Amanda, my fiance, has never been a gushy romantic and, if given the choice, would probably forget that Valentine’s Day ever existed. In fact, by her choice, we had never celebrated Valentine’s Day with even so much as a card before 2005.
In keeping with her desires, I rented a small cabin in the Rocky Mountains for her birthday, January 31, intending to pop the question as we snowshoed under the full winter moon. To my dismay, however, the surprise backfired when
Amanda’s brother, completely ignorant of my secret plans decided to drop in for a visit that very weekend! All of my plans were immediately shattered and I was left again at square one. That is when I really go to thinking about the element of surprise.
I know Amanda very well, which, in a way, allows her to read me somewhat easily. I got to thinking that, if taken on a weekend trip to a cabin in the middle of nowhere (which, believe it or not, is one of her favorite things to do) she would smell the romance immediately and know my plan. Instead, I decided to do the opposite of what I thought she’d want and/or expect, instantly seeing Valentine’s Day as the perfect tongue-in-cheek night to hatch my plan.
On my lunch break, I called her to let her know that I’d be taking her out to dinner that night and that she should dress up. Suspiciously, she agreed and I whisked her off on a scenic walk through the historic downtown area we lived in, ending at the nicest restaurant in town, one she’d been begging to go to for months. Although not her style, she rolled with the evening surprisingly well, after making me promise that dinner was the only romantic trick up my sleeve.
Just as I lied through my teeth that it was, a horse-drawn carriage pulled up outside and I let her know that our ride had arrived. She turned bright red and settled into her very cute nervous laugh, a habit that she indulged for the rest of the evening. We cuddled up under a blanket and took a moonlit tour of our town, with the foothills of the Rockies reflecting the moon’s glow. Just as she attempted to force me to lie a second time and say that there was absolutely nothing else planned, I slipped a light-up ring case out of my pocket and opened it up in front of her.
For the first time that night, her cute little nervous laugh turned to happy tears, as she breathed, "yes". In the end, my change of plans worked out rather well and Amanda admitted that, although she had never celebrated Valentine’s Day before, she now had a great reason to do so.
Proposal Story By:
Jeffrey C. Borling
Golden, CO
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