The Proposal

We'd been engaged several minutes and I'd just texted a picture of the ring to my dad when James hugged me and I sneaked this pic. He thinks he's sneaky? ;) But he is. Read just how sly, below.

Sunday, December 7, 2014

8:17 a.m. Emily wakes up naturally to an ordinary Sunday. She waits for James to awake so any good morning texts won't disturb him. She absently scrolls through Facebook on her phone and also reviews and adjust her budget on Mint.com.

10:42 a.m. James finally texts.

JC: Good morning, love of my life. Seems like I was just a tad tired, haha. Getting in the shower now. You're welcome to join me whenever you're ready. :)

Emily smiles because she knows he doesn't mean for her to join him in the shower, but that's what it reads like. She finally gets out of bed and gets ready to go over to chill with her man before they head to church.

All along: James was wearing pants on fire.

7:30 a.m. James actually wakes up. He strings up white twinkle lights along the border of his bedroom ceiling. He snacks on my favorite white cheddar popcorn as he puts the final touches on everything and gets himself ready for my arrival. THEN he texts me about just getting in the shower, trusting I'd have no reason not to believe that meant he'd just woken up. Everything about his text was truth—it was morning, I'm his life's love, he was very much tired for being up late and early to get things ready, and he was likely getting in the shower. But . . .

Emily would never expect to be proposed to on a Sunday morning—NOT TO MENTION James had been telling her the ring is still off being resized and so won't be ready for days yet (but he's had it since Wednesday)—so she believes all is normal with the world and gets herself ready to head over.

10:59 a.m.

JC: I love you babe. Very much looking forward to seeing you. :)

Emily finds no extra significance to those words. James is always expressive of his eagerness to be with her.

11:06 a.m.

EF: Love you. Few more minutes then I'll head out :)

11:07 a.m. 

JC: Lovely! Let me know when you get here :) 

(James always meets Emily at her car and walks her into his apartment.)

Emily gets ready, donning a simple and comfortable dress and arranging an effortless hairdo. For reasons beyond her own awareness she just wanted to feel really relaxed and comfortable today, and she realizes she feels plain beautiful when she's ready. But more than beautiful. Valuable.

11:31 a.m. 

EF: Your bride has arrived ;)

James feels a jolt of surprise reading this text, but reminds himself Emily truly can have no idea about what's about to happen. He walks out to meet her.

During the next hour, a timeless blur. The two meet and embrace in the cool airy sunshine of an unusually warm December morning. As James leads Emily to his apartment, all she predicts she will find is his bed to sit upon, his cat to cuddle, conversation to exchange as he picks out a tie—but when he opens his bedroom door . . .

Picture this scene if you will: The room is particularly tidy with his bed made up perfectly and there are flickering white twinkle lights running along the border of his walls at the ceiling. On the closest corner of his bed Emily spots a red bowl of white cheddar popcorn and three items on display: a camping lantern, a Salt Lake City temple figurine, and an orange Hot Wheels tow truck.

Caught in a breathless pause of totally unexpected romantic gestures, Emily begins a word, but can't finish.

"Wha—?"

"What is happening?" James finishes for her.

"What is happening?" She breathes at last, rising emotion lifting her pitch like a stringed balloon loosed from its tether.

James laughs and directs Emily's attention to the items on the bed. "This is for you—your favorite." He hands her the bowl of Smartfood white cheddar popcorn. It really is her absolute favorite. She sets it aside excited to eat it later. What a sweet man I have, she thinks, still (unbelievably) not believing this moment is more than a super romantic gesture. He'd gotten her this same popcorn before, and he'd been listening whenever she rattled away about favorite things, such as white twinkle lights. A romantic gesture is all this is, because, after all, the ring isn't ready. Right?

"And these are little tokens of special moments at the beginning of our courtship." He points to the lantern, temple, and tow truck.

