Boy was I wrong!

We spent a typical HOT Saturday in the summer building a raised plant bed in our back yard. This included unloading a yard of dirt and bark dust, planting a bunch of plants, and stacking paving bricks in the hot sun all day. We were exhausted but had already committed to having a few friends over to watch an outdoor movie in that same back yard. We have a projector and would occasionally have movie nights when it was warm enough outside. I considered canceling it, due to sheer exhaustion, but he was determined and assured me I wouldn’t have to lift a finger.

I forgot about renting a movie and at the last minute, he recommended we just watch one of our favorites, “When Harry Met Sally”. Everyone loves it and since we usually all talk through the whole movie, it’s always good to watch something we’ve all seen.

As he started the movie, an old fashioned VHS version, it wasn’t quite working. I once again suggested a change to the evening by watching a different movie and again, he was determined to watch this one!

Surprisingly, all our friends were fine with the fact that the audio and video weren’t synced up and that the picture would occasionally go blank.

Suddenly, Peter asked if I need anything and disappeared into the house. Within minutes his face flashed up on the screen and then the screen went blank again. I thought I imagined it! I turned to my friends and said, “was that Peter?” and they all looked as astonished as me. Then he walked out of the house wearing the same suit that he had on in the video, which was again up on the screen. He walked over to me and got on one knee as the video played.

Through out that movie, there are short sequences where couples tell their stories; how they met, fell in love, got married, etc. Peter had taped himself starting out telling our story. It went something like this:

“Lisa and I had been together for a long time. So long in fact that some people thought I was never going to propose. I knew it had to be special and unexpected….”

He went on to tell of some ways he had considered proposing. Some of the usual things like slipping a ring into a plate of pasta. Then he said, “Lisa why don’t you tell them how I proposed.”

Then he turned to me and asked me to marry him in front of all of our best friends. He had selected a truly unusual ring from Twist that I LOVE with all my heart to this day!. No one knew the proposal was coming. Least of all me!

I, of course, said yes and we were married a year later. At our wedding, the video was shown and by that time had been completed with MY telling of THIS story.

The amount of plotting and planning he had to do to accomplish this was only revealed to me later. He had called in sick to work one day to get this all done before I came home from a business trip. The previous Wednesday night he picked me up from the airport in his work uniform as if he had just gotten off work. The truth is, moments earlier he had put his uniform on to come and get me after he just finished the video, taken down the equipment and backdrop he had used, and hid the videotape just in time to get me at the airport. I didn’t suspect a thing!

There is a video of each of our hilarious out takes still that makes for good laughs on each anniversary.

1. PLAN THE PROPOSAL FOR A DAY THAT IS ALREADY STRESSFUL. THAT WAY YOUR GIRLFRIEND WILL NOT QUESTION WHY YOU ARE ACTING SO NERVOUS. Pat and Melanie met at a contra dance at the Fulton Community Center, and were regulars at the weekly dances there. Pat had been saying for some time that he wanted to learn to call a contra dance, a lively folk dance in which couples dance in long lines, with a caller teaching the pattern of moves for each dance ahead of time. Finally he got around to conferring with local experts who gave him some pointers and agreed to coach him through his debut, which was set for a Saturday just before Christmas, also at the Fulton Community Center. Pat and other rookie callers would have the opportunity to call one or two dances each. The night came, and Pat seemed nervous, but that seemed understandable to Melanie since he had 150 or so pairs of eyes trained on him as he got up to teach his first dance, and a live band backing him up. But he did a good job and it went very well. WHEW.

2. DON’T LEAVE THE RING LOOSE IN YOUR POCKET, OR YOU WILL BE PULLING OUT EVERYTHING BUT THE RING WHEN THE TIME COMES. During the intermission that evening Pat and Melanie were sitting off to the side watching people mill around. Pat said, “Remember when we first met? It was right here in this very room, and I was sitting right about here, where I am now, and you asked me to dance.” “Of course I remember that,” Melanie said. “Well, ask me again.” Melanie knew the next dance was a waltz, and that they always danced the waltzes of the evening together. There was no need to ask him. But she also knew that Pat liked to tease her. “OK, then” she said, rolling her eyes, “Would you like to dance?” “No,” Pat said, “No, I was really hoping to dance with my fiancee instead. Will you marry me?” While Melanie sat there stunned, Pat was fishing around in his pocket for what seemed like a very long time. “Oh here it is–no wait, that’s a quarter. This is it–nope, a nickel. Here’s–aw rats–paper clip.” Eventually Melanie regained consciousness and her voice and said “Yes!”, the ring was finally retrieved and placed on her finger, and the waltz began (in more ways than one).

3. SHARE THE HAPPY NEWS. As if Pat’s life at that moment was not exciting enough, he was scheduled to call the first contra dance after the intermission also. One of his mentors, who had no idea what had just transpired in Pat’s personal life, handed Pat a card with some dance calls on it and said, “Here’s a good dance that’s easy to call. Give this one a try.” Pat taught the dance to the assembled crowd and then said, “OMIGOSH! I see on the card here that this dance is called “Honeymoon”, which is really coincidental since I’ve been engaged now for…oh, let’s see…20 minutes.” The crowd cheered, Melanie held her left hand aloft to display the jewelled evidence, and there was more cheering. Followed by foot stomping. Followed by more cheering. Finally Pat had to say, “Calm down, people! Folks have been getting engaged for hundreds of years. Let’s dance!” And so they did.

4. DOCUMENT THE MOMENT. Afterwards Pat and Melanie went back to her house. Her father was there, having come to Portland a few days earlier for a Christmas visit. Melanie was eager to share the big news with him, but it turns out that her dad had known all about it ahead of time, and Pat had even shown him the ring. He took some photos of the newly engaged couple.