The Proposal

It was my birthday. Earlier in the week I had made an appointment to do something a little different. I booked an appointment to play dress up at the new downtown location of a place I’d been an online member of for about 2 years. I got up rather early, considering that we hadn’t even made it into the city that never sleeps until after midnight. We walked to the location and I was quickly brought a bunch of dresses to try on. The first dress was a sequined number, in a blush/rose gold color. It looked amazing on me, but it wasn’t my usual style. I liked it, but decided to try on a few more dresses. Nothing else compared to that dress and really, while it wasn’t something I would normally wear, that was the whole point. I was finally thirty; thirty, flirty and thriving to quote a favorite movie. So, I took the plunge and rented the dress for the night. I also got earrings and a clutch to match and with my birthday coupon, I got it all at a steal!

Afterwards, we went for the trademark pizza of this city before we headed back to change for the shows we would see and dinner. Back at the hotel room, I put on my dress, and managed to bring Eric to tears. I had hoped to wear both the dress I rented and the dress I brought with me from home, but sadly, with the plan being to walk everywhere, there wouldn’t have been time to change. So I wore that hot number all night, and I think it made the day all that much more amazing.

We saw Chicago and it was phenomenal. I had such a good time and was surprised by the number of songs that had not been included in the movie. After the show, we headed to dinner at an Irish place that has a local chapter in my city. We ended up in a semi-secluded table by the window, which was nice and romantic. The place wasn’t terribly packed either, and I was glad we opted for an early dinner. Dinner was delicious, and I enjoyed a hard cider with it. I was shocked that I didn’t get carded, but somewhat thrilled to think I looked older. Maybe it was just the dress. After dinner, we got a chocolate molten cake which was delicious, but the real treat came after dessert. Eric gave his cell phone to the waitress to take pictures, but told her to wait; he needed to get in position first. He came around to my side of the table and knelt on one knee. He told me that he was so happy that I had come back into his life and he wanted to make sure I was a part of his future, so he asked me to marry him. The ring was perfect, exactly what I would have picked out myself. It was a simple, solitary stone, but with a secret detail that you’d have to look for to see it. I had made the joke so many times about not wearing white to my wedding because I have a child and “the gig’s up” that Eric thought to include a piece of her in my ring. Under the diamond, on either side of the band itself, are two small green gems. Emerald is my daughter’s birth stone.

I accepted, our waitress was crying and she took some really great photos on his phone. Afterwards, she brought us complimentary champagne to celebrate. We stayed at the restaurant a bit longer before it was time to head to our next show, but the night was perfect. The proposal was simple, and elegant, which is all I wanted.

And all I could think was, to think this all started with a simple remorseful email, asking for forgiveness for transgressions committed almost 9 years previously…