Wait, wait. Could this really be? No, this can't be the moment. Is this the moment? This isn't . . . he said . . . the ring . . . Wait. Really? Her thoughts wrestle.

"So why don't we sit on my bed . . . I've got this letter I want to read to you. Let me just pull it up."

As she sits, her tears begin even though she's still not convinced that this is, in fact, THE moment. A moment she's never experienced before but has been hoping to experience for many years, finally this year knowing with whom she'd like to experience it. He leans against the wall and she leans into him, facing him and half reading over his shoulder the letter document on his phone.

"Hi," the letter begins. This one word brings back to her mind the first time she told him she loves him.

<<I already knew you loved me,>> she had said, <<because of the way you would randomly say "hi" to me. I could tell you wanted to say more than that, but that greeting word was your way of saying you loved me before you could use those words.>> He had smiled then, recognizing the truth of his meaning behind using that word. She continued. <<I could tell you wanted to say it, but I said it first so you would know I wasn't just echoing your sentiments. I love you, James.>>

As he reads, Emily's tears don't let up from that perfect start until the storybook ending of the letter. She smiles as he recounted some of their earliest memories:

No better place to begin than the beginning, I suppose. Our first date. What an adventure that turned out to be! Quite the range of emotions! Nervousness and anxiety that tend to come with a first, practically blind date. Surprise at your real life beauty; calm and comfort as I really began to see just how wonderful you are, and just how easy you are to get along with. Slight shock and extreme entertainment as we discussed your opinions on whether or not vanquished foes should be beheaded. Once again with the nervousness as I decided I was going to break my rule and kiss you, this girl I just met. Jubilation as you seemed to be keen on the kissing idea, helping me achieve pretty much the greatest and certainly the last of my first kisses. An eye to the future as I left your embrace, knowing that I would see you the very next day, and hope that I would be seeing you many days after that. And finally, slight panic as I realized my poor car, Stella, had been stolen away in the night. But even then, I slept calm and happy. Not even those dastardly tow truck drivers could ruin my night. I just knew somehow that great things were coming with that tall, beautiful girl named Emily Fairchild.

And James too gets choked up as he reads,

What a revelation you were. A beautiful, smart, funny, kind woman who had a thing for me, AND was worthy and willing to go to the temple? Unheard of, at least in my world. And knowing by then that you were something truly special, I decided to do one of the most nerve wracking things to do early on in a relationship: I asked the Lord if you were the one for me. And this time, the answer did not come in a gentle nudging. It did not come in a still small voice. It did not come in the subtle guiding that I was so used to. It was in the wind. It was in the fire. It was in the thunder from heaven. I knew, without the slightest question that you were it. You were my everything, forever and always.

Emily interrupts and kisses him for this, for those sweet, thoughtful, well-written words. Finally she realizes, Yes, this is the moment. The sneaky son of a gun pulled off the perfect surprise.

He finishes reading the letter with the words,

I suppose now is the time. Time to end this letter, and ask the one question I’ve been dying to ask and that you’ve been dying to answer. A question we both know the answer to, but a question that I must ask none the less.

Emily Fairchild, will you marry me?

He pulls out that perfect family-heirloom ring Emily hadn't expected to see yet for days—and she can't even see it for how the tears infest her view. So she opts for a tight hug and sloppy wet kisses until the tears get out of the way. Finally, amongst the bubbling giggles of the purest concoction of surprised disbelief and honest happiness, she wipes her eyes clear, holds out her left hand, and watches James slide the priceless gift onto her ring finger—its happy home forever more.

Emily's reaction: It was the perfect surprise. It was private, intimate, romantic . . . it just felt holy, you know? A sacred, memorable moment. Instead of a public show of excitement, it was a private moment of unforgettable history. And now that I've had time to think about it, being proposed to on a Sunday morning is the very best time to get engaged! Then you have all day to revel in your happiness and you get to visit and celebrate with family. I couldn't possibly be happier than with how it played out, and I'll always be grateful to James for making that moment so special for us both.