On the first day of August this year, I found myself sitting in a comfortable booth in a popular restaurant downtown (that’s in the town centre to you non-locals!). I was waiting for a friend of mine to meet me for a bite, and some much needed girl-time. While waiting, I could see another booth nearby which triggered a memory which made me smile from ear-to-ear. It was the booth which I sat in exactly one year ago today, on one of the happiest days of my life to date.
It was an ordinary Saturday in August 2009. The twenty-second day. A was in town for a visit, and my birthday was coming up in a matter of days, so I was having a pretty good weekend already. A suggested that there were some errands he’d like to run near the center of town, and then we’d have lunch at one of my favorite local spots there. It was hot, and though I wasn’t overly keen on running errands in the stifling heat (that knowing A likely involved looking at technological gadgets and the like), I was nonetheless looking forward to spending the afternoon with A. I also had a good friend in town for a visit, and A and I were going to be meeting her and some other friends for dinner.
I can’t recall on what pretense, but somehow A and I ended up stopping by the church. Before I understood what was happening, A was on his knees asking me to become his wife!!
Looking back…for all of his British reserve and lack of sappiness (soppiness to you Brits!) that accompanies it, he has nevertheless accomplished some rather extraordinarily romantic gestures in the course of our relationship. Without being showy, verbose, or displaying an excess of emotion, he has managed to take my breath away on more than one occasion. He took me to Paris (every American girl’s dream!) and we’ve traveled a fair bit together in the past 3+ years, he sends me flowers just because, he installed my new dishwasher himself to save me paying someone else to do it, he painted my living room and helped with numerous house projects, he hung a birthday banner on my garage so it would be the first thing I saw upon arriving home, he planted a rosebush for me just because I love roses, and a favorite was when he arranged for a private dinner for two overlooking the harbour in his town!
Yet, there was something so incredibly special about the way A proposed to me… on an ordinary Saturday in summer… at the very place in which he wished us to marry.
Later that same day, we met up with friends for an early dinner as planned ... sat in a comfortable booth and shared our very happy news. I couldn’t stop smiling!
Fast forward a year, and here we are… one month and ten days until I get to reiterate the yes answer I gave him on that hot August day…
I do. (I do, I do, I forever do!)
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