Best Surprise To Date

     After a tough week at work in NYC, I was thrilled to have a night off from team events to spend the night with Stu, who luckily was able to come to New York with me. I knew he was enjoying seeing friends and going to old stomping grounds, but we had not spent much time together since we arrived which was a little sad. I miss New York and get to go often for work, but I don't feel whole in that city unless Stu is there with me, so you can imagine my excitement to get the whole night to ourselves and standing reservations at our favorite restaurant with friends.

     As I was leaving the building, with work friends in tow,  Stu was outside with flower in hand and asked me to walk to Washington Square Park with him. Blushing in front of my friends, who quickly did introductions, we dipped off to walk to the park. The park is a special place for us, because it is where he first told me he loved me so it didn't surprise me when he asked me why the park was important or what bench we sat in on that summer day when we exchanged loving words.

     As we sat down I put my head by his neck and nuzzled up feeling the cold chill. I could tell his heart was beating fast, but chalked it up to the brisk walking and him having to carry my 30 lb computer bag with items only MacGyver could appreciate.
     He then pulled out a heavyweight embossed piece of paper on which was had a written story of how he fell in love with me. I kept thinking how wonderful that story was and that was why his heart was beating so hard; he was nervous to read this story to me.
     Then the moment I didn't expect; he got down on one knee, opened a box with a ring in it and asked me to be his wife. I was so shocked and unable to process what was happening that I didn't say anything for a second. I started to reached for the ring to pull it out because I recognized it as my Grandma's. I then snapped back to reality realizing that I was doing this all in the wrong order and I had to say yes first! I looked him in the eyes and said "Yes, yes, yes, yes" I kept repeating the word out loud and hugged him over and over as he tried to get up from his knee through my grasp. He took out the ring from the box and placed it on my finger as I cried.
     After that moment it was a whirlwind of a night including an excited call to my family, especially Grandma, a quick chat with Stu's father who was welcoming me into the family, an amazing dinner, and champagne with my best friend Carly and her fiancee Dominic. I was so high on excitement I could have floated over the Williamsburg Bridge and kept sneaking off to the bathroom to look at myself in the mirror with a ring on.
     The next day we flew to Lexington and told Stu's mother in person. The look on her face was priceless. She was so kind and threw a party for Stu and myself. It was a bit of a "Debutante/Engament" party with warm and entertaining guests present. Helene even went a step further and treated us to dinner and gave me a bracelet from her collection of jewelry so that I could have something from her side of the family to go alongside my new ring. It will be a piece that I will cherish for years to come and will turn into a family item that will be handed down one day.