This is the second to last installment of our love story--if you've made it this far, way to go, you! If this is your first time reading our multi-part love story, you'll want to start with:
I closed my scriptures, then
knelt down by the side of my bed. The
past two days of being home had simply flown, but I knew that I needed to do
something important, and tonight was the night.
I had received a special
blessing—my patriarchal blessing¾as
a young teenager, and I had always thrilled to one particular promise: that
when the time should come, I would know “for a certainty” that special one that
I should marry. Since dating Steve, and
even as a missionary, I had been tempted to pray for an answer about whether or
not I should marry him, but it had never felt like the ideal time.
Now, however, with my mission
behind me, I knew that the time was right, and I knelt to say one of the most
important prayers of my life.
“Heavenly Father, please—is it
right for me to marry Steve?”
I felt the warmth of the Spirit
that was now familiar to me and smiled as the words filled my mind and heart,
telling me something I had already known for years.
Of course it is.
And just like that, I knew without
a doubt who I was going to marry. Now I
only had to wait for him to ask me.
“Wait up!” I called breathlessly to Steve. “I’m not that fast!”
Laughing, he tugged my hand as he
ran even faster. “We don’t want to miss
the fireworks show—it’s amazing!” I
stopped for a minute to take in the magic atmosphere that permeated Main Street,
USA. “It’s okay,” he grinned. “We’ll be back here tomorrow with your
family. Right now, let’s just enjoy it
with the two of us!”
I chuckled inwardly at his
enthusiasm. Disneyland with the love of
my life—who could ask for anything more romantic?
We ran to a good viewing place
for the fireworks show, just as the lights dimmed dramatically and Julie Andrews’
voice came over the PA system. I
snuggled contentedly in Steve’s arms and let the magic of the moment sweep over
me as I listened to the music.
The moment the fireworks show was
over, Steve grabbed my hand and started leading me to the center of Disneyland. “Here—I want to show you something!” He
looked back at me meaningfully, and my heart started beating faster.
Am I about to get proposed to? I silently wondered, as Steve stopped in
front of the iconic statue of Walt Disney.
He looked at the statue for a moment, then turned to me, smirking.
“I just really like this spot.”
I didn’t realize I’d been holding
my breath until that moment, when it all came rushing out in a big huff. I glared at him, realizing he had been
teasing me all along.
“Just so you know,” he winked,
“I’m not going to ask you at Disneyland.”
A wave of disappointment hit me,
but it was quickly followed by a sense of relief. Oh, well.
At least now I wouldn’t panic every time he knelt down to tie his shoes.
That night, I snuggled down under
the covers in the hotel bed I was sharing with NaElle.
“You okay?” She asked, noting
that I was a little quieter than usual.
“Well, I don’t know why, but I
guess I really thought he was going to propose to me on this trip. He let me know that he doesn’t plan on doing
it here, though, and I guess I’m kind of disappointed.” I answered as honestly
as I could, the doubt filling my heart as I put into words how I was feeling.
“It’s okay, I’m sure he’s going
to ask you soon,” she said comfortingly.
“I guess you’re right. I just wonder what he’s been waiting for, if
it wasn’t for this trip, you know?”
She shrugged in reply, then
rolled over as I lay, staring at the ceiling until I eventually fell asleep.
A few days later, I’d somehow managed
to swallow my disappointment over not getting proposed to in the way I’d
planned. In fact, I’d genuinely enjoyed
the vacation thus far—two days at Disneyland, followed by a day at Knott’s
Berry Farm.
Today’s agenda was less
glamorous, but still fun; we were visiting Ventura Beach. We’d spent all morning in the car, listening
to my parents reminisce about their dating years and the times they’d spent
visiting this site, or that area. I was
having a blast watching them almost literally travel down Memory Lane.
It was early afternoon, and Steve
and I were at the pier with the rest of my family (along with my Californian aunt and cousins), leaning over the railing and
watching the waves, when he nudged me.
“You want to go for a walk on the beach?”
I nodded eagerly. I’d been wanting to walk barefoot in the sand
all day, and even though it was chilly and windy, the sun had just come out,
and it sounded nice to take my shoes off and dig my toes into the sand—always
one of my favorite parts of playing on the beach.
Once we got onto the sand, near
the water line, Steve took my hand, and we walked that way, hand in hand, for a
while. I was quietly enjoying the smell
of the sea and the sound of the waves when he squeezed my hand gently.
“You know, it’s been really fun
for me to hear all of your parents’ stories about how they started dating and
got engaged.”
I simply nodded in response,
smiling as I thought of the look on my parents’ faces as they had shared their
memories with us.
“I think Ventura is such a
special place, because it’s where your family began. And, in fact, I thought it might be kind of
nice if our family began here, too.”
I suddenly realized what he was
saying and whirled to look at him as he got down on one knee and pulled a box
from his pocket. I gasped, my hands
covering my mouth, as he looked up at me and opened the ring box:
“Jewel Flake, will you marry me?”
I didn’t even look at the ring—I
simply squealed, “Yes!” and then I was hugging him, my arms around his neck, my
mouth finding his for an exultant kiss.
He wanted to marry me! He wanted
to marry me!
My mind couldn’t fathom anything
else—this had to be the most wonderful moment of my life. As soon as I finally pulled away, he took the
ring out of the box (it was exquisite) and put it on my left ring finger.
“Holy cow! When you said you weren’t going to propose at
Disneyland, I just assumed—” I
stammered.
He grinned, proud of
himself. “That’s what I was hoping
for. I’ve actually had this ring for
over a month now, and it’s been killing me, but I didn’t want to ask you until
I’d met every member of your family.”
Understanding dawned on me. “So you waited until Shiloh was home from his
mission.”
He nodded. “Yep.
And just so you know, I do have your father’s permission. I asked him yesterday at Knott’s Berry Farm,
when you were hanging out with NaElle and Daliah. In fact, I tried to get both your dad and
your mom alone, but Jayze ended up tagging along; I’m pretty sure that’s
probably the most awkward moment he’s ever experienced.”
I chuckled, picturing what my
teenage brother’s face must have looked like as he watched my boyfriend ask one
of the most important and personal questions of a man’s life. “So what did my dad say?” I hoped he hadn’t given Steve too hard of a
time, as my taciturn father had been known to do in the past.
He grinned. “Well, your mom shrieked, no surprise there,
and your dad just chuckled and said, ‘I think that’d be all right.’”
I laughed as I glanced down at
the ring once again, awed by the beauty and the detail of it. “I can’t believe you had this for so long,
and I had no clue! It’s beautiful, and
exactly what I wanted—how did you get something so perfect without me knowing? Did you do it on your own?”
“Well, sort of. NaElle came with me, and they didn’t have
anything that was quite right for you, so I had this one custom-made. Is it okay?” He suddenly looked
concerned—worried that I didn’t like it.
“I liked it because I thought it would sparkle on your hand as you play
the piano.”
I nodded, tears of delight
choking my throat. It was absolutely
perfect. The location, the ring, the
thought he had put into every aspect of this moment—I was struck again by how
amazing this man really was. I rested my
hand against his cheek.
“This is absolutely perfect.”
He sighed in relief, then took me
in his arms as I kissed him again, deliriously happy. Of course I was deliriously happy! I was going to spend the rest of eternity
with the most incredible man in the world.
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