Once Upon a Time Part Six

(Due to insistence by family and friends to "finish the fairy tale, already!" I write this post. :-) )

I couldn't believe it... after many years of waiting and never having a "boyfriend", I suddenly was engaged-- to my best guy friend!  I wouldn't have had it any other way, though.

As I said, we were engaged on February 25, 2008, but without a ring or a proposal.  

In the fall, after he had just moved to Missouri, Jonathan had said, "Oh, Chanda Panda, you should come visit me in the spring!"  So, even before all of the other "romance" had started, I had "unofficially" figured I would go to Missouri in the spring.  So, we planned that I would come and visit in April.  After our engagement in February we settled on a wedding date-- January 3, 2009 in our home state.

April finally came, and (after recovering from a VERY long influenza bout) my car (Blueberry) and I headed to Missouri together.  

I spent the week working in the Spanish Mailbox Club, which was a real treat!  Then in the evenings Jonathan and I would talk and, in general, adjust to the idea of being together in person instead of him "living" in my phone. :-)  We also had a chance to hang out with some of the Institute students who were still on campus.

He had promised me that there would be "surprises" when I visited in April... but the week was almost over, and I hadn't seen any "surprises."  We went to the CMI banquet and graduation together, but still no surprises.

However, he had told me not to eat supper at CEF on Friday night and he told me to wait in my room at the Volunteer Lodge and not come out until he called me.  Uhhh... okay.

So he "disappeared" somewhere for about 20 minutes and then called me to say that I needed to come out and get in the car.  Uhhh... okay.

I got in the car... still, nothing out of the ordinary.  So, we started driving, and because he took back-roads, I wasn't sure where we were going.  I was a LITTLE concerned when he went the wrong way on the freeway entrance ramp. :-)  (He denied being nervous, but I'm not convinced. :-) ).

So, after driving for about a 1/2 hour we ended up at Stefanina's, an Italian restaurant.  We had a very nice meal there (and I must admit I was thinking, "He wouldn't propose here... would he??  Surely not!!"  I wasn't keen on the idea of a restaurant proposal. :-) ).

So, after dinner we got in the car and drove.  And drove. And drove some more.  They were all backroads and I was so turned around I was beginning to think we were lost.  However, his quiet, nonchalant attitude told me that we weren't lost-- but that he certainly wasn't going to reveal where we were going.

To add to the randomness, he suddenly went to a Dairy Queen that appeared out of nowhere.  He handed me some change and told me to get some ice cream.  WHAT????  (It turned out later that he needed to stop for a very practical reason-- to go to the bathroom-- and I was thankful, because I had the same need!  Both of us were too shy to actually admit that.)

After that rather bizarre detour (you can imagine my confusion at this point), we drove a little more and ended up at a big white building with a big sign that said, "Ashley Community Center."  He said, "Ashley Chanda, welcome to Ashley, Missouri."  A town in Missouri named after me-- how nice!  So, he parked the car in the parking lot, told me to stay in the car, and then fiddled in the trunk for a few minutes.  My car door was open, so he came around to my side of the car, handed me 3 red roses (to say, "I love you") got down on one knee and slipped a paper object on my left ring finger.  

And then... he finally popped the question!!  "Ashley Chanda, will you marry me?"  

"Well... I thought you'd never ask-- YES!"

And then he explained that the paper ring was actually 5 one-hundred dollar bills that we were going to "trade in" the next day for a real engagement ring that I was going to pick out myself.  It was a wonderful evening... and a perfect proposal. :-)

So, the next day we went to the jeweler and I picked out my perfect ring (which they made that day, since I was leaving for Wisconsin the next day).

Then, I had to say goodbye to my sweetie... but in a few more months I would be living in Missouri, working at Child Evangelism Fellowship with him (totally a God-thing!) and getting ready to be married (which is another chapter all together which I will share at another time).

And they lived happily ever after. :-)