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Part I : The Weeks Before
Part III : The Aftermath
Friday came, and I didn't get much done at work. My heart was racing all day and I was really nervous, but I couldn't tell anyone why. It was killing me, but I decided I wanted it to be a surprise to everyone.
When I got home from work, Tammy was at my apartment waiting for me. I had told her that since it was her birthday, we were doing something special, but I didn't ever tell her what. That was my whole disguise for the evening...on any normal night, we would know in advance what we were doing, but since it was her birthday, the "surprise evening" was part of her present. I remember thinking how beautiful she looked, and how cool it was that she had no idea what was going to happen later that night. I wanted everything to go perfectly, because I knew this was a night we'd always remember...and she didn't have a clue.
We got in the car and headed for J Alexander's. I don't think I told her where we were going, so she didn't know until we turned into the parking lot. I had thought long and hard about where I wanted to eat that night...I ended up deciding on this place because 1) it was really nice and 2) we had never been there before. I certainly didn't want to take her to O'Charley's or Ruby Tuesday, since we've eaten there a million times...this had to be special. It was also a good choice because I knew it was a place we could eat at again later, but not one that we would want to eat at frequently.
Tammy seemed pleased with the choice...we had talked several times about how we needed to eat there sometime. Anyhow, it was pretty crowded, so we had a pretty good wait. This gave us some more time to talk...and unfortunately, more time for me to think. I had to try and talk like everything was normal, all the time freaking out in the back of my head. I was looking around at all the other people there, thinking "Gee, I'll bet none of them are getting engaged tonight" and "If the hostess knew that, we'd probably get our table quicker". We were finally seated, and we ate. I got a steak, and I have no idea what Tammy got. I didn't think I'd be able to eat much, but I think I ate most of it. Of course, we talked while we ate...again, I have no idea what we talked about. I think I did a pretty good job of seeming relatively normal to Tammy.
As we left the restaurant, I had planned on going for a romantic walk around the nearby lake, but it was REALLY cold outside. So this plan was messed up. I hadn't ever come up with a backup plan, which is unusual for me. I wanted to do something besides "hey, let's eat, then I'm popping the question". But I couldn't really come up with anything, so we headed back to the apartment. Although I never said it, Tammy was convinced we were just going to waste time until going to see a movie later on.
Once there, we chatted a little bit, then I somehow convinced her that she needed to wait upstairs while I did something downstairs. Again, her imagination covered for me when I couldn't come up with a really good excuse. She figured it had something to do with her birthday presents....like I had to get one ready or something. Which wasn't entirely wrong.
So with Tammy upstairs in my room watching TV, I set to work preparing my living room. I had my engagement-in-a-box hidden in the closet. I quickly set a bunch of tea light candles (a few of them floating) on my fountain next to the couch...it looked REALLY cool by the way. I had 8 white taper candles spread around the apartment. I stuck the ring (in the box) underneath the couch, and I arranged her "birthday" presents on the table. On top was a coupon I had made that was good for an article of clothing (I knew better than to try and pick something out myself). The next box contained the Dirty Dancing DVD. Dirty Dancing is Tammy's favorite movie, and I thought she'd love to have it on DVD. Also, in a subtle way, a DVD was sort of a "we're going to be together" present. Follow me here...Tammy doesn't have a DVD player, so without me and my DVD player, the gift would be useless. In a weird, Ricky sort of way, it was sort of a subtle hint about what was in the next box. The next box, of course, contained the teddy bear (in case you forgot, it said "My darling Tammy, will you marry me?" on it). I had painstakingly wrapped it so that when she first opened the box, what it said would be covered up, but she could tell it was a stuffed animal. This was done to momentarily throw her off just in case she was thinking it might be a ring.
Tammy opened the first two presents, then came the last. It was all sort of surreal and in slow motion from that point on. She opened up the box, saw the stuffed animal, and I believe said "what in the world?". I started to stand up as she pulled the paper away and saw what the bear said. Her expression instantly changed from one of curiosity to one of total shock. I don't think any music actually started playing in the background, but it felt like it. Anyhow, as Tammy struggled to breathe, I got down on one knee and pulled out the ring. I held her hand and held the ring up to her as I blurbed out something about how happy she makes me and how I want to always make her happy and how I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her.
She managed to get out several nods...I don't think she ever actually said yes. The main thing I remember her saying several times was "Oh my gosh". I slipped the ring on her finger, and we embraced in silence for a while. Just like that, Tammy and I were engaged.