All I Ask of You

Valentine's Day is coming, and I wanted to reflect a little about valentines past. But before I do that, Feb. 11 will be here tomorrow. Feb. 11 is a special day for TH and me - it's the day he proposed to me.

We had already decided to get married, and I had told him I didn't need a proposal spectacle or an engagement ring. It was enough for me that we had found each other. He, on the other hand, decided he wanted to do it up grand. I told him that in that case, he needed to surprise me. No problem, he said. So the days come and go. January turned to February, and Valentine's Day approached. I figured he would aim for Valentine's Day, or wait till early March, when my birthday is.

We had made plans with my parents to attend a showing of "Phantom" in San Francisco on Feb. 11. We take BART into the City, go to dinner, and head to the theater. At the theater, we get our programs and Cliff and my dad head to the seats while my mom and I make one last trip to the restroom. After we get back to our seats, Cliff hands me my program and I start reading through it. I'm sifting through the slips of paper announcing which cast members are playing various parts that evening, when something catches my eye. Wait a minute - that's my name! What...How...Ohmygod, ohmygod! It says, "Will you marry me?"

I turn to Cliff, who is valiantly trying to get down on one knee, in the narrow aisles of the Curran Theater, while opening a simple ring box. The next moments are a blur - adrenaline rush; Cliff's baby-blue eyes, shining with love; my parents grinning; my mom's voice, from far away, "well? what's your answer?"; the orchestra tootling; the people in the rows around us murmuring. And then, the cool slip of a ring on my finger, glinting in the low light.

So romantic! And that was eleven years ago, tomorrow.

I would say yes again.