The Engagement, According to Wendy

Saturday, April 24, Nick was going to spend most ofthe day with his friend Dani, who'd come in from New York for the weekend. I got up early to go out and about with my friend Jeannette. We did a random drive all around the countryside until it was time for her to meet up with her grandparents. She dropped me in Cleveland Park, and I had a little lunch and went to a paint your own pottery place, and actually painted two nice-looking pieces. I called home to see if Nick was back yet, and he wasn't, so I left a message saying that I was walking home.

It was a beautiful sunny day, and I ambled home...took about 45 minutes. Stopped at the grocery store for a fruit cup, bought "Dream for an Insomniac" at the video store, along with a gift certificate for Nick's brother's birthday. Nick still wasn't home. Anywho, I kicked back with a book and generally had a nice little relaxing afternoon.

Nick called at 6:00 and said he was in Georgetown, would I like to join him for a movie? I wasn't motivated to get up, and I had just bought a movie, so he headed homeward.

By about a quarter to seven, Nick was home, and he brought out all the goodies he had bought to share with Dani -- they'd left the apartment right away and not hung around to eat the nibblies he'd bought for the occasion. So, we're munching on hummus and pita, Provencal olives, sheep's cheese soaked in wine, really nice stuff. Also, we cracked open a Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand. We cuddled up, talked about our days, watched a little tv, and just had a wonderful, relaxing evening.

Maybe a little TOO relaxing. The bottle was done, the mood was warm, and I blurted out the thing that no woman is ever supposed to blurt out to her beau:

"I want to be your wife."

Nick turned to me, eyes bugging out, jaw dropped.

"I think we're good together." Then, I realized what I'd said. "Oh, cr**," I thought. "Oh, cr**! I just scared him. Sh**!"

Then, the phone rang. I got up to answer the phone, leaving Nick, looking like I'd just shown him his own death, sitting on the couch. It was our friend Rachel, inquiring as to why I wasn't at the barbeque I was supposed to be at. "Nick came home, and looked too cute, and I flaked, Rach, I'm sorry," I said. Rachel seemed very understanding, thankfully, and got off the phone with me after I assured her I wouldn't flake next time.

I went back into the living room, and Nick was sitting on the table, wound tighter than any spring I've ever seen.

"I'm so sorry, Nick. I didn't mean to freak you out."

"It's okay," he said, looking like it was anything BUT okay.

We got back to the couch, but the warm comfort of the moment was gone. He was still bug-eyed and tense, I was still thinking "oh, cr*p," and I started rubbing his knee. "Really, I didn't mean to freak you out. Just forget it, okay?" Right about this point, my head is filled with images of Nick leaving me, of me having shattered all we had together.

Nick got up and went to the kitchen.

He was in the kitchen for a long, long time.

"Oh, cr*p," I thought.

Finally, I heard him call from the kitchen. "Close your eyes."

I sighed in relief, because this is one of our little rituals. He goes into the kitchen for a little nibble, he calls out for me to close my eyes, and then he comes in and pops a little something into my mouth.

I closed my eyes, and opened my mouth. I expected he'd be bringing me an olive, a piece of chocolate...something nice.

He walked toward me, pulled my right hand out, and put a box in my hand. "Open your eyes," he said.

I opened my eyes. There was a green leather ring box in my hand. I stared at it.

"Open it," he said.

I opened it. A ring stared up at me. I stared down at the ring. Then, I stared up at Nick. Back to the ring,back to Nick.

"Wait a minute!" Nick knelt down on one knee, and took the ring.

"Will you marry me?"

I smiled, nodded, and said "Yes."

The Engagement Story, According To Nick

Sometime mid-winter, I had begun to consider my relationship with Wendy.We were in no hurry to get married or even engaged. But I started thinking in the opposite direction--is there any reason you're not engaged already?The answer, of course, was no.

