The Proposal!
Kevin asked me to marry him! Of course I said YES!
Well, the wait is finally over. After making me wait more than a month, Kevin asked me to marry him last night. And of course it was a resounding YES!
But, I think only a few people know how everything played out, so I have to go all the way back to the last week of February to tell the whole story...
I had been telling Kevin about my extensive gemstone collection and a favorite ring of mine that I couldn't wear because the prongs of the setting had come loose. He recommended John Cryan Jewelers in Southampton and said that practically everyone in his whole family takes their business there.
We were in the area a few days later and I had happened to have the ring with me, so we stopped in. The younger John took one look at my ring, asked if he could take it in the back for a moment, and returned in the blink of an eye to hand it back to me repaired and cleaned! Free of charge!
Later that night, Kevin and I had just finished dinner. (He had made a huge batch of his chili and asked me to follow his spiced pumpkin bread recipe for dessert.) I kept admiring the ring and going on about how happy I was to have it fixed again. Then I started telling him why I liked it so much, and what I liked in a ring in general...
Princess or cushion cut stones.
Nothing too big or fanciful. A carat or less.
And, a solitaire band instead of something overly decorative.
Kevin's whole face sank as though I had upset him. He didn't want to tell me why at first. But after a bit of coaxing, he finally confessed.
I literally just ordered a ring about 36 hours ago, and I just realized I'm 0 out of 3 on the specs, and I almost feel like I should show you the pictures so I can cancel the order before it ships.
He explained that he prefers round brilliant stones because they refract the most light. And that he chose a mildly decorative band, but certainly nothing gaudy. And the stone was just over two carats, "because, why not?"
He showed me some pictures. And I loved it!
But, of course, it was now no longer a matter of if he would propose, but when.
The Waiting Game
I knew he would eventually be asking me.
And I knew I would absolutely say yes.
But I had no idea when it was coming!
Every time he'd bend over to pick something up or kneel to tie his shoe, I had to wonder if this was it. It was maddening! He even fake-proposed with one of my hairties in an actual ring box once!!
April 11th
Fast forward to April. Kevin told me he had a lunch date with his friend Richard on Tuesday the 12th (Tuesdays are customary for us to have dinner together. And, Kevin and Richard usually see each other on Thursdays, but I thought nothing of that at the time.) He asked if we could see each other Monday evening instead. No problem.
But, when I arrived after work, he asked me to marry him! And after I said I would, he explained why he had chosen the date 4/11...
First, he had chosen 4 (April) to signify the fact that we would be a family of four, because he was marrying all of us, not just me.
And then he chose 11 because it was midway between his favorite number (9) and mine (13), and he felt that the ability to compromise was a cornerstone of a happy and healthy marriage.
Then he presented me with a set of four watercolor paintings he had commissioned from pictures he took of me during a boudoir photo shoot he set up and photographed with me back in mid-March.
Those obviously aren't exactly suitable for a family blog, so here's the scene he had created in preparation for the shoot!
Over the rest of the evening, Kevin proceeded to recreate our first date. We went for a walk in his neighborhood (which thankfully was much warmer than it had been back in December!) and then he took me to dinner at Las Margaritas.
I'm SO HAPPY! I will never forget this day!!!
