The Last Journey Taken Alone

After asking my girlfriend’s father for his daughter’s hand in marriage during the Christmas holidays, I started thinking about how I wanted to propose.  During the previous months of dating I had been taking note of places which I felt were ideal for a proposal.  I knew the date I wanted to propose and had a general idea of what I wanted to do but the location had not been established until my godparents made a visit to the area.  My godmother, a horticulturalist, asked about the arboretum at the local university and after directing her there I started researching the garden out of curiosity.  After some searching I saw several pictures which peaked my interest.  When my godparents departed I made a visit to the arboretum and found the perfect location for the proposal – the Japanese Garden – it is a hidden gem in the city.  The plan became clear as I strolled around the park.
At the same time, I was communicating via email with my girlfriend’s father trying to determine my girlfriend’s ring size.  She does not wear a lot of jewelry so I could not ‘borrow’ a sample ring and even careful questioning failed to determine her ring size.  Even without the ring size I started the search to find the ideal ring and diamond.  I began the search online and the options seemed overwhelming but I did have a general idea of what I wanted.  My parents recommended I contact a family jeweler and after searching their website I found a few settings that I liked.  I went to a local jeweler to see the settings in person and after choosing the setting I liked I had my parents look at the same setting at the family jeweler.  When my girlfriend’s father came back with a ring size the jeweler coordinated receiving the diamond I had chosen and having it placed in the setting I selected.  Inside the ring I had our initials engraved.  The jeweler generously agreed to hold onto the ring until a few weeks before the proposal.
With the ring essentially done and a plan in mind I began the steps to making the special moment come to life.  One thing I knew is that I wanted to capture the moment forever.  As irony would have it my girlfriend’s best friend’s husband is a semi-professional photographer.  After contacting him on Facebook he immediately agreed and I explained what I was thinking. Due to the unpredictable weather of the area during the winter he encouraged me to have a backup plan inside.  It was difficult to find a place that matched the natural beauty of the Japanese garden but I came up with a modest backup.
The ring arrived at a neighbor’s house and I hid it in the house until the day of the proposal.  As the date approached it became obvious her family and friends were tracking key days attempting to guess the date.  For my part, I remained stoic and even joked about what type of ring she wanted.  I invited family and friends over for dinner to celebrate the anniversary of our first date (and the date of the proposal unbeknownst to them).  On the night before I told my girlfriend that I needed to help a friend move the next morning.  After a restless night’s sleep, I woke up early to rain which worried me as I did not want to have to go with the backup plan.  I waited until the hour before and departed (with a full suit, electric razor, shoes and the ring in the trunk) to ‘help my friend move.’  When I arrived at the Japanese garden the rain slowed to a light mist which was a great relief.  I paid the garden attendant in advance for everyone and let her know what was going to be happening in an hour.  Then I met up with the photographer and we established where I was going to propose and where he was going to stand.  Due to the mist there was almost no one at the garden – we were going to have the garden to ourselves.
Back at the house I had my friends call my girlfriend and tell her that we were going to pick her up after moving the furniture and go for a hike but they convinced me to change the story to a brunch so that she would be dressed nicer.  Forty-five minutes later a chauffeur arrived at the door to pick up my girlfriend.  Even though I had spelled out the plan to the valet company they neglected to pass the information to the chauffer.  Apparently the chauffer (a man of shorter stature) came to the door and said, “Are we going to go?”  My girlfriend called my friends and asked if she was supposed to get in the car.  My friends told her this was one strange car that she definitely wanted to get into.  My girlfriend figured that she could “take him if need be” and got in the car.  The chauffer escorted my girlfriend to the garden entrance where the attendant gave her some simple instructions on where to go (and congratulated her – it is hard to find good help).  My nerves did not appear until I saw her walking along the wooded path of the garden towards me.  We exchanged smiles as she approached and we met on a small wooden bridge over a koi pond where I was waiting for her dressed in my suit.  I told her that I wanted her trip here to be the last one that she has to take alone and that I love but her alone.  Then I dropped to one knee and asked if she would marry me.  She said yes (actually said ‘of course’).  And as planned the photographer captured everything.
We walked around the garden then returned to town and had a nice quiet lunch.  That night we celebrated our anniversary of our first date as well as our engagement with family and friends.

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