The Engagement
By Staci
Our engagement was several months in the making. Several months ago, we started seriously discussing marriage and even went as far as having my finger sized for a ring. It was then decided that we would “forget about it” for a while. Hardly.
Fast forward a few months to June 2006. We had both managed to schedule the same day off in the middle of the week on the 28th. We had been wanting to visit the Virginia Marine Science Museum in Virginia Beach for a while, having heard that there was a shark exhibit as well as a 3D shark movie showing at the IMAX theater there, so we decided that would be the day.
As many of you may know, I was very ill and in the hospital the week before that. I was pretty glum about my health but Benjamin insisted that we go ahead with our plans. “No hospitalization is gonna stop us!” he proclaimed. So to Virginia Beach we went.
Once there, we pondered what to do first. Benjamin quickly suggested saving the sharks for last, as they would clearly be the highlight of the day. I thought that sounded like a good idea. So we spent the day exploring all the other exhibits and walking along the nature trail. When we finally got to the shark exhibit, we were a bit overwhelmed by the number of people there. Far too many screaming children for us to stick around long.
We headed over to the IMAX theater for our shark movie only to find that it was delayed nearly an hour. By this point, we were both tired and had seen all that was to be seen. I just wanted to sit in the air conditioning, but Benjamin insisted we go back outside to the nature trail, where it was quieter. He had a point. He took great care in choosing the perfect bench, away from crowds and screaming childfolk. We sat quietly for a few moments until Benjamin muttered that he needed to ask me something. It sounded serious. I was mildly concerned. He explained that he had planned it differently, that it was supposed to be in front of the sharks, but there were just too many children around and that just wouldn’t do. I realized what was happening. He apologized for being nervous and I told him not to be. He finally took a deep breath, fished in his bag for something, and pulled out a small jewelry box. He opened the box and asked, “Will you marry me?”
I think you know the answer.