On Labor Day, Kurt and I got up late, around 10am, as per our usual on the weekends. Throughout most of the day, I was just feeling rather blah, a sentiment shared by Kurt and also my neighbors downstairs. John suggested it was the weather. I'm not quite sure why he thought it was the weather because it was nice and warm and sunny. Lovely weather.
John and Rose invited us to the pool with them and Royall, but when we got there the water was green. The pool had been closed for a good part of the week due to the greenness of the water, but the funny thing is the chemicals check out fine according to the lifeguard. Just too much algae in the pool. Maybe the complex's pool party did the pool in -- maybe too many people peed in the pool. At any rate we were restricted to the shallow end since Lee couldn't see to the bottom of the deep end, and that didn't really entice me to want to dip into the water. Rose and I sat on the stairs just getting our feet wet and watched Royall and Nick romp around. There was just one other family there -- not enough people to make just sitting at the pool enjoyable.
Kurt and John went back to the apartment because Kurt got it into his head that the truck needed to be washed and it needed to be washed NOW, and after about ten minutes without them I decided it was a bit too cold anyhow (80 degrees in just a slightly damp bathing suit... brrr) and went back.
Kurt had told me he was taking me out to dinner that night, but I wasn't allowed to speculate where or why. So I just prettied myself up -- put on a dress, heels, and did my hair and makeup just so. He told me I looked beautiful. :o)
We left for dinner, and Kurt took me to the Renaissance Hotel here in Portsmouth, just on the Elizabeth River. It's quite a fancy hotel, and the restaurant inside was extremely nice. The prices were a bit high, but Kurt told me I could get whatever I wanted to. So I did. Stuffed shrimp -- colossal shrimp stuffed with crab meat. YUM!! And a glass of merlot, because the waitress said merlot goes with shrimp. I know nothing about these things. Kurt had Pepsi (he's so sophisticated *wink*) and a tuna steak with crab imperial. Double YUM!! I almost stole his dinner from him!!!
After dinner we went walking along the shore of the Elizabeth River, and it was just that time of night where the lights have come up but you can still see quite well, and the sun has just gone down. The lights of Waterside in Norfolk twinkled on the water while the ferry plied the waters of the river. He led me to a bench from which you could see Naval Regional Medical Center, Portsmouth, where my mother gave birth to me twenty-two and a half years ago.
And while I was sitting on that bench, Kurt slipped down onto one knee and asked me if I would marry him. Of course!!!
He showed me the ring, while I was still crying, and error messages went off in my brain -- it wasn't the ring I was expecting, and it was in a Marks & Morgan's box. Our "personal" jeweler, John, hasn't worked for them since April!! My ring was supposed to come from Kay's!
But... His mother knew we couldn't really afford a ring right now, so she sent her engagement ring that she couldn't wear anyhow.
Once he told me that I just started crying even more. That I've been that accepted into his family... it means so much to me. Plus she tells us it's mine forever, and it's such a gorgeous ring!! A diamond solitaire with a white gold band, but two small leaves of yellow gold twine up from the band on either side to flank the solitaire.
The sneaky little devil!! He's had the ring since his parents sent him a box of goodies back in April. And I was pawing through the box with him the day he got it, but apparently I turned away for just a second and he grabbed the ring out. Such a sneaky one.
My future husband...
:o)