It was a Monday evening, and usually Sean had Kenpo or I was teaching violin lessons, but this week between Christmas and New Years, was different with no lessons for me and no karate for him, so we planned to do another "laundry/dinner/movie night." (That's when I go over to his house to do my laundry while we eat dinner and watch a movie.) Then in the afternoon Sean texted me, "I was thinking it would be nice to go for a walk before dinner and then eat somewhere nice. I'll pick you up at 5:30." I didn't see this until about 5:00, and right away I wondered if he would propose that night... and suddenly I got jittery and nervous. "But it's probably nothing," I tried to tell myself. "What if he just wants to 'eat somewhere nice?' "
Since it was off-and-on rainy that evening, I dressed for "taking a walk" in a dress and tall black boots, but I brought nice shoes for the "somewhere nice" afterwards. When he came up to my second floor apparent, he was in a new-to-me shirt and nice slacks, definitely dressed for the "somewhere nice." And he carried bouquet of half-a-dozen roses and two irises. "Ahhhh, you did bring flowers." That made me so happy!
We ended up strolling around downtown Missoula, looking at the Christmas lights and decor on the streets and in the shops. It was lovely, walking arm and arm with an umbrella. Then we ate at The Depot, where we had our first date in March. But we had eaten there once before, in September, so I wasn't sure it meant anything in particular. Afterwards, we went to Liquid Planet for tea, which we also did on our first date. But, again, we'd been there a few other times, too, so...?? Still, I'll remember this time in particular because we snagged the little love seat, and sat close, not talking much, just enjoying being together.
Sean suggested we take a drive around town to see more Christmas lights. We would start there in the downtown area, then drive through the University District, and work our way up into the South Hills, where I had mentioned seeing Christmas light-covered houses previous years. I remember this being a really relaxing time and nice to wander around in his truck. As we gradually moved south, we drove up Hillview Way, then wandered here and there, and I noted that we were close to Sean's house. We decided to stop there.
As soon as we went in, I turned on the lights of the Christmas tree and stood looking out his back deck door - a stunning view of Missoula and surrounding mountains. At this point, alone for a few minutes, I was emotionally distraught, "He's not going to ask me, is he??? Or, maybe he will. If he doesn't propose tonight, I'm going to break up with him! I can't handle this emotional roller coaster!"
When he came back, we sat on his couch in the half dark, his arm around me. I relaxed and remembered how much I love him, how much he meant to me...and I just enjoyed sitting there with him. I noticed, though, that he kept sitting up to check the time in the kitchen behind us. He never checks the time. Still, nothing else happened, except that I started getting really sleepy, and I told him that I might have to go soon.
A little while later, I noticed his hands were clammy, sweaty... hmmm. And then, a little after that, he said, "I wrote something for you."
"You did?!"
"Yeah."
And he dug around in the drawer of his coffee table for a little bit - it felt kind of awkward. Eventually, he came back with a folded up piece of paper, unfolded it, and started to read... a poem chronicling our relationship. His voice was a little shaky, but as he read, I realized what was happening, and I was more in love with him than ever before. So when he ended the poem with "will you marry me?," there was no hesitation.
"Yes! Yes!"
And suddenly there was a little box, and a ring inside it, and he was struggling to get it out, and joking, "I should have practiced this!" Giddy laughter from both of us. Then, he's placing the ring on my finger...
We took a few pictures of us a little while later. They're not our best pictures, but I'm so glad we did, just to remember that special night. Here's the best one.
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| the ring is on my right hand, in hope/faith that i'll be playing the violin lots again real soon! |
