February 25, 2010

• Proposal Story (Repost For A Friend)

  A friend was asking about proposal stories, so…

  Ken and I had been living together for nearly four years. All of my girlfriends (none of whom had been together as long as we had) were getting engaged/married, and giving us some pressure. Ken and I had known that (eventually) we’d get married, pretty much from the day that we met.

  The thing was the ring; Ken insisted that I “needed” an official engagement ring. I don’t like diamonds. Since we’d been living together so long, I didn’t think a real “engagement ring” was necessary. We were having a lot of trouble making ends meet at the time.

  We’d moved the year before, about 80 miles away from family and friends, because he’d gotten a promotion. I took a “crap” job so that I would at least have a little income until I could find a “real” job. I worked as a cashier for one of those stores that sells all kind of media/entertainment stuff.

  So, one day in April 2002, I was at my register, wondering how we were going to get through the next week with only about $1.86 in our checking account. In walked my boyfriend. Since at that time, our jobs were within walking distance, it didn’t surprise me that he came by to visit… but he kept walking, like he was going to get behind the counter or something.

  And he looked so… determined. Nervous, but determined.

  So I turned for one second, and when I turned back around he was gone… well, I THOUGHT he was gone. He was on one knee, holding out a little white box.

  I thought to myself, This is the cruelest joke EVER… because, well, we only had $1.86!

  Then he opened the box.  My mouth hung open. The box contained a sparkling solitaire.

  Perfectly simple. Perfectly ME.

  With a crack in his voice, he asked, “Will you marry me?”

  I heard him, but I was speechless.

  I said, “Why are you…doing…this…here???”

  So the girl at the register next to me gave me a shove and said, “Vanessa!!!!!!!! Answer him!”

  Oh. Yeah. I started laughing and said, “Of course I’ll marry you!”

  I found out later that day that Ken had been squirreling away money for about two years. How he managed to keep that secret from me, I will never know.

  I still don’t like diamonds. But I love MY diamond. I may not have thought “The Ring” would be important, but my husband, Mr. Traditional, knew it would be. I am glad. I look at it every day and smile; it is a constant reminder of his love and commitment to US.

     

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  • 6:11 pm
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