The Story

Foreword:
Jacob and I had committed to getting married before the ring, so I expected him to just give me the ring when it came. The whole idea behind a proposal is you propose the idea of being married to your significant other. Which Jacob and I had already done. So really the only part missing was the ring. Give me that and I'm fine. No need for a big hullabaloo!
"But there has to be a story! People are going to ask what the story is!!! You can't just say, 'Oh, he just gave it to me'!"
(Jacob hasn't come to see yet how I can make the arrival of UPS a thrilling tale indeed (especially when the USPS comes first bearing false hope and devastation))
But he insisted. So now, my dear friends, I have for you a story.

Chapter One:
Errands in the morning, class, immediately followed by a lunch meeting. I was ready for nap time. But this was Date Night and we had plans to go to the Botanical Gardens. So walking back to the House of Awesome, where I live, (no really, that's what they call it and what it is known as), I asked when we'd be leaving. "I think we'll go to the Gardens after dinner..." he said.
After dinner? Who goes to the Botantical Gardens after dinner? Well I guess the sun doesn't set til 8 ish... ok... Score! Nap time!
"Well, then I guess we should go our separate ways for now?" I asked. We exchanged our goodbyes and went home.

Chapter Two:
At 3:30, I was awoken from my nap by the light buzzing of my cell phone. "The Botanical Gardens closes at 5. We need to go now if we want to make it"
"OK" I groggily typed.
After waking up a bit more fully, I realized we wouldn't even have an hour at the Gardens, so I suggested to Jacob we save our tickets for another day, because we might not see everything we want to see in such a short time. Jacob replied, "If there's something you don't get a chance to see, I'll take you back."
It was a nice firm, don't-argue-with-me answer. I like such answers. Firm. I reward firm answers with not arguing (...sometimes).
In the car and on our way, we find that crazy thing that happens happening to us. You're on a four lane interstate where the speed limit is 70 and there's no construction or accidents and yet EVERYONE is STOPPED!
Jacob's frustrated because we are totally NOT getting there in time and I'm frustrated because we're in rush hour traffic and Jacob's not an assertive driver (some call it aggressive, I call it assertive!) which, in Dallas, is a requirement for driving. They even test for it when distributing licenses! (not really. that was an exaggeration.)
But the chapter ends with much frustration.

Chapter Three:
So instead of the Gardens, we decide to go the nice little Italian restaurant Jacob found on the internet. (If red flags aren't going up, they should be). Lover's Pizza and Pasta on Lovers Ln. The picture in my head is a place with ambient lighting, reds and purples for decor, a portrait of Lady and the Tramp eating spaghetti on the wall. Not the dingy dirty little joint we found ourselves in. I, however, was having a delightful time as I composed the article I would've written on this place should I have been a restaurant critic instead of a Bible Translator.
After dinner, we found a place to hang out and play cards, where we stayed for two hours.
We tried to find something else to do but eventually gave up and went back to the House of Awesome to watch an episode of Fringe (a TV series I highly recommend).

Chapter Four:
After an episode, I asked Jacob if he'd like to watch another, or go home as it was getting a little late.
"Walk me outside," he replied.
And when we found ourselves on the doorstep, Jacob pulled a red, leather-bound book with gold filigree from his bag. The cover read Our Story Begins. Down on one knee, he opened the hollowed out book to reveal my diamond ring.
I said yes!