Engagement
From Ginger's Perspective
So how did it happen? What did Neil do? I'll happily tell you.
It was Friday, November 1, 2002 and I was on my way to my car after work. When I got there, there was a rose and a card on my dashboard! I wondered if this was the beginning of more, or if it was just something cool. Neil has a key both to my car and my apartment in case of any emergencies. I drove home anxiously, opened my door, and saw my kitchen table, fully set (including my Eiffel Tower bowls) with more roses on it. There was a locked canister with a note I couldn't read inside next to an apple pie Neil had baked. After I realized Neil wasn't in the apartment, I opened the card on the table next to the roses. The card was the same theme as the one that had been on my dash, but this one had a little something extra. It had a clue. It took me some time to figure it out, but I realized I was supposed to look under the apple pie Neil had baked. That led me to another clue, then another, and another until I found a large box in the pantry next to my cereal.
I opened the box, to find another box, and another, and another until I did indeed get to a red velvet ring box. I was so excited! I opened the box, and there was a ring, but it was a ring of paper. On it was printed a website address. It was part of Neil's personal website, as Neil builds websites for a living. I got on my computer and Neil had set it up to automatically bring up Notepad which instructed me that I could launch my Internet Explorer offline. My internet connection is about as predictable as Texas weather, so Neil had to make it easier for me.
Explorer brought up his site, but to a different page than his home page. It brought up my favorite picture of us, a black and white one our friends took down at Turtle Creek. It reminds me of Europe. That's why I like it so much. There were words on top of the image which said, I have your father's blessing, I have the ring, now all I need….. I clicked on the arrow which brought up a royal blue background with two Fleur de Lis. In between the Fleur de Lis was a flashing phone number. I'd never seen that number before in my life. But hey, obviously I was supposed to call it! So I did.
The phone rang and rang and rang. I thought, what if someone answers and doesn't have a clue about this? What would I say? Uh, ya, hi, I found this number on the internet? Finally, I heard my door lock being turned. I opened the door, and there he was, Neil with another rose in his hand. He walked in, said some loving words, (I'm sure they were loving, I just don't know what they were!), and asked me to marry him. "Absolutely", was my reply.
Turns out, the phone number was to Neil's new cell phone, which I didn't know he had gotten. Neil proceeded to make dinner, which he had stashed away in my fridge. Chicken and pasta with homemade alfredo sauce, salad, the works. But I was too excited to eat! We talked for a long time that evening. What a fabulous time!
