He Proposed To Me...

He Proposed To Me
------Kelly Price (lyrics revised by me)

IT WAS AN ORDINARY DAY OCTOBER 22ND
MY BABY HOOKED UP HIS PLACE AS A SPECIAL SPACE
SAID HE HAD A SUPRISE FOR ME
HE TOLD ME TO CLOSE MY EYES
SO THAT I COULD NOT SEE AND WHEN I OPENED THEM UP
HE WAS ON BOTH KNEES REACHIN' FOR MY HAND (THAT'S WHEN)


HE PROPOSED TO ME- HE PROPOSED WITH A DIAMOND RING
I STARTED SHOUTING - HE PLACED IT ON MY FINGER AND I SAID
YES- HE PROPOSED TO ME- MY BABY PROPOSED WITH A DIAMOND
RING I COULDN'T BELIEVE IT I LOOKED IN HIS EYES AND I
SAID YES.


I'LL NEVER FORGET THAT NIGHT- IT WAS 2:10 AM TO BE
PRECISE
HE LOOKED INTO MY EYES AND SAID-YOU'VE MADE ME THE
HAPPIEST MAN ALIVE. SOON AS I GOT HOME I CALLED MY
MOTHER ON THE PHONE- I SAID MAMA YOU WON'T BELIEVE WHAT JUST
HAPPENED TO ME


WE WILL BE TOGETHER-THIS I KNOW
WE WILL LOVE FOREVER MY HEART TOLD ME SO
IF YOU PROMISE TO HOLD ME TIGHT AND NEVER LET ME GO
WE'LL BE HUSBAND AND WIFE
FOR THE REST OF OUR LIVES


After 4 years of courtship but most importantly after 14 years of friendship, JJ asked me to be his wife. Although I knew it was coming: we are planning for him to move in shortly; we were already considering wedding dates for 2007 and had already called on my line sister for her wedding planning expertise; and he'd been asking me for my ring size, preference and all that jazz... I knew it was coming.. what I didn't know was just HOW it was coming.....

All week I had the feeling this weekend would be THE WEEKEND.
There were SIGNS:
For one, wedding discussions seemed to be on the rise. We'd been discussing wedding plans but this particular week seemed to be laced with wedding talk. He was also chatting it up with my mom much more often than usual and she seemed particularly stressed. She was driving him a bit insane and though he didn't exactly put it out there like that ....I could tell. A big topic that week was whether or not he should call my dad to tell him he wanted to marry me. He's only met my dad once but that's a different blog. Nothing to do with J..just my own issues. After I told him that telling my dad before the proposal wasn't a big issue for me and that we could just meet with my dad over the holidays or something for them to get to know one another better, the discussion was dropped.

J had also requested to get off early on October 21st which in and of itself was weird because he usually talks to me about getting off early or taking days off and it's usually for a purpose. This time he just told me he'd done it. He also added that he thought it would be cool if we hung out with my cousins J and T. It had been a long time since we hung out together so he thought since he was getting off early and it was T's bday, we should get together.

He also tells me that we don't get enough QT together and he wants to pamper me, rub my feet (he's a master at that) and may even make me some dessert. I am not suspicious of this part because he does stuff like this and I'd just recently pampered him with a surprise bubble bath so I'm thinking "hey payback is great.:))

But that Monday, my cousin J calls me and says she was thinking that since it'd been a long time since we'd all hung out that we should hang out on Saturday... HMMMMMM..... so that night I ask J if he'd spoken to J and he says "Why?" (you see that's where he messed up cuz his initial reaction should have been "no" if they hadn't spoken) so I tell him about the voicemail she left me and he says "No. I didn't speak to her" and tries to change the subject. I say "Yall must have some ESP going on cuz how weird it is that you've been saying for the past few days that u want to hang with my cousins then J calls saying the same thing...HMMMMM.

Then he keeps stressing that he wants to eat at Cafe Espanol because he has a craving for their chicken francaise. Cafe Espanol is where we had our first date so I'm like ... THIS HAS GOT TO BE IT!! He's trying to throw me off by saying we are going to go meet up at some lounge, bar or whatever after dinner though no meeting place was ever decided upon until my cousin says she's going to celebrate her birthday at Jade Terrace on 48th and 8th avenue like the day before we are all supposed to hang out. I'm thinking he's going to have my fam and friends at Cafe Espanol where he will DO IT!

