About the Proposal
Friday, August 8, 2003, was a very good day. After three months of job hunting in Colorado, Julie finally had a promising interview. The company loved her and asked when she could start; her placement company gave her the good news less than two hours later. So, to celebrate, Jason took her to dinner at the Melting Pot in Louisville. He had even called ahead to make sure they put flowers on the table.
Julie knew the proposal was coming; she just didn't know when. Jason had been trying for months to buy the ring online - Julie had designed her "dream" ring at BlueNile.com - but he didn't want to spoil the surprise and have the ring shipped to their apartment. Unfortunately, his credit card company wouldn't let him add a second shipping address to his card. So, frustrated by the system and emboldened after two pairs of friends got engaged within a week of each other, he caved in and ordered the ring. Julie saw it arrive the morning of the 8th, but Jason whisked it into the bedroom and hid it before driving her to her job interview.
The only slot available at the Melting Pot was for 9 p.m. Jason considered going out another night, but Julie wanted to celebrate her newfound employment. So at around 8, they got all gussied up and headed out. They had scoped out the pricey menu ahead of time and knew what they wanted, but at the last minute Jason changed his mind and ordered Dinner for Two, a romantic four-course meal costing as much as five of their regular nights on the town. The cheese course was first, then salad, and by the time the main course arrived they were stuffed. But, knowing how much the food cost, they stuffed it down and managed to save room for the chocolate course.
As they walked back to the car, Jason suggested stopping at a park nearby to go for a walk. But as they drove around there was no park to be found. So Jason steered the car back toward their apartment. At the last minute he changed course, taking a different, longer route home. He turned into the Interlocken complex, weaving past the walking and bike paths before pulling into the Central Park parking lot. He got out of the car; Julie started to follow him but he told her to stay put and ran around to her side of the car. When she turned to face him, he was down on one knee and had pulled a small wooden box of out of his pocket. Julie started to cry as he told her how much he loved her and how much he looked forward to spending his life with her. She kept nodding and trying to interrupt his speech so she could say "yes." Then he started to cry as he asked her to marry him, and when she said "yes!" he gently slipped the ring onto her finger. Then he hopped back in the car and they rushed to the apartment to call his parents (it was after midnight in Texas and Julie's mom was dead asleep; she called her the next morning).
