Sponsor me in the 2005 MS Walk! Why? Read here.
Okay, so yesterday�s bonus entry turned into my only entry of the day. I spent most of the rest of it either showing people my ring, talking about getting my ring or just plain staring at my hand. I am a girl obsessed. I swore I�d never be this way. That was before I acquired this particular accessory. I looked down at my hand yesterday and started inspecting the facets of the diamond. The phone rang and made me look up. Twenty-five minutes had passed.
I�ve been cautioned repeatedly against taking it off. Consequently, I realized last night that it was the only thing I wore to bed. Like Marilyn Monroe, only without the Chanel. (Yep, so now all you people out there reading this know that I sleep naked. Have for the most part since I was about 16. It�s not �cause I love being naked. I just really hate pajamas.)
Anyway�
So, yeah�he proposed. And he succeeded in making it a surprise. Which was difficult. Apparently, he�d had the ring for a week and a half, looking for the right time. It hadn�t come up. My schedule has been so damn busy. He brought it to Newport last weekend, hoping we�d find a nice place to sit by the water and a few quiet moments. Didn�t happen. Then he decided he�d do it on Friday�the 24th�a year before the Big Day. I told him I couldn�t spend that evening with him because of the play.
Finally, he pinned me down to Sunday afternoon. He suggested that we plan to go to the beach and spend some time just chilling out where there were no phones, no TVs, no computers, no other people. It was a great idea. I accepted without questioning his motives. Then I remembered that my cousin Janet was having a party for my little cousins� birthdays that afternoon, and I�d promised we�d stop in for a little while. He told me that was fine, as long as we could still spend the evening alone. It would be the first time we�d spent by ourselves, other than time in the car, in almost three weeks.
At the party, my aunt cornered us for over half an hour, talking endlessly about the vacation cottage she and my uncle are buying. My uncle joined her, carrying blueprints and photos. The conversation went on and on. Finally, we managed to break away around 4:30 and head to Duxbury.
We arrived at the beach around 5:30 or so, after unsuccessfully trying to convince the officer at the gate to let us drive down onto the sand without a permit. The parking lot attendant insisted we pay the eight dollars to park, despite there being only about four cars in the lot. We parked, gathered our stuff and walked down to the beach to a quiet spot.
It�s funny what you miss when you aren�t looking for it. Had I been suspicious, I would have noticed that he was ridiculously overprotective of his bag all day, either carrying it with him or covering it with a blanket in the back seat. I would have noticed the covert conversation happening between him and my mom in the corner of the party. I would�ve wondered why he felt the need to explain WHY he thought the beach was a good idea seven times between the party and the sand. I would�ve questioned why he ate nothing all day. But I wasn�t looking. I was tired and ready for some time with just him. Besides, I thought he was planning to do it in Disney.
We put down the blanket and settled into the sand. Almost immediately, several seagulls approached the edge of our stuff, nosing around. �I wonder why they�re coming over,� I questioned, �It�s not like we have any food for them or anything.�
He sat back up. �I think I have some crackers in my bag,� he said, reaching over to rummage around through his stuff. I couldn�t understand why he�d want the birds to come closer to us, but let it go. I went back to watching the surf. The birds walked along the shoreline, pecking at a stranded tennis ball.
He leaned back over my shoulder and placed a small box on the blanket in front of me. A jewelry box. I started laughing. �What�s funny?� he asked me.
�That�s not crackers!� I said.
�Nope, not crackers,� he answered as he opened the box. The ring, of course was inside it. He pulled the ring out and held it toward me. �Will you marry me, Jennifer?�
I was still giggling. �Of course!� I said.
He laughed. �That�s not a yes.�
�Okay, then�yes! Of course I will marry you!� He handed me the ring. It fit perfectly. Later, he confessed to having stolen my old ring and getting it sized. My finger is a six and a quarter ring size.
I�d been a little afraid of what he�d pick. Truthfully, his tastes run a little more�flashy than mine do in general, and I know he�d looked at some rings that were really more ring that I would have chosen for myself. In the end, though, he chose well. The setting is platinum, with a center round-cut one-carat diamond flanked by three small sapphires in a triangle on either side. It�s remarkably sparkly. I keep holding it up to the light and casting tiny rainbows through my cubicle.
We called our parents when we got back to the condo. His mom said she was glad we�d �put the horse back in front of the cart.� Yes, those are really the words she used.
I�m still in shock. Not that I didn�t know it was coming. But there�s a difference between knowing he�d eventually ask me and having it actually happen.
Now, if you�ll excuse me, I have little diamond rainbows to make.
---------------------------------------------
Something to say about this entry?
Add your comments here (0 people have spoken already)
< Big weekend! | checking in! >
