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Pearl Fire Department Lieutenant BJ Wells met Emily Ann Jones in
2013 while on call with American Medical Response. Emily is a
neonatal flight nurse at UMC and a neonatal nurse at Newborn
Associates. They fondly recall the night they met. At the time, BJ was working
as an EMT. He and Emily were on call together. While Emily was busy working
with a neonatal patient during transport, BJ remembered that it was storming very
badly that night. It was quite a treacherous drive because the ambulance was leaking,
causing him to struggle to see. Desperate to find something to clear the water to
get them to their destination safely, he asked Emily for anything to help.
Laughing, BJ said, “We really didn’t have much in the ambulance but she tossed
me a roll of paper towels.” Emily added, “I guess you could say we bonded over
that roll of paper towels that night.”
Busy with their healthcare and fireman duties, their paths crossed frequently
and they became good friends who were able to work with each other from time
to time. BJ recalls, “She is such a loyal person with a big heart and never meets a
stranger.” He added that his close friend and co-worker had a postcard that came
in the mail with Emily’s face on it. He joked to his buddy and said, “Get her
autograph for me, I’m going to marry her one day.”
Fast forward a few years—they agreed to go on a real date. Unfortunately,
Emily was already committed to move to North Carolina but did not want to
miss an opportunity to see where this may lead. After that first date, Emily knew
this was real and questioned her big move. She had already sold her house and had
to go. She said, “He is just so easy to love so I really felt like I had made a mistake
by moving.”
Determined not to let distance get in the way, they both agreed to give their
long-distance relationship a go. BJ said, “I knew that if we could make it work
long distance then we could make it work here.” A year later in 2019, Emily was
back in Mississippi and back to BJ.
Emily said, “The move and the long-distance relationship really showed me
who he was.” Excited for the future, Emily and BJ were happily back on the same
soil together.
For Emily’s birthday this year, she and BJ had planned an exciting and
fun-filled trip to New York. She added, “We were so excited for this trip. We
even bought matching outfits and had so much planned to do but because of
Covid, we had to cancel.” Leaving their plans behind and their new outfits
hanging in the closet, they made back-up plans for her special day.
They planned to attend a simple cookout with her family instead. Knowing
the disappointment Emily felt from having to cancel the trip, BJ said, “I told her
she should go get her nails done and we’d dress up in our outfits anyway and go
to dinner!” Emily, concerned about being way overdressed to go eat burgers with
family, humored BJ and got all dressed up for her birthday. Little did she know
what BJ had in store for her.
After dinner, BJ sweetly asked Emily to walk outside and dance with him.
When she stepped outside, she was surrounded by twinkling lights and music
playing for them that he had already set up. BJ also made and displayed a poster
board with photos documenting special times throughout their relationship. As
they danced on her special day, BJ proposed to her asking if she
would be his forever. Overcome with emotion, Emily admits,
“It was so sweet and overwhelming. I feel like I almost blacked
out a little.” BJ, thinking ahead, had someone posted nearby
filming the entire scene for the happy couple.
BJ and Emily are eager to begin their life together. With
BJ’s 15 year old son, Brelynn Wells, by his side as his best man,
they plan to wed in 2021. After a trip to the mountains and a
larger honeymoon to come in the future, they plan to reside in
Rankin County together and will continue serving our
community as first responders.
Hometown RANKIN • 45