The story he gave me.
Most girls wait for years for the right boy to come along and turn their heads. They try to pretend like the random phone calls don’t matter, and that the infrequent road trips don’t count for much. Some girls even like to fool themselves into thinking that they are much too independent and self-reliant to ever fall head over heels in love, so head over heels in fact that they don’t want to breathe another breath unless they can share the air with that boy. I used to be one of those girls, until he gave me my story.
It was any other weekend, and it was not highly anticipated, because most of the plans I made fell through, little did I know, those plans fell through for a reason. It was the ultimate surprise, showing up on a weekend he wasn’t supposed to be here, to take me on a tour of the “world.” The theme that day was inspired by all the many countries that are represented by the hotels of Las Vegas, starting in the jungles of the Mandalay Bay and moving to the pyramids of Egypt at the Luxor. We went stateside to New York New York and felt the thrill of the “taxi cab” roller coaster. We paused to take a brief rest before heading to my favorite restuarant of all time, Roy’s Hawaiian Fusion, then quickly proceeded to Paris, to the top of the Eifle Tower. As the day came to a close, my only thought was, “what is the charade about?” And then, that is when life became as wonderful as it ever could be.
Taking a cruise through Venice, at the Venetian, on the gondola, my furture husband asked me if he could see the “world” with me, to which I replied yes. He then said a few other things, most of which I forget because before I knew it, he was on his knee, in the gondola asking me to marry him. I was in tears, the moment I have secretly longed for my entire life, was suddenly there at my feet. I said yes with all my heart, knowing that if anyone knew how to love me, he did.
He waited, to ask me of course, until a day that I would surely remember for the rest of my life, October 24, 2009, 45 years to the day that my dearly departed grandparents were married in Honolulu.
And that is my story. I will tell my kids, and grandkids the story about how my life, with the man I have prayed for since I was a little girl, finally began.
After he proposed on the gondola ride.
Rachel… Congrats!! on your engagement!! I am sooo happy for you both. love, blond girl………
All love that has not friendship for its base,
is like a mansion built upon the sand.
~ Ella Wheeler Wilcox
Soooooo adorable! I love the way you told this story about the beginning of your engagement. And I love that October 24th has such a special meaning for you! No wonder you already set it as your wedding date! Congrats you two! I can’t wait to meet him!