So, like a good researcher, I started examining my options for a ring worthy of ending such a protracted courtship. I got a book on buying diamonds from the Smithsonian, started surfing the web, and dropping by jewelry stores to see what was there to see. Of course, it didn't take Wendy long to realize that something was afoot. I am one of the least discrete people I know!

Still, it was only right that Wendy participate in some aspect of the shopping. And in an effort to determine what kinds of rings she fancied,we took a "sightseeing excursion" to I. Gorman, a ritzy place near my office. At the store, Wendy tried on all sorts of rings, but fell in love with one in particular by international design superstar Whitney Boin. The ring was beautiful, and expensive. The setting alone was my whole budget! Despondent, I shelved the whole project for weeks.

Wendy, who never saw any of the price tags (classy store!), kinda figured the ring was out of my league and tried to make me feel better by suggesting that when and if I make such a purchase, a simple solitaire would make her very happy. Feeling a little better, I started looking at diamonds.

Now at this point, my intention was to research for a long time and buy a stone in New York in the autumn. My research plan was going to take me to most of the stores patronized by my recently married friends. It didn't take me long to get a feel for fair prices and well cut stones, though. Also, I got approved for a loan really quickly. The combination of having most research complete and money sitting in my savings account didn't bode well for waiting.

My friend Kathy drove me to Charleston Alexander one day and I fell in love with a diamond. It was a spectacular cut and it sparkled just the right way. I decided to buy the stone and keep looking for settings right then.

Sidney the salesperson, however, dropped a bomb on me. "We've been dying to find a customer who wants that Boin setting. We can do something very similar in white gold and platinum within your budget." Sold!

Just two weeks later, I lied to Wendy about seeing another store and had a different friend, Jen, drive me to pick it up. Things were moving too fast! Now I had a ring months before I planned to buy it and I had no plan to ask Wendy to marry me! I enlisted the help of my office-mates to generate options:

• fly to England and surprise her on a castle wall when she goes there on vacation;
• have a picnic on the Mall and ask at the Lincoln Memorial;
• ask at a snooty restaurant;
• re-enact our first date and ask her in front of the Chevy Chase Circle fountain; and
• wait until our anniversary in October.

I chose the picnic for the asking and made a reservation at the fabulous Gerard's Place restaurant for the evening of May 10. I thought if I asked after lunch, that would give Wendy about six hours for the shock to wear off, make phone calls, and get dressed up for dinner. Ah, the best laid plans...

It actually happened on April 24, and it was my ex-girlfriend Dani's fault. I had brought the ring home from my office to the apartment because Dani was in town from New York and wanted to see it. Dani and I spent the day walking around Georgetown and Arlington, but I never forgot that the ring was back at home, in my backpack.

That evening, Wendy and I were sitting on the newly clean apartment eating fruit, cheese, crackers and a damn fine New Zealand Sauvingnon Blanc. And she said to me, "we're good for each other, I want to get married." And soI start thinking she's on to me and I guess I started to look a little panic-filled. Wendy apologizes for freaking me out, assures me that whenever we are ready it will happen, and dissapears into the other room for about fifteen minutes.

Comes back and I'm still sitting there with a blank expression on my face.I was really trying to steel myself against a temptation to get the ring because I had this nice plan all worked out. But it seems that myself-control limit is only one month long for secrets.

I go into the kitchen for a few minutes to get a hold of myself and face the question--do I go with the moment, or the plan?

I went with the moment. I'm engaged. We're thinking October 14, 2000.

P.S. We still kept the dinner reservation.

Wendy's Version

Wendy's Description of the Ring

The band is white gold, the setting is platinum. From the scan you can see the basic profile of the ring: almost a full circle of white gold, and, where the circle breaks, it supports a U of platinum. The tops of the U support a diamond, with some additional help from a narrow circle of platinum right under the stone's girdle.

From the top, it looks like two narrow rings put together, and the diamond appears to be floating between two posts (the tops of the U).

It's beautiful!

Back to Wendy's Version