And Now You Know, The Rest Of The Story

Coming at you live, 32,000 feet above the Southeast as Hilary and I make our way to Virginia Beach for the weekend. I thought this would be as good a time as any to fill in the blanks from last night and explain exactly how everything went down.

As I've mentioned already, the rain washed away any hopes I had of proposing in the park, so I had to regroup and move to plan B, which consisted mostly of surprising her with the proposal right as she walked in the door.

When relating this bit of information to people this morning, many asked the question: How did you know when she would get home?

Well, I didn't. So yes, to answer your next question, I did really sit in front of the door for quite a while. I'd say I was in a crouch, sit, or kneel position for a good 40 minutes before Hilary arrived. I felt like David Putty of Seinfeld fame, staring blankly at the front door.

Periodically I would peer through the peephole to see if I could catch a glimpse of her, and lo and behold, the last time I did it, I spied her moving towards the door.

Crap! I'm not in position!

As fast as was humanly possible for a slow white boy like myself, I knelt back down and grabbed the roses from the vase (I had stowed them there next to the door for easy access) right as she clicked open the lock, and as soon as I saw the door swing open I aimed the ring and fired.

Here is a rough transcript of what happened next:

Me: I love you baby (yes, I call her baby. Sue me). You are the best thing that's ever happened to me and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me?

Hilary: Really? (Blank, Putty-like stare)

Me: Yeah.

Hilary: Really? (The lightbulb slowly begins to turn)

Me: Yeah.

Hilary: REALLY? (Bingo!)

Me: Y- (I didn't get this word out, as Hilary executed an impressive chest-high tackle. A textbook move, right at shoulderpad level).

So that was that - she quickly realized she hadn't actually accepted, so she said yes, and (warning: mush) hugged and kissed for a few minutes to celebrate.

A quick digression: Hilary is sitting next to me as I write this, and out of the corner of my eye I can see her continuosly, almost on a loop, picking her hand up and staring at the ring. She cannot stop. It is really cute - she is reading a gigantic copy of Brides magazine (If I had to guess, I'd say it contains about 1700 pages - I'm surprised it didn't make the plane's payload exceed the weight limit) and every few pages she stops, examines her hand, and then continues. Priceless.

Ok, back to the story. Many people have asked me today if I was nervous to propose, and honestly, I never really was nervous about the asking part. There was one thing I was incredibly nervous about, and that was the ring.

As part of my keep-Hilary-in-the-dark-as-much-as-possible plan, I didn't want to ever talk to her about rings, because then she would know to expect that something might be in the works. Early in our relationship, at some point, I had asked her for her ring size, just so I could get it out of the way in case we decided to get married one day. Yes that is quite prophetic of me, thanks, you're too kind.

The problem was, I couldn't remember what size she told me. Gun to my head, I swear she told me it was 4, but 5 also sounded right as well. Hilary only owns one ring, and she never takes it off, so there was really no way for me to find out without having to spill the beans to someone.

So, I decided to roll the dice, have them size it for a 4 1/2, and take my chances.

If there was anything that could potentially ruin what was supposed to be one of th best nights of our lives, this was it.

In the ensuing chaos of Hilary's pass-rush, I looked to give her the ring, but it was no longer in the box. She had knocked it loose, much like a boxer might knock out his opponent's mouthpiece.
We found the ring on the floor, and I handed it to her to put on, and in that moment,I was truly terrified. Everything moved in slow motion as she slowly slipped it down her finger, where it paused briefly at the knuckle...and then blissfull continued on its way down her finger, completely unaware of my anxiety (obviously - it's a ring, not a dog, it can't smell fear). It fit! Wonder of wonders, miracle of miracles! I breathed a HUGE sigh of relief.

Everything was gravy after that. We had a glass of wine and ate some strawberries as I was finally able to tell her the story of buying the ring, reading her email chain with Jaygima, planning the faux picnic, etc. It was great.

After that, we continued on to the surprise party at Hannah and Will's, which turned out to be really nice. At the risk of sounding mushy once again, I can't overstate enough how lucky we are with the group of friends we have in Atlanta. We are like one big family, and having almost all of them there (sorry Anjali) to share in the moment was truly special.

We shared a champagne toast with everyone and made the rounds, and then we headed off to dinner at Two Urban Licks. It was delicious as always (Note to self - send the owner of Two Urban Licks a link to this blog, they will probably love it. Oh, and maybe give us some free stuff).

It was a great night. Hilary was thrilled, I was thrilled because she was thrilled, she was thrilled that I was thrilled that she was thrilled...you get the picture.

This morning we began the phone call process bright and early, and as of this writing, I think we've actually managed to reach a reaonably impressive portion of the friends and family we need to call.

So now we are on our way to Virginia Beach, where I assume we will begin the process of actually putting this little (doubt it!) shindig together.

We've only been engaged for about 20 hours now, but already I feel like I know several things:

- I know I was right to wait and propose when I did
- I know I got extremely lucky with getting her ring size right
- I know my family will love having Hilary on board, as everyone was quick to tell me today (Sample convo: "Congrats - what the hell took you so long?")
- I know that Two Urban Licks is one of the finest restaurants in Atlanta, with a terrific menu that suits even the pickiest tastebuds. With affordable prices and a helpful and friendly waitstaff, why not try them for your next celebration or business meeting!
- I know I am an incredibly lucky guy
- I know that there won't be much more cheesy crap after that last sentence, I only have so much of it in me.
- And finally, I know this - I really, really, REALLY don't want to get married during football season.