The Romantic Engagement Story

Ten days after we said our first I love you’s, I had the most amazing birthday ever. He planned out the whole day’s surprises, beginning with a lovely bunch of sunflowers and roses that arrived at my office. With them came a little note card from the flower shop that said, “Happy Birthday, The first of many together. I love you.” Then inside an envelope with a wax seal, an appointment card for a massage later in the evening, and a beautifully handwritten folded paper with the words:

“I can only give you love that lasts forever,
And a promise to be near each time you call.
And the only heart I own
For you and you alone
That’s all,
That’s all…”

He called at 2pm to see if everything arrived alright, and if I found all the parts. What a wonderful day already.

After work, I went to my apartment to change, then went for my massage. At the office, they handed me another envelope with a small card that dinner was at 8:45 and the handwritten paper with the words:

“I can only give you country walks in springtime
And a hand to hold when leaves begin to fall;
And a love whose burning light
Will warm the winter’s night
That’s all,
That’s all.”

When I arrived back at my place, there was a third envelope at my door. On a small card, he made his choice for my dress (because I had been flip-flopping between a black or a red one), and the handwritten paper with:

“There are those I am sure who have told you,
They would give you the world for a toy.
All I have are these arms to enfold you,
And a love time can never destroy.”

I arrived at his place at 8:45 on the nose. He was wearing a grey suit, black shirt and maroon tie. He looked so bloody handsome, it was almost ridiculous.

We sat down to dinner. There were two candles on the table, and 4 tea light candles on the bar counter. Very romantic setting. He made angel hair pasta with spaghetti sauce, with sauteed zuchinni, squash, 4 kinds of bell peppers, and sun-dried tomatoes.

During dinner, he told me that there were six stages to the day. The flowers was one, the massage two, and the dinner three. Originally, there were only five, but he added one. He had special romantic playlists setup on his Mac, which was out in the living room. For dessert, he had fresh raspberries, blackberries, and strawberries, and some whip creme.

After dinner was stage four, which was slow dancing. It was perfect, as he knows I love dancing with him.

Then we went to stage five, where we went out. The sprinklers were going off, so he picked me up and carried me past them. We drove out to the same park we went on our first date, but he took a different route as to create an air of mystery. Once we got there, he gave me his jacket and we walked around until we got a particular park bench. Unlike the first time, which we joked about, we sat closer and kissed.

He told me to take my right hand and reach into the inner left pocket of his jacket. The fourth envelope with handwritten words – the final lyrics to the song:

“If you’re wondering what I’m asking in return, dear,
You’ll be glad to know that my demands are small.
Say it’s me that you’ll adore,
For now and evermore
That’s all,
That’s all.”

I couldn’t read them because it was dark, so he read them to me. And this is the moment. We talked for a bit because he wanted the timing to be with the fountain going off, which would’ve been about 11 pm, twenty days, one hour and thirty minutes since we met.

When the fountain startedstarted, he stood up, kneeled down in front of me, and asked me to marry him. There he was, kneeling in front of me PROPOSING! I asked him to ask me again, partly because I had hoped all day that maybe it would happen and wanted to make sure my mind was not playing tricks on me, and partly because I just wanted to hear it one more time. He asked me again, and of course, I said yes. Yes, yes yes. We did our happy giggling for awhile, kissed, hugged. We were very excited.  We were engaged!

The Future

Every day, I have found more and more reasons to love him. Although life has brought some tough things to our door, we have learned through them that we are a great support for each other, and that together, we can get through anything. Just being open about everything makes an outstanding difference. We have created a vision together of how our lives will be further down the road, and although certain things (like the size of our house or the make of our cars) may change, the most beautiful, important part of that vision will hold true – we will be together, supporting & loving each other, and building a family. We will have our own happily ever after.  We will enjoy true love.

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