Let's flashback to...
August 8, 2009...
Patrick and I sat at the park. He tried to do homework. I tried to focus in on my teaching for Sunday. Surprisingly, because my adrenaline was up so high, I read through the lesson once and had it memorized. It usually takes me at least three times over the course of the week. All the planning for this day kind of took over though, and so I had only read through it once. I was quite pleased that it only took one read through to memorize it, so I could calm down a bit more, focus, and think about what I was going to say.
“You haven’t thought about it yet?” Patrick had asked.
“I have…but…I don’t know. It will be perfect. I don’t think I can mess it up. I mean, it’s the question. How hard is it to ask a question? Especially when you know what the answer will be.”
We sat and talked some more. People walked by. Lots of people. I had the thought that I hadn’t had yet. Why hadn’t I thought of it before? What if there are people near the bridge, being loud, sitting on the rocks below, or skipping stones in the creek? What if it was noisy and ruined the moment? What if a bird pooped on our heads? This, all of a sudden, was a stupid idea.
My phone rang. It was Amanda
“She’s gone?”
“Yeah. Oh and also,” Amanda continued, “I don’t think she has a clue what’s going on.”
What?
“She has to know by now. It’s so obvious! How could she not know? She should have known as soon as she got out of the shower this morning, or at least by the time she left Meggan Hennebry. The 19th question – I mean…”
“Well if she knows, she’s really good at faking it.”
The call ended. I told Patrick what was going on.
We walked my stuff back to the car. I had brought another shirt to wear, and a jacket to wear, even though it was 100 degrees outside. I changed my shirt and added a belt. Patrick handed me the ring box. I put it in my pocket. An older woman in the parking lot had been watching all of this. She smiled when she saw the ring. She didn’t say it, but in her eyes I knew she was saying, “Congratulations!”
Now, it was time for the plan. I would walk down the trail a little ways. Patrick would meet Whitney. He would take her keys to drive her car back to my house. She would come down the trail. She would find me. We would walk, talk, and arrive at the bridge, play a game, and then…magic.
I started walking down the trail, leaving Patrick behind. It was so hot. I was already sweating. Also, the ring box was bulky. It was like trying to hide a rock in my pocket. In movies, they never show this part. They never show the guy putting the ring in his pocket. They only show him taking it out, like it magically appears. That’s why I had to wear the jacket. It was so humid.
The butterflies in my stomach were going crazy. My heart was pounding. My mind was racing. I turned right into the park entrance. I drove into the parking lot.
I scanned the cars. It took me a minute to find him, but there he was…
Mr. Feeney, Aaron's Honda. I was never so happy to see him as I was right now. I drove around to park next to him. No one was in Aaron’s car. I guess I didn’t think anyone would be. I glanced at the other cars around. I didn’t recognize any of them. Who was here to meet me? I got out of my car after I grabbed my keys and my phone.
I looked around to the parking lot, the restrooms, and finally to the beginning of the trail.
There was Patrick, Aaron’s roommate. He waved. I smiled and started to walk towards him.
“Hi again,” I said.
He said hi.
We talked about how much I had done since I saw him that morning.
“Now what?”
“Well, let me have all your stuff and your keys,” he replied.
“Are you taking my car?”
“Yes.”
“Ok, thanks. Should I just walk down the trail?”
“Well, I was going to walk you to the top.”
“Right, ok, thanks.” I was a little flustered.
We walked until we got to the edge of the trees. It was time to say goodbye to Patrick and walk on my own. I didn’t know how far, but I didn’t ask. I was ready to go by myself. I wanted to think for a minute. I had been going non-stop all day.
I gave Patrick a hug and thanked him. I was on my way. Walking down a path that would lead me to Aaron Jack Bauer. Now that, my friends, is a very good path to take.
Now, I would wait. Patrick would call me when she started walking down the trail. I was waiting at the first bridge. It was about a five minute walk into the woods.
Patrick called.
“She’s walking down the trail. Let me know when you see her.”
Earlier that day, Patrick had expressed concern that a prowler could be on the trail waiting for some lonely girl to walk through the woods to kidnap. I guess I hadn’t thought of that. Also, it was a simple short walk, on a Saturday, where lots of people are. But, I guess that’s a valid point.
A family of hikers started walking towards where I was. They were loud. There was a ten year old ahead of them. He saw me just standing there. He thought I was going to steal him apparently because he stopped walking and froze. He stared at me like I was a threat. Awkward. Then his family caught up. They looked at me like I was a threat. Then they all just stood on the bridge and kept talking. I wanted to say, “Excuse me, but can you please keep walking. I’m meeting my future fiancée here and I need everything to be perfect. You’re destroying my Spielbergian vision for this scene!” Maybe not Spielberg. Probably more like a Nora Ephron flick.
I prayed as I walked. I felt peaceful now. I was not rushed anymore. I was not second guessing what I was doing. I knew what was happening, and I knew I was doing the right thing.
I thanked God for Aaron. For bringing him into my life. I wasn’t even looking for him, and one day, there he was. He had been there all along. He stole my heart right away. He became my very best friend.
I can talk to him about anything. I never get tired of being with him. He makes me laugh. He makes me feel safe. I look up to him. He’s thoughtful, wise, and he’s always fun. He’s a little ADD and scatterbrained sometimes, but I love the challenge of keeping up with him. I love everything about him.
I knew then what I know now: I wanted to spend the rest of my life with Aaron Jack Bauer.
So, I kept walking. I was watching the ground mostly. There are a lot of rocks and branches to look out for, especially if you are wearing flip flops.
