but he came over looking and smelling good,” Arkaya laughed. “I was so happy about the ring because when we went ring shopping, I had shown him what I wanted and I was adamant about it because I said ‘I’m in my 40s and I don’t want a bubble gum ring.’ So when I looked at the ring my mind was blown because he went beyond my expectations. He got me a custom ring [essentially combining elements] of the two rings I showed him that I liked. After I stopped crying, I realized I was looking crazy and couldn’t take pictures like that, so I changed clothes and we took a few pictures and called and told our closest friends and family and then put it on Facebook [changing our statuses to ‘engaged’ and posting photos of the ring] and that night we started planning our wedding,” Arkaya said.
The wedding: At Arkaya’s home church, Faith Church in Midfield, officiated its pastor, Pastor Aubrey Miller. Their colors were turquoise and watermelon [a shade of fuscia], creme and gold.
Most memorable for the bride was having a wonderful reception, and how she and her groom ended their night. “We had an awesome wedding reception. And afterward, when we got back to [The Wynfrey Hotel at the Hoover Galleria] we ran into another couple who had just got married and that was really cool… and even though we had plenty of food and drinks [at the reception] we were still hungry so we got out of our wedding clothes and went to Dave and Busters and had a late dinner and that was the first moment we had to really take it all in and that we were really married,” Arkaya said. “And now we like to go to Dave and Buster’s on our anniversary to reflect.”
Most memorable for the groom was the ride from the hotel to the church for the wedding ceremony. “We had a car service pick us up from the [The Wynfrey Hotel at the Hoover Galleria] to take us to the church, and me and Arkaya actually rode in the car to the church together [which is untraditional] because you’re not supposed to see the bride before she walks down the aisle. But I liked our untraditional path to the church because I got to see my bride [which cut out anxiety], and I was able to enjoy the ceremony comfortably while waiting for her to walk down the aisle,” said Willie.
They honeymooned in New York City and stayed at the Hard Rock hotel in Manhattan. “We were able to experience New York for the first time together. That was an awesome ‘first’ to start off our marriage,” said Arkaya. “The New York culture was very interesting,” Willie added.
Words of wisdom: “Go into your marriage with two things: God and determination,” Willie said. “You have to have God as the head of your marriage because without him the marriage will fail. And you have to make the determination that no matter what comes or happens in the marriage, you make the marriage work and honor the vows ‘til death do us part’. Do your best to make the marriage successful, love each other, honor the marriage, and don’t let anything break you apart.”
“Patience,” said Arkaya. “Be patient with each other because dating and marriage are two different things. There are a lot of things that you don’t see when you’re dating that you see when you’re married. When you have patience and really have an understanding of who [your spouse is] you can get through anything. And remember, you won’t always get it right, but patience helps the marriage grow and you learn and love your partner on a deeper level.”
Happily ever after: The Paces attend Greater Emmanuel Temple Holiness Church in East Lake, where Willie serves as a musician and Arkaya as secretary of the children’s department and president of the community service outreach. They are a blended family with one daughter, Kaytlyn, 13, from Arkaya’s previous relationship.
Arkaya, 45, is an Ensley native and Ensley High School grad. She attended Miles College where she earned a bachelor’s degree in management and works for Auburn University as a nutrition educator.
Willie Jr. 44, is a Hueytown native and Hueytown High School grad. He attended Bessemer State Tech, where he earned an associate’s degree in computer science, and works for Community Service Programs of West Alabama, as the housing rehab assistant.
“You Had Me at Hello’’ highlights married couples and the love that binds them. If you would like to be considered for a future “Hello’’ column, or know someone, please send nominations to Barnett Wright bwright@birminghamtimes.com. Include the couple’s name, contact number(s) and what makes their love story unique.
