a view from the bridge (a.k.a engagement site) near Lamar street- I took it the first time we went there.
So. I am engaged...ENGAGED!!! It still feels a bit unreal to me, but in a great, wonderful, awesome way. I have been floating for a over a week now. Most people get to spend lots of time with their fiance after the engagement, but sadly that wasn't the case. A short weekend where he had to work half the day on saturday just doesn't cut it, and I think that is why I have a hard time believing something this great just happened- but then the sunlight reflects off that new piece of jewelry and temporarily blinds me. That usually serves as a good pinch letting me know it's not, in fact, a dream.
Fun Fact: Fiancee (with an accent on the first 'e') is the feminine form, while fiance is the masculine. Most people just interchange the spellings at random. They both come from the french word to betroth, which comes from the Latin word meaning to trust. To trust. I like that.
It is kind of different adjusting to calling him my fiance and not my boyfriend. It generally comes out something like "biance", and people wonder whether the lead singer of Destiny's child and I are buddies.
Things you should know: The wedding date we have set is 07/07/07. (whoop!) Don't laugh. You are just jealous that you didn't get it first. Our wedding will be awesome, and casual. I don't plan on wearing shoes. (My mom might have something to say about that.)
I have told this story over 8,000 times this week, but I figure this is a good place to explain it in slightly more detail. I generally give people the 30 second rundown, and they miss some fun details:
On Friday, April 14th (2006...obviously), Brian and I met in Austin to go on a date. We do Austin dates periodically when I am not able to stay the weekend in San Antonio, and he isn't able to come to College Station. The plan this time, however, was to go back to San Antonio for easter weekend. Anyway, so we met, hugged each other for probably 10 minutes without stopping, and then ate a wonderful dinner at one of our favorite places (Magnolia Cafe). I had noticed that he was acting a little different from normal, but I couldn't pin down exactly what it was. It wasn't better or worse, just different. When told him he was acting funny, he said, "yeah, I have been getting more exercise and drinking lots of water lately. I think that must be it." And herein lies the brilliance of Brian: he can pull off silly answers like that because he is just that random. So I was like, sure, whatever. (I have since pinpointed the Brian I saw that night- it was "incredibly nervous inside but trying everything in my power to not seem that way" Brian.)
After dinner we went out to a Lamar Street bridge over town lake (a place we had been on a previous date- and it is a pedestrian bridge, so don't worry, there weren't cars whizzing by). It was a beautiful night, with a full yellow moon slung low over the water, and just enough breeze to need his arms around me.
There was one complication though: the bridge, normally empty, was TEEMING with people. I still have no idea what they were doing. The other times we have been out there, it was empty except for the occasional late-night biker. He was pretty frustrated at the people, and so we just walked up and down the bridge a couple of times before settling at the end, where we had plenty of privacy. I had suggested we just go somewhere else, but that clearly wasn't an option in his mind. Eventually the people dissipated, and I just layed on the ground with my head in his lap, looking out over the water. We were pretty quiet and comfortable, both understanding how much the other enjoyed just resting there and being close. (We never take time with each other for granted, even after more than 1.5 years together. We soak up every second, and relish them all. This is how we plan for it to be for the rest of our lives.)
He then reminded me that he had a surprise, which ended up being the journal we write back and forth to each other in. I was excited to read it, because it had been a while since he had written.
He asked me to read out loud, and when I started I promised myself I wouldn't cry. My reasoning was that if this wasn't the proposal, I would feel like an idiot. Anyway, as I read it became more and more apparent that it was exactly what I had suspected deep down, and after I started crying, I looked up to see him eye to eye, on one knee. He then created in me a feeling I have never known before, as he slipped on the ring and asked me to marry him. It was the best moment of my life, and will remain so until the day I marry him. I sobbed an unintelligible yes and hugged him so tight that he couldn't finish getting the ring on my finger.
We went back to my car, and I called plenty of people, and cried the ENTIRE way back to San Antonio. I'm not a crier, but I was definitely a mess that night.
Now remember, we had met in Austin in separate cars and combined when we got there, but I didn't think about this fact until we were practically in San Marcos. "BRIAN?, What about your CAR!?!?!" His eyes got really wide and he looked at me with surprise. I couldn't believe we had forgotten it! He told me a couple minutes later (after watching me squirm a bit) that his best friend John had been in the parking lot, and drove his car back when we left for dinner. He had me going for a second.
On the drive home I read the rest of the journal entry that I was in the process of reading when he proposed. He had written every day for the 5 days leading up to the proposal, and he documented all his feelings and thoughts that he couldn't tell me. It was great to read-especially the day where he had to call my dad. You would think Dad were a former wrestler with a knack for hunting and boyfriend-killing or something. (My dad is probably the least- threatening person I know- and that is coming from a completely objective stance, mind you.)
Anyway, that is the story. My parents waited up that night, so we got to see them (I cried all over again), and then we went to his apartment where many of our friends were waiting with champagne and sparkling cider [they are mindful of the underaged :) ]. I was quite puffy and red from all the crying by the time we got there.
It was undoubtedly the most amazing night of my life.
I am SO blessed that I get to marry Brian Marshall- the most incredible person I have ever met or known, and the only person I have ever loved like this.