Sooooo I wake up on Saturday morning feeling really giddy and even write in my journal that I think today (October 21st) is THE DAY. I do my normal Saturday routine (laundry, cleaning around the house, paying bills, taking my daughter to basketball) but I also make time to get my HAIR AND NAILS DONE (I just knew he was going to DO IT that day, the hair and ESPECIALLY the nails had to be on point).
The only catch was I had my monthly sister circle meeting from 4-8pm and he wanted to meet at the restaurant at around that same time. I didn't want to cancel my participation in the circle so I did promise him that I wouldn't go over time and would meet him in the village as soon as it was over (and if it wasn't, I'd still leave).

During my sista circle meeting my mother calls and asks if I was still in my meeting and I'm like yeah, we started late. She gets all agitated like well don't you have to go home to change for when you hang out with J, J and T and I say "No, what I had on earlier is what I am wearing" which I thought was dressy enough but not overdoing it since I was supposed to be "surprised." She says "you are going to wear THAT?" so now I'm getting aggravated cuz I'm thinking why in the hell is she stressing what I'm wearing but then I remember.... it's all in the plan...She wants me to be more dressed up for the big "SURPRISE"... "What I'm wearing is just fine" I say and hang up.

At exactly 8pm the sista circle was all wrapped up, I freshened up and got myself ready to leave. I just knew that my sista circle crew of which one of my best friends since 9th grade is apart of, was going to hop in a cab to make it to the restaurant where all of the engagement activities I'd envisioned would be.
I say my goodbyes to them, jump in my car, then meet J.

When we meet, he's a little annoyed cuz he says my mom called him upset that I was short on the phone with her earlier, yada yada yada so I'm getting a little pissed myself. I try to call her to ask her why she called him upset but no one answers the phone. Then it hits me again....I shouldn't be pissed because she is probably at the restaurant now...and this is another part of the "PLAN."

We arrive at the restaurant and I realize that it is the other Cafe Espanol and not the one we had our first date at (which is on Carmine Street; we were at the one on Bleeker). But I think that this "change" in location is yet another ploy to throw me off...

We walk into the restaurant and I swear everyone is in on the BIG SURPRISE. I'm smiling at everyone like I'm Ms. Universe. Everyone seems to be smiling back at me so they've got to be in on IT. We place our coats in coat check while I quickly scan the coats thinking that I'll spot a familiar coat. I don't.

We are escorted into the restaurant and I am fully expecting to be led to a back room where the party in my honor is being held. Instead of leading us to a room off the back, the hostess seats us at at table for two upfront. A TABLE FOR TWO... ?!!?#$!? I'm thinking this is wrong. Where is the BIG room with the BIG party for my BIG moment??!!!?

Even though this seating arrangement puts a little glitch in the plan in my head, I am still POSITIVE that this is yet another tactic of his to throw me off. He orders sangria for us. We toast. We drink. We talk. NO proposal. We get our appetizers. We eat. We drink some more. No family members come bumrushing the area for the PROPOSAL. We get our salads. We eat them. We drink more. Where in the hell is the ring???? We get our meals. We eat. We chat. He asks me some crazy crap about the ring I want and what he wants as his ring and I'm getting a little ticked off. If he's going to propose to me any minute why is he still talking about ring styles. It should be in his pocket, damnit! I continue to smile. I scan the restaurant. Surely the couple beside us is in on the PLAN. We finish up our meals. Ask the waiter to wrap up what's left. He's surely going to do it now... where's my family??? Where are my friends? He goes to the bathroom. Yeah Boyeeeeee he's gonna do it when he returns. He's just a little nervous. I'm cheesing. Looking all around me. He returns. Is he about to....oh no...he takes his seat and asks the waiter for the check...
what the???@#@Q!!!

Check comes. Bill is paid. Are you ready?? Well I guess the hell so.. "Sure babe i'm ready." We get our coats from the coatcheck. There's still time. We leave.

He's not going to propose to me (womp womp). He MUST have plans to do it when we go on our cruise in two weeks. Determined not to let my disappointment show. After all, he'd wonder why I had a sourpuss face, I shake it off, sure of the fact that IT will happen while we are sailing the carribbean. I plan to enjoy the rest of the evening, partying with my cousins, and then afterwards, getting pampered as he'd promised along with the good dessert, I'm sure he's whipped up.

We head uptown to Jade Terrace where we are to meet with my cousins. They are running late so J and I find a park then chill in the car for a while before heading inside the club. The music at JT is cool but the people are young and we just aren't feeling it. We are trying to hang in there for T but we are getting restless and they have not yet arrived. It's getting later and later. J is ready to go but I don't want to break out before they get there. Finally they say they are outside (after 2 hours of us waiting.. it's now after 1am) but my cousin T realizes she left her ID at home and can't get in. J is pissed because he was ready to leave a long time ago. I tell him not to be like that because then I'd get pissed and we still had my pampering to get to.

