Weddingbee

Relationship Day is what we call the day Mr. Espresso proposed.

December 21, 2007:

After a long day of shuffling through crowds to finish our Christmas shopping, a spur of the moment date night was just what I needed. Thank goodness I had enough time for a hot shower to relax my tired, worn muscles… too many bags and a purse full of lists had taken a toll on my shoulders. Out of the shower and into some charcoal gray slacks and a slimming black sweater: my go to outfit when I need to look nice on the run. Make- up and a partial blow dry. I’m done.

“Baby it’s cold outside.”

So glad I picked up that cashmere scarf at the thrift store last week. Three dollars was such a steal! And the color- periwinkle blue- makes me love it even more. I add a black wool coat to the scarf and I’m ready to go.

The drive to Newport passed by in slow motion. Content and quiet, we listened to music and drove through the toll roads. Thinking back, he was probably quiet from the nerves, but I didn’t suspect anything. I was just enjoying the view and happy to be out of the hustle and bustle of the crowds.

Since we’re both not hungry for dinner yet, we stop in at the Island Hotel for drinks. Ooooh fancy. A dry martini for him and oh… for me? I’m a classy dame, just give me a pint of Stella. Mr. E smiles at my drink of choice and says he loves that about me. I hardly drink, but when I have a glass, I’m either sipping a dry red cab or a light cold beer.

Time passes, our drinks are gone, and I’m starting to crave more than peanuts. I suggest dinner and he responds with, “ok- anywhere you want to go.” I am seriously loving Date Night.

This is where things start to get crazy and confusing. I suggest one restaurant, he suggests a movie. What? That’s not how it goes… But suddenly he’s not hungry. We compromise and decide to go by the movie to see what time it starts, and if it’s starting soon, to grab some snacks and have a late dinner afterwards.

This was no sacrifice at all for me. I love this theater! It’s the old Lido theater down in Newport. There are black light sharks on the wall, you can sit in the balcony, and they sell Toblerones at the concession stands… need I say more? So we drive by the theater and Juno is starting in 5 minutes! Yay- perfect timing! I turn to Mr. Espresso happy that we made it in time, and he’s already driving off… now he wants to take a drive down the peninsula. I am seriously thrown by my indecisive boyfriend. First he’s hungry, then he wants to watch a movie, and now he’d rather take a drive… ah! Now there’s no dinner and no Toblerones! Was I suspecting anything? Not at all. My mind just thought that he didn’t really want to see Juno and that he got unlucky with the timing.

So we take a drive down the peninsula “to see the Christmas lights.” We walk around the Wedge, drive by the place I used to share with my best friend (now MOH), and he turns to me with another suggestion… he’s hungry again. Really?? Once again, he asks where I would like to eat? I’m almost scared to answer, but I suggest Villa Nova, an Italian place on the waterfront. He passes it and turns into the Rusty Pelican… “on accident.” But since he doesn’t want to confuse the valet- we might as well get out and eat there. If there was ever a night that aliens took over my boyfriend’s body- I was thinking this was it.

I step out of the truck. The valet closes my door. And Mr. E is… what’s he getting out of the back? He’s having trouble. It’s too large. He heaves it out. It’s… a large open top box holding 6 bottles of wine! What the heck? I’m embarrassed… we look like a couple of white trash winos! 6 bottles for 2 people!

Babe!! I say in a hushed “What the heck” kind of tone.

He hikes the box onto his shoulder, smiles at me, and tells me to come on.

Inside my head and visibly on my face: What? No way! I’m no going in there with that! All that wine for the 2 of us!

But do I say any of that? Nope. My feet feel cemented into the ground, my forehead is plastered with confused lines, and I’m pretty sure my mouth was open enough to catch every fly in the county.

I’m speechless and he’s smiling at me.

OK- little side note here- I know probably all of you smart cats would be suspecting something at this point. But you weren’t there. You didn’t experience the date night with the weird and out of sorts boyfriend that I did. So this was just the cherry on top for me. My boyfriend was going crazy and smiling with 6 different bottles of wine in his arm… AA here we come.

Somehow, I get the nerve to walk into the restaurant. The hostess is smiling bigger than usual and tells us our party is waiting for us. Our party? Here we go- slow motion again. You know that feeling right before you’re about to faint? Your head is fuzzy. Noises become warped into each other… like you’re hearing everything from under water. In this moment, that is where I am.

I’m following somebody. Mr. E is behind me, and then I start to see them, one by one. My sister, my mom, his brother, his parents, his best friend, my best friend’s boyfriend, my best friend, my dad, my step- dad, my… wait - why’s my dad’s head shaved and he’s sitting next to my step-dad? Oh well, my brother, his sister, and there’s a chair for me. I sit. I look at everyone. They’re all smiling at me, I’m still underwater. I turn to look at Mr. Espresso. He’s still standing, and now he’s holding two, single- spaced typed pages. And then he starts…

The most beautiful, funny, and meaningful speech I’ll ever hear. I’m laughing at parts, crying through most of it, and smiling. And I’ve never seen him more confident and peaceful than I did in this moment. He began with how we met, how I broke his heart freshman year, and surprised him by asking him out only 2 years later. He talked about our travels, concerts, graduations, and baptisms. He thanked my family and friends for loving him. And then he turned and looked only at me.

The last page was his proposal, and because he typed it out, I get the pleasure of reliving it word for word every time I bring it out. I’ve thought hard on whether or not to post it on here. I want to because it’s so absolutely thoughtful, touching, and amazing that I want to shout it from every rooftop. But then I don’t want to because… well because it’s ours. And I know that even copying it down word for word won’t convey all of the emotions and feeling behind it.

(Here we are at the same table just a year before)

So instead, I will tell you the reason behind all the craziness leading up to our proposal. The reason Mr. E kept changing his mind was because he was waiting for everyone to get there. His plan was to go straight to the restaurant from drinks but everyone was not there yet. So because I was anxious to get out of there and get some food, he had to keep coming up with different places to go. Poor Mr. E.

The reason I was surprised at my dad’s head is because a few days earlier when I had seen him, he had a full head of hair. But I guess when he attempted to give himself a trim with the electric razor, he forgot to check the length and ended up shaving his head.

And BTW: Here’s the beauty I’m rockin courtesy of Mr. Espresso. The man has good taste.

Images from Island Hotel, Flickr, and Tiffany & Co.

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