Laowai

Hmmm how did the conversation start? Oh right – Brian gave me a bracelet for Christmas. He bought it at the Jewelry store near our house. The one where I always peak in the window at the pretty jewelry while waiting for the light to change. He was telling me how picking out the bracelet was surprisingly easy and they were very helpful. I thought, of course it was super easy, they want to sell you some jewelry, they know all about jewelry and even though I’ve never gone inside I suspect they are nice and helpful bunch in there. Anyway we were on a walk while we talked, it was New Year’s Eve and he started comparing his experience to when he bought my engagement ring. Apparently I owe my getting married to Pete Vert (one of Brian’s co-workers back at Dow Corning). I guess Pete had been telling Brian that he had a ton of knowledge about diamonds after buying an engagement ring himself and he felt he needed to share this vast knowledge. So, and this seems so strange, Pete and Brian went to the jewelry store on their lunch hour. Pete Vert is a deer hunting, bar frequenting guy who grew up in the U.P. Going to a jewelry store with a friend is not something I picture him or Brian doing. I asked Brian in a hopeful way “but had you been thinking of asking me to marry you before you decided to learn about diamonds from Pete on that day right?” He replied “not really”. He knew we would be together forever and get married eventually but he really hadn’t been contemplating it. So they go to the jewelry store and he casually decided to buy an engagement ring for me. It’s hard for me to believe that it’s so unromantic. Even though I know how Brian operates and he is romantic and loving in other ways my jaw still dropped when he was telling me this stuff. “But when did you know when you wanted to marry me then” I asked. He said he probably decided he was ready to marry me when I had been spouting off about how I didn’t want a big wedding and that I wouldn’t let myself get sucked into the whole wedding industry must have stuff. I can’t help wanting the story to be different – you know something like Brian’s love for me had been growing and he carefully plotted our special engagement. But on the other hand this story makes me love him all the more – because I love who he is and it’s so him.

So he engaged me on Christmas Eve. It was after we came home from having Christmas at Mom and Dad’s. We opened our presents to each other in front of the fire and the ring was inside the last one I opened. He put the ring inside a little book about Chicago Architecture (we didn’t know we would be moving to Chicago a couple years later – we just liked Chicago and thought about it often). He told me two things: he said he had loved me a long time and he liked our life together. So it ended up being a great surprise and it makes a beautiful memory. I think of it every Christmas Eve.

Here we are on our walk to the beach on New Year’s Eve: