At the conclusion of our first date, Mike bid farewell with a promise to call, and he did not disappoint! The phone rang the next day, and our second date was planned for only three days after the first. He introduced me to his favorite pizza place, where I paid the tab because his debit card was confiscated by the ATM on our way to dinner. We then searched the mall for a wedding gift for my brother and his new bride, but Sears rejected Mike’s payment method and the gift was placed back on the shelf.
Knowing Mike’s character is above reproach, I was neither apprehensive nor bothered. Of course, those anomalies were not the impression he wanted to make on a second date. Therefore, it was necessary to follow up quickly with a third, which then sealed our exclusive commitment to one another. From that point on, we were practically inseparable, if not in each other’s presence, at least on one another’s mind.
We took advantage of our close proximity as Mike finished his last few weeks of college before graduating. In addition to official “dates”, we also shared together the normal customs of work, school, church, hobbies, and family gatherings. I first met Mike’s parents, missionaries in Rome, Italy, when they came to America for his graduation.
Following graduation, our relationship became long distance by about forty-five miles while I was home for the summer break and he worked as a deputy sheriff in our college town. We no longer saw one another daily, but still communicated and dated regularly.
As the summer drew to a conclusion, Mike made a special visit to have lunch with my dad, from whom he received permission to ask for my hand in marriage. With a five month stint of military training approaching, Mike wanted to take advantage of the opportunity he had to speak with my dad even though he had not yet finalized his plans for proposing to me.
As autumn approached, I returned to college and was back in town with Mike, who would be leaving in a few weeks for those five months of Army Officer’s Basic Course in Alabama. We continued having special dates and outings between our school and work obligations.
The beautiful fall weather convinced us to hike to the top of a nearby mountain. I volunteered to provide the food for our picnic on Table Rock and began reserving chips, crackers, and other snacks from my campus lunches.
Mike picked me up for the hike early on a Saturday morning and added to our packed lunch his contribution of fortune cookies from a previous meal with co-workers. “How sweet!” I thought. Fortune cookies are not a typical picnic item, but he had our date on his mind while dining with friends. I was flattered!
After stopping by Bojangles to pick up our main dish of chicken, we drove to the mountain and began our hike. About two hours later, we reached the peak and spread out the blanket to have lunch. The simple, but bountiful meal was scrumptious following the arduous climb. After taking my last bite, I laid down and stretched out to rest my exhausted legs and aching back in preparation for the descent.
It was then that Mike reminded me of the fortune cookies. In fact, he wanted me to sit back up to eat them. I cringed at the idea of moving my weary body and insisted on reading my fortune lying down. (I’m sorry, Mike!) He relented and passed me a cookie.
Had I known what was coming, I would have complied and sat up, but Mike really did surprise me. Although we had talked of marriage (and hikers passing back by told us they had predicted the upcoming question), a proposal was not currently on my mind.
However, as I cracked my cookie and unfolded my “fortune”, an excited feeling stirred within me. Mike was already bending on one knee before me, but I was too absorbed in reading those words on that tiny slip of paper to notice his posture.
“Alison, will you marry me?”
I looked up at the sound of the question on the paper being spoken by Mike, who held a box with a beautiful diamond ring before me.
Is there any doubt to how I answered? Eighteen years ago today, the most important word out of my mouth was a relatively simple and effortless one:
YES!
“Entreat me not to leave you, or to turn back from following you; for wherever you go, I will go….” Ruth 1:16a
(To read the post written in March about the details leading up to our first date, click "March" on the "Blog Archive" sidebar to the right.)
2 comments:
Love it! I just posted a story about weddings and dates, too, but yours definitely wins. Lol.
Love it! Your writing is amazing! :)
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