On proposals - first draft

I woke up one morning with a note, hanging from the ceiling, right in my face. It was a plain white index card with the words “Meet me at your favorite restaurant at 12:00” written in red. The note was not signed because of course I knew whom it was from. I read the note a few times, excitement bubbling up inside of me. I wondered what the occasion was. Well, considering how sweet my boyfriend is, I wondered if there were any occasion at all or if it was just another time he surprised me for no good reason just to remind me how much I mean to him.

I spent a little bit longer getting ready, which translates to about an hour and a half versus the usual hour I take. Some of the extra time was due to me trying to look nicer than usual by curling my hair and applying my makeup before getting in the car. I figured if I’m about to be wined and dined by a very handsome gentleman, avoiding dying in a car crash caused by my last minute attempt to get pretty is the first step towards a good day. Before leaving, I wanted my mom to make sure I looked okay, but she was nowhere to be found. In fact no one was home. Odd.

I was only 15 minutes late arriving at Takosushi, and Bryan was already there, sitting outside with a really expensive bottle of wine that was beckoning me. Like the perfect gentleman that he always is, Bryan stood up when I got to the table, took my jacket and pulled out my chair for me after giving me a kiss that I always wish lasted a little bit longer.

I hadn’t sat there for five minutes before our food was on the table. And I know I was late but wow, he couldn’t even wait 15 minutes to order? Are we in a hurry or something? Luckily, I get the same thing every single time I eat there, the Triple Tango Roll and Tempura Asparagus please. So we ate and had casual conversation over wine and sushi, but something was different. There was definitely something he wasn’t telling me. He had sort of a sly smile on his face the entire time.

I love surprises but I don’t love that I love surprises because I want to know everything about everything all the time. So of course my first questions are: What’s going on? What is this all about? Is there a special occasion? I’ve forgotten our anniversary enough times to know that today is not it. Where are we going after this? Do we have plans or are we going home?

To both my dismay and my pleasure, every question I asked, went unanswered. I tried to eat as fast as I could and perhaps drank my wine a little too fast, but I had to see what was next, or if anything came next.

I should have known it would be something. Next thing I know he is blindfolding me while I sit in his passenger seat. Is this the part where I get killed? Doubtful, but that would be quite a surprise. I couldn’t help feeling giddy and nervous. I kept asking question after question as we drove, but I still received no answers.

After about two and a half hours of driving, I didn’t even have any more questions. We were obviously going to Montana or the moon with how long it was taking. Finally he stopped the car and I ripped my blindfold off. We were in Charleston! I had only been there a few times: once when I met him 6 years ago, once for spring break (but let’s not get into that), once on a trip during which we started dating, and then he took me one other time for our one year and six month anniversary because yes, we still celebrate every month. Or he celebrates and I congratulate him for being able to keep such a great girl for so long. Just kidding. But seriously.

So this was amazing except that I had no idea what we were doing here now. Not to mention, Mr. Big Planner seemed to forget that maybe on his note, he ought to have said to pack for the weekend or bring a toothbrush or phone charger or anything at all. But no, all I had was me, myself and I – no bathing suit, comfortable shoes and I couldn’t even find my sunglasses before I left the house that morning.
He took me to a fancy hotel to which I had never ever been that was conveniently located right on the beach. Lucky, lucky me. Forget the clothes. Who cares!

We head up to the room and I am hardly even surprised to see my own suitcase already sitting there on the bed. How did he manage that? This is getting a little too perfect. I didn’t remember pressing the easy button when I woke up today, but it certainly seemed like I did.

We went out to the beach and played in the water and the sand for a little bit, and then he told me we should go shower because he had dinner reservations. I think by this point, my mouth hurt from smiling so much. Bryan has always treated me like a princess, but this was almost ridiculous.

So we showered and got ready; he had packed his favorite dress of mine for me to wear. After I straightened my hair and put on makeup, he asked if I wanted to walk on the beach to get there since there is a beach entrance to the restaurant. And when I said I would rather just drive since I just fixed my hair, you would have thought someone just told him his puppy had died. He looked so sad and disappointed that I immediately took back my previous statement and replaced it with something like: There is absolutely nothing I would rather do! Let’s hit the beach.

And I will say, I am certainly glad I did. We walked about half a mile down the beach, just talking like usual. And then I could see the restaurant. We started walking towards it, and I could hear the music playing on the deck. How funny. It was a live band and it happened to be playing our song.

I told him to come on and tried to start jogging towards the wooden stairs, but he pulled me back. What? Come on! But he told me to hold on. And so I asked him what. He grabbed both of my hands and looked me in the eyes with as much love as his face could possibly show. And – oh my gosh. This is it. Is this it?? Do I know what’s happening right now?? This is not possible. Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh. Oh my freaking gosh!

He told me how much he loves me and how much I mean to him, and my eyes were welling up with tears. He got down on one knee and pulled out the most beautiful ring I had every seen. Well, I had seen it in my mind because it was exactly what I had described as the perfect ring. And he asked me. And I said no. Just kidding. I said yes a million and thirty two times or something like that.

After that, I couldn’t decide what to stare at – my beautiful fiancée or my beautiful ring. I had no idea what was going on around me as we walked into the restaurant. I was entranced with this most perfect night. Nothing could distract me until I heard a loud SURPRISE!!!! And saw that Bryan had brought my parents, siblings, and closest friends to surprise us for dinner. Perfect night and perfect life.