I open my eyes and stare at the ceiling. I can feel the excitement start to build from the tips of my toes and slowly travel up my body. There's this buzzing energy in the room and I feel so alive. It feels like Christmas, but better. Today is July 3... my 1.5 year anniversary of dating Michael Klein. Today we're going on a romantic date. Today hasto be the day he asks me to marry him.
I get up and find Michael on the computer. With a quick hug and a kiss I excuse myself to take a shower. As I turn on the water and wait for the steam to rise, I start to have doubts.
A proposal... Of course, I don't know this for sure. Michael has been teasing me about marriage for months now. I'm probably setting myself up for disappointment, but it's so perfect. We're going to go shopping at the Loop and have dinner at the Melting Pot. I don't know what it is about fondue, but the sharing of bread and cheese seems almost ceremonial; and the chocolate... that's just love on a plate. Also tomorrow is the 4th of July, which is one of the few times a year my family all comes together. It's the perfect opportunity to share the news.
After drying off and spending over an hour on my makeup and hair, I carefully choose my outfit. Actually it isn't hard at all. I only have one dress at Michael's. But it's black and pink and a little bohemian which I think fits the vibe of the Loop well.
The sky is looking ominous. I hope this isn't a sign of things to come. At the very least we'll have to share an umbrella while shopping the Loop, but I think that's very romantic!
Despite the storm that is begging to swell, the loop is busy and there aren't many parking spaces available. Michael chooses a spot in the last row. It's a good thing that he brought the big umbrella!
We walk along Delmar looking inside the windows of the closed shops. It's Sunday after all, and there are only a handful of shops that are open this time of day. Lucky for us, Star Clipper is one of them.
Star Clipper is my favorite store on the loop and it's filled with everything Michael and I love. There are comics and graphic novels, art books, strange dolls, overly plump stuffed animals, NES lamps, sushi shaped erasers, and all sorts of oddities from Japan. As the hurricane rages outside, Michael and I spend a happy hour navigating through the cool to the just plain weird. On one corner of a display table I see a basket of wooden cat ears known in Japan as Neko Mimi. They had white and lavender ones with beads and ribbons, but I'm more attracted to the simple black cat ears with the pink fluff. Michael says that he'll buy them for me, but I have to wear them. They did matched my dress after all, and what's more romantic than having a date with a cat-girl, right?
It's still too early to go to the Melting Pot, but the storm won't allow us to shop anymore. So (Neko Mimi on), we cling to each other tight under the giant umbrella and make the long walk to the restaurant to see if we can wait inside. The two girls at the hostess station are so cute. They want to know where we have been and what was the special occasion. I tell them its our anniversary, but they're much more interested in my Neko Mimi and commenting on how adorable I am. Tee Hee! Since the place is almost empty, they immediately offer us a table.
The food is AMAZING!!! Their Big Night Out menu is Latin, so we can get their Queso Fundito!!! Anything with chorizo makes me a happy girl. Michael is enjoying the food, but he's also making the googley eyes at me. *SQUEE* It makes me so happy! The conversation starts to turn romantic. We talk about eHarmony and I tease him about how he had invited me to Florida in his first email. Not believing me, I look up the email and read him the whole thing along with my response. We laugh a lot. The moment feels like a romantic montage from a movie. This feels perfect!
Michael orders the Flaming Turtle for dessert. *Insert crude joke here* I must say it is the most delicious chocolate course I've had at the MP. A couple passes us on the way to their table. The girl, in a very loud voice, tells the hostess that they just got engaged and she wants the best table. Michael looks at me and smiles. They have taken away the chocolate, now is the time! His smile is making me all twitterpated and I can feel myself blush. He softly tells me how much he loves me and how happy I make him. Oh my God, this is the build up. He's gonna do it! I'm so excited I can't stand it!!!!
The waiter drops off the check. Michael signs it and says, "Ready to go home?"
What... Really!?! Everything was so perfect. If he didn't ask here, then he wasn't going to ask me today. I smile at him, but I feel my heart plunge into my stomach. Damn it... I worked myself up so much. He had given me the perfect date, but I could feel the tears stinging my eyes. Come on Katie, it was a great day... don't let him see you cry.
It's still raining. Michael takes his arm around me as we share the umbrella. It seems like we'll never reach the car. Michael is talking to me, but the disappointment has hijacked my voice.
Michael: What's wrong, Baby?
Katie: Nothing Baby. I'm just being silly.
Michael: Come on, it's okay...
Katie: No, if I talk about it I'll cry and I don't want to do it.
We reach the car and Michael holds the door and umbrella so I don't get wet. He gets in and we sit there for a minute. The windows quickly steam up. I sit there smiling and willing the tears to go away. I'm so afraid if he knew why I was upset, that he would get upset and I didn't want to diminished the day.
Michael: Oh Sweetie, what's wrong?
Katie: (crying) It's really nothing...
Michael: I'm sorry, Sweetie. I'm sure there's some way I could cheer you up.
And with that, he pulls the ring box from his pocket. By now I am full on sobbing realizing what he was doing. This was it.
Katie: You jerk.
Michael: (As heard by Katie) Katie, I *SOBBING * you from the *WEEPING* You are *WAILING* to me, and *BLUBBERING* with you. Will you be my wife? *sniff*
Katie: Yes, you jerk. I love you so much!
Michael: I love you, too.
Katie: I can't believe you asked me to marry you while I was wearing the Neko Mimi.
Michael: What can I say? I have a thing for Cat-Girls.
Lots of smooching
I sent this picture to my three closest friends so they would all know at the same time my exciting news. One was to the wrong number, one can't receive pictures to her phone, and one responded with, "how cute"... She only saw the cat ears. Epic fail.
Michael drove to my parents so I could tell them first and show off my beautiful ring. We then went back to Michael's where his parents, brothers and their ladies were waiting. We drank some tasty wine and played games into the wee hours. We were so tired that there wasn't much romancing... we just held each other. It was perfect.
