I did however promise to give the details of the proposal, so before I forget any more of the details…
In order to set the stage, it should be understood that we had discussed the possibility of getting married a couple of times, however we hadn't discussed it for a couple of months, which worked to my advantage as it added to the surprise.
I therefore decided to use this time for a little research. For instance, I noticed that Taylor never wore gold, which told me she would prefer white gold or platinum. She had also told me at one time she liked the square cut of diamond, so after a bit of research, I knew to get the diamond in a princess cut. On yet another occasion, I learned she preferred the simple classic look, so I was able to rule out most of the ornate multi stone settings. Finally, a few weeks before shopping for the ring, I noticed she had changed rings. Before, she had worn a ring on the middle finger of each hand, but for some reason had changed to wearing her class ring on the ring finger of her left hand. I compared it to my class ring I had lost, described it, and while talking, tested its size on my little finger.
Over the course of my job, I met a couple that gave me a contact name with the Bock Company, which is the corporate office for Bachendorfs. The corporate office is closed to the general public, and requires a referral to get in the door. During the last week of June, I called the contact, which set me up for Saturday, July 1. As I reached the top of the stairs, I nodded to the guard in the reception area, gave my name to the receptionist behind the bulletproof glass, and was buzzed in to the waiting room. After a short time, I was buzzed thru into the show room and taken into a private office area, where I spent the next 3 hours visiting with a wonderful sales person, who took the time to ask questions, make suggestions, give me a cup of coffee. Not in a disposable cup either, but in a china coffee cup with saucer. He brought stones of different sizes and cuts and quality to look at under a jewelers loop, and allowed me to view them and compare them side-to-side. It was truly a pleasurable experience. After I left, I stopped by the grocery store to pick up a 2 liter of Dr. Pepper, and bought some flowers on a whim. As I pulled out of the parking lot to drive to the pool party, whom did I end up following but Taylor! When we arrived at the house, I was able to give her the flowers before going inside, which allowed us to be alone for a moment. Later that afternoon, I told Hugo that I had ordered the ring, and swore him to secrecy.
About a week and a half later, I received a call that the ring was ready, and I picked it up from the jeweler before going to Taylor’s house as planned. After I called Taylor and told her I was on my way, I called her mom, who met me at the Chili’s just a couple of miles from the house, and I asked for her permission and blessing to marry her daughter. After showing her the ring, we began to conspire!!
I had actually planned to propose the following evening, and we had planned to go to the Firewheel Mall, which has a large outdoor fountain and landscaped stream with park benches. It’s a nice area anyway, but it becomes more beautiful at night with the lights.
The plan however changed to that evening. As we were walking out the door, Taylor called her mom, who said she was on her way home, but decided she wasn’t in the mood for Chili’s take out, an would discuss other options when she got home. We then parted company, and as I started my truck to drive off, Taylor called me. I told her I was just a couple of miles away, and would be there in a couple of minutes. About a minute after I walked thru the front door, her mom came in thru the garage, and suggested we meet her at the Fish City Grill at Firewheel Mall, as she still needed to shop for a gift for her anniversary. Having never eaten there, we agreed.
After a wonderful dinner her mom, who carries her camera for her remodeling business, took our picture as we sat in the booth, loaned us the camera to take a picture of the fountain (remember, I had planned on us being there the next day, so I didn’t have my camera, which I had planned to use to take my own picture of the fountain) and left for home. Taylor I then walked to the fountain, took a couple of pictures, as it was dark and the fountain and landscape lights were on, an walked down the path next to a softly lit stream to a nearby park bench.
We sat and talked for a while, and I still didn’t quite know how I was going to bring out the ring. She however gave me the perfect segway. I said, “Well, since we were able to come here today and get pictures of the fountain instead of tomorrow as we had planned, do you still want to make the ladies coffee with the Sunday School class tomorrow?” She looked at me and responded, “Unless you can make me a better offer.” I couldn’t have asked for a better lead in line than that. I reached into my pocket and pulled out the jewelry box. I wish I could say I pulled it out and flipped it open in one smooth motion, but it didn’t happen quite that way. I was able to get it out of my pocket just fine, but as I had one arm around Taylor, I had to open it with one hand, which still would have been fine had the box been turned the right way. After turning it about 3 times, I opened the box I exclaimed, “Will this do?”
Taylor didn’t notice the fumbling. For about 45 seconds after I produced the box, all her voluntary and involuntary systems shut down. I would not have been surprised if I had turned her head, looked into her eyes and seen miniature computer screens instead of pupils flashing the words “SYSTEM RESTART.” Once her brain came back online, she took the ring out of the box, shaking to the point I took the ring from her hand and placed it on her finger for fear she would drop it, and asked her to marry me. Her voice cracked in the first response, so after asking her to repeat it, she was able to get a “yes” thru the tears. With the stream behind, the soft landscape lighting, the fountain in the distance, the comfortable clear night weather, and the music from the speakers in the park area, it was a beautiful moment.
Now the madness of planning the wedding is starting. Taylor has set up a web site that gives the details, pictures, gift registries, and so forth. Check back often for updates, as it’s just recently up and running, and we haven’t completed all of the registries yet, which will soon include Lowe’s Home Improvement for gift cards so I can work on the house. We will be adding more pictures to the web site as well, and I will add the address in my Web Site menu on the blog. The web site address is:
http://www.taylorandmichael.bravehost.com/
Thanks for visiting.
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