I rounded a corner and glanced up. I stopped in my tracks for a second, my heart skipped a beat, my breath caught in my throat.
There he was. Waiting on a bridge. Smiling.
I smiled back. I walked to him. This is what I had been waiting for all day, and it was definitely worth the wait. I gave him a hug.
“Hi.”
“Hi.”
Through the trees I saw Whitney. I sent Patrick a quick text: “Got her.”
The family finally left just as Whitney came down the curve of the trail. Perfect.
I walked to the bridge and stood there. She smiled when she saw me, but being the lady she is, avoided being overly dramatic, or overly excited to see me. She didn’t shout, she didn’t run towards me. She just kept walking like it was any other day. She was collected, and calm. She was doing exactly what I expected her to do. Perfect girl.
We hugged, and a quick kiss.
“What have you done today?” I asked.
I don’t think either of us could stop smiling. He took my hand.
“Do you want to go for a walk?” he asked.
I nodded.
Off we went.
“So,” he said, “what did you do today?”
I laughed and played along. “Well, you’ll never believe it, but this morning I woke up at 6:30 and there was a boy in my room!”
“What?!”
“I know…”
I told him all about my day as if he had no idea, and he would act surprised at each thing I said.
“…Then, I finally got to the park, walked down a trail, and there was the boy again.”
“And were you happy to see him?”
“Definitely.” I kissed his cheek. “And what did you do today?”
He gave me a brief story of his day. We were getting to the big bridge that was on this trail.
She began to tell me everything. We walked for a while and I listened to every word, and laughed at my own cleverness.
We passed the family that was scared of me. The wife in the group seemed to know what was going on now. Women are perceptive like that. I am so thankful God made them that way. She would hold her family back for a while, giving us a good start down the path without the noise of her children following. Perfect.
Whitney finished telling me her story. She asked what I did all day. My story is more boring, obviously. It was a lot of waiting around and jumping up and down, and breaking out into nervous sweats, and eating nothing, and then eating, and then feeling queasy. It was lame in comparison. I didn’t say all of that. I didn’t have to talk long anyway. The bridge was in sight.
We continued walking.
“Okay, you’ve had a good day. It’s only half over though. We have another game to play.”
The first time we came to the park, we played “Pooh Sticks” on that bridge. (“Pooh Sticks” is a game we both learned from Winnie the Pooh. You each pick up a stick from the ground, stand on the bridge, drop the sticks into the water at the same time, hurry to the other side of the bridge, and see whose stick comes under the bridge first. That person wins.) I won all three times we played that day.
As we approached the bridge now, he asked me if I wanted to play.
I agreed, and we both hunted for a good stick. After we selected our worthy opponents, we went to the bridge.
He counted to three, and we dropped them.
He won.
“Best two out of three?” he asked.
We found two more sticks.
I won the second game. Now it was a tie. We played one more time.
The sticks came out from under the bridge at the same time. We laughed.
“Oh well,” he said.
He pulled me close like we were dancing, which he does often if we are talking about random things and he is being cute.
She knew of course. We picked sticks. It was a game from a “silly, old bear,” a Pooh bear. We are suckers for kid stories, even in adulthood.
We tossed our sticks, and I was hoping I would win for once. I did.
I thought, in my mind, maybe as she turned to the other side of the bridge, I would drop to my knee, and when she realized I wasn’t there, she would turn and find me with a ring in my hand. No. That would be lame. I wouldn’t get to say anything that way. I wanted to tell her that I loved her, and tell her she was my best friend, and that I wanted to be with her for the rest of our lives, and then ask if she wanted to be with me too. I had to say that.
We picked sticks, and tossed again. She won. Now, we were tied.
“Once more.”
We tossed. They came through at the same time. But I wasn’t really paying attention. I was looking around to make sure no one would interrupt this. It would be awkward to have a runner come across the bridge. It would ruin it. But, we seemed to be in the clear.
I pulled her close and danced with her. It is something I do often when we talk about things. Usually, there is no music playing but I always hear it in my head. It’s a pleasant way to talk to each other, to engage one’s full attention; she has mine, and I have hers.
I can’t remember word for word what I said. She probably remembers better. She has a superb memory. Mine is faulty, and wired wrong. It always has been. I’ll likely go crazy one day. I already am to some extent.
“I love you,” he said.
“I love you.”
“You are my very best friend in the whole world. I want to keep you forever.”
I smiled.
“Can I?” he asked.
“I love you, a lot. And I am glad that we are together. You are my very best friend, and I want to be with you forever.” (It was something like that.)
It was a struggle to let her go, because I didn’t want to. But, it’s difficult to kneel and dance at the same time, so I let her go. I knelt down. I pulled the ring out of my pocket. Thought: what if I dropped it and it fell in the water below? Crap. No. Stop thinking. Stay focused.
I opened the box.
Remembering this is like in slow motion. It only took a matter of seconds. But, when I remember it, it’s slow. It’s like a thousand pictures in my mind, filling countless photo albums.
I nodded as I watched him reach into his jacket pocket. He knelt down on one knee. He opened the little black box to reveal a perfect diamond ring.
“Will you marry – ”
“Yes!” I didn’t quite let him finish. He laughed.
“Will you?” he asked one more time.
“Yes.” I laughed too.
He stood up and took me in his arms. He spun me around.
He let me go to take the ring out of the box and place it on my finger.
“Do you like it?”
“I love it! It’s perfect.” We both looked at it. It really was perfect.
Everything about this was perfect.
And that was the beginning of always...
No comments:
Post a Comment