For all the USA TODAY crossword addicts who were wondering, yes, the marriage proposal embedded in last week's word puzzle was the real thing. And she said yes. The puzzle's creator, Alex Fay, popped the question to his girlfriend, Lisa Stern, in clue 58 Across of the April 10 puzzle. The clue: "Question that pops up." The life-changing solution: "WILLYOUMARRYME." COMMUNITY: Visit puzzles forum where readers made the find Fay, who does the crossword puzzle with his sweetheart every day, had been plotting the wordplay for four or five months before working up the nerve for his proposal. "When I was trying to think of something that was personal and kind of fun, it just leapt into my mind," Fay says. "This is something we share, so I enjoyed being creative." He created the puzzle, his first ever, and sent it to Timothy Parker, who edits the daily feature for the newspaper. Parker went along with the idea to set up the special moment for Fay, 26, and Stern, 24, of Atlanta. Though the couple usually do the crossword puzzle at night, Fay couldn't wait the entire day — not with the stakes so high. He brought the puzzle and a vanilla latte — his future wife's favorite — to her last Thursday morning. He held the puzzle in his hand, careful to cover his name at the top. As the couple worked their way through the puzzle, Stern says, she started to get a feeling something was up. She had noticed a marriage theme in the clues, and she had the feeling something big was about to happen. "He had this funny little smile on his face," Stern says. After about 20 minutes, Stern got to 58 Across. There were just a few letters there, but she was able to complete the phrase. And that's when Fay got down to one knee and pulled out a ring. "I was shocked," Stern says. "I knew he'd do something creative. I did not think he would do something this big." Knowing his girlfriend doesn't like the spotlight, Fay wanted to do something big but still be subtle. "It was still our private moment," Stern says. "But it was nice it could be shared with other people, and it was nice because it was at my apartment." The proposal generated a lot of attention on the USA TODAY website over the weekend as crossword enthusiasts tried to find out if the proposal was the real thing. Fay, who owns a tutoring service, and Stern, a high school guidance counselor, plan to be married next summer. Enlarge Handout Alex Fay found a novel way to pop the question to his girlfriend, Lisa Stern: The first-time cruciverbalist put it in a puzzle. Guidelines: You share in the USA TODAY community, so please keep your comments smart and civil. Don't attack other readers personally, and keep your language decent. Use the "Report Abuse" button to make a difference. You share in the USA TODAY community, so please keep your comments smart and civil. Don't attack other readers personally, and keep your language decent. Use the "Report Abuse" button to make a difference. Read more