A ring in Thailand
So that morning we told each other our dreams - I dreamt of stealing a pickup truck and trying in vain to return it, she dreamt of going to a party in a towel. The typical dreamculprits. After a full English breakfast (fresh squeezed mandarin juice!), we walked to the beach and swung on beach swings, ones fashioned from a single plank held by knotty nautical ropes thick as my forearm, and we took turns pushing each other in 30 foot arcs far out above the surf. And as much as the beach sand exfoiliated our feet, we needed a bit more work, and so ordered four hours of spa bliss: One hour of herbal steam sauna followed by a honey & tamarind body scrub, followed by an aroma therapy masssage. We were so hungry afterwards that only three crabs and a spicy papaya salad could fill us (oh, and to wash it down, blue hawaiian and vodka tonic).
This is the point that she told me it was the most romantic day of her life. Oh, and she mentioned something about that I was the perfect guy and I told her she was my dream woman. But alas, the wind was bowing the palm trees diagonally and the monsoon rain came down in slates, and since I had wanted to ask her on the beach I decided to put it off until tomorrow.
So we went to bed and I plotted, praying for sunny skies that would serve as a metaphor for our future.
(Ps. She thought that since I hadn't asked her that day, that I wasn't planning to do it on the trip, and grudgingly settled herself down for a wait until we got back)
The morning arrived, as did the sun. We collected shells on the beach - four to five inch whorled shells that tapered to a fine point. After a fine Thai lunch, I read her a long list of reasons why I loved her, reasons I had been writing all trip long. She cried. Then we took a long walk on our beach, past the few tourists, toward the end where the sand gave way to rocky cliffs. When we were alone on the white sands beach, I told her that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her and then dropped to a knee.
Amber: "Oh my gosh, oh no you're not."
Me: (Breaking out ring) "Will you marry me?"
Amber: "Oh my gosh, I can't believe how big it is."
Me: "Is that a yes?"
Amber: "Yes, yes, of course yes!"
Then this cute elderly Irish couple with long white hair (who were travelling for three years!) came down the beach jokingly shielding their eyes because we were making out so much. "Hey, we just got engaged," I told them. So they hugged and kissed and congradulated us, then we all took pictures together.
We took a taxi back to our resort where the top conceirge was in on my plan, and she hugged and kissed Amber too, then (according to my well-laid plan) broke out margaritas, a gigantic chocolate cake with two candles and a huge bouquet.
While we ate cake, I read her an essay I wrote about asking her father for permission to marry her, in which he spoke in glowing terms about his wonderful daughter. She cried again.
Dinner of a head-to-tail Seabass followed, accompanied by margaritas, and running on margarita fuel we phoned our parents and told them the wonderful news.
The End: We lived happily ever after
ps. Wedding in late December perhaps? Wonderful future to follow?
This is the point that she told me it was the most romantic day of her life. Oh, and she mentioned something about that I was the perfect guy and I told her she was my dream woman. But alas, the wind was bowing the palm trees diagonally and the monsoon rain came down in slates, and since I had wanted to ask her on the beach I decided to put it off until tomorrow.
So we went to bed and I plotted, praying for sunny skies that would serve as a metaphor for our future.
(Ps. She thought that since I hadn't asked her that day, that I wasn't planning to do it on the trip, and grudgingly settled herself down for a wait until we got back)
The morning arrived, as did the sun. We collected shells on the beach - four to five inch whorled shells that tapered to a fine point. After a fine Thai lunch, I read her a long list of reasons why I loved her, reasons I had been writing all trip long. She cried. Then we took a long walk on our beach, past the few tourists, toward the end where the sand gave way to rocky cliffs. When we were alone on the white sands beach, I told her that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her and then dropped to a knee.
Amber: "Oh my gosh, oh no you're not."
Me: (Breaking out ring) "Will you marry me?"
Amber: "Oh my gosh, I can't believe how big it is."
Me: "Is that a yes?"
Amber: "Yes, yes, of course yes!"
Then this cute elderly Irish couple with long white hair (who were travelling for three years!) came down the beach jokingly shielding their eyes because we were making out so much. "Hey, we just got engaged," I told them. So they hugged and kissed and congradulated us, then we all took pictures together.
We took a taxi back to our resort where the top conceirge was in on my plan, and she hugged and kissed Amber too, then (according to my well-laid plan) broke out margaritas, a gigantic chocolate cake with two candles and a huge bouquet.
While we ate cake, I read her an essay I wrote about asking her father for permission to marry her, in which he spoke in glowing terms about his wonderful daughter. She cried again.
Dinner of a head-to-tail Seabass followed, accompanied by margaritas, and running on margarita fuel we phoned our parents and told them the wonderful news.
The End: We lived happily ever after
ps. Wedding in late December perhaps? Wonderful future to follow?