We step outside which is madness in and of itself. Everyone and their mama is trying to get into the wack ass party. We find my cousins. Take a few flicks. Have a few laughs. We even witness a minor car accident while we are chilling outside (no one was hurt.)
After a while my feet begin to ache...shoes are cute but were not made for just standing around. We say our goodbyes. We head back to Brooklyn. I can't wait for my pampering!!

When we get to his door, he unlocks it then tells me to push it open. When I do, I am in absolute awe. Red rose petals are everywhere. A mink throw covers his ottoman which also has rose petals scattered about. On the floor next to the ottoman is a bottle of champagne chillin' on ice. The tv is tuned to the r&b smooth grooves station. There is one dim light on in the corner giving the room a dreamy effect. Tea lights are resting on his baker's rack (yes, the man cooks and bakes so he has a baker's rack) waiting to be lit with two small plates and forks beside them.

I feel all mushy inside and tell him how beautiful it all is. Of course, being the camera queen that I am, I start snapping pictures. None of what he has done has me at all suspicious because he'd been telling me about pampering me and he does really sweet things like this all of the time. Truth be told, I'm hype on the foot massage I'm about to get.

I go to the bathroom to wash up and he tells me not to go into the fridge for anything. "If you need something, just tell me and I'll get it."
"No problem." I say. I figure he doesn't want me to see what it is that he's baked for me.
After I'm washed up and take a seat on the coach still admiring the scene before me and taking in the smooth r&b sounds, he asks "Are you ready for dessert or do you want the rest of the food from the restaurant?"

Being the nosy person that I am, I can't wait to see what he's baked but I'm also a little hungry...I hesitate before I reply "Dessert!"

He disappears into the kitchen saying that he has to set it up so I'm thinking he's going to bring out a dessert that he's going to light up with sparklers or something. I feel really giddy at this point wondering what dessert he's cooked up this time. He reappears holding a large white cardboard box which he places on his baker's rack.

"Come here and open it up."

I leap off the coach like a little girl on Christmas morning ready to open her gifts. I open up the box and out of the corner of my eye I see him reach for his camera. At the same time, I lay my eyes on the cake...my favorite...strawberry shortcake with luscious strawberries around the outer ring of the cake... but there are some words there... in the middle of the cake...

WILL YOU MARRY ME?

I immediately slam the top of the box down. I don't believe my eyes. I feel like I might pass out. My body begins to shake uncontrollably. I lift the box back up and begin what I suppose is every "girlfriendwho'sbeing proposedtochant"..."OHMYGOD.OHMYGOD.OHMYGOD" I keep repeating this over and over, body shaking. He's snapping pictures. He then goes into the kitchen and comes out with a small mahogony wood box. He grabs my hand then gets down on BOTH knees. I'm still shaking.

"L, I may not be able to give you much but I love you and will try to always make you happy." I am caressing his head and hugging him to my chest while he continues, "I want to spend my life with you...

Truth be told I didn't even hear him ask me to marry him. I just yelled out "YES. YES. YES... put the DAMN RING ONNNNN!!!"

He puts it on which for the life of me I don't know how he was able to since I was shaking so damn much. He gets it on. I'm hugging him. Kissing him. Then... I look at the ring. I REALLY LOOK at the ring...

OHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGOD... the mantra resumes. I fall to the ground hugging my knees.. overwhelmed with joy and love. And DAMN... "This ring is CRAAAAAAAAAAZZZZYYYYY!!!!" I yell.

I'm rolling every which way on the floor, hugging myself, hugging my knees, admiring my ring, admiring my man... my FIANCE!! I can't get back up. He reaches for my hand. I tell him to sit beside me because I don't think my legs will hold me up. But he pulls me up to him. I steady myself. We embrace. We kiss.

"We're engaged, baby!!!" I breathe into his ear. Then I pull back and look into his eyes, "Are you really ready for this?"

"I better be!" We giggle like two little kids in a schoolyard who've just given each other an innocent kiss.

I look back at the cake reading the words over and over again. I can't believe this is happening. To me!! He pops the champagne and pours us two glasses. I raise my glass to him and tell him how much I love him, how happy I am and how I cannot wait to begin this journey with him. He looks at me with this really serious expression and tells me that he forgot to say something while he was proposing.
"I just want you to know that I love your daughter very much. When people ask me if I have any kids now, I say 'Yes, I have a daughter' and it feels good to say that."

I've known for a long time that he is the man for me but those words put the icing on top of the cake, the ring, and our life.

He is truly my everything.

Let the journey begin.....