Useful to know: By 2010, Bryan and I had both graduated. He was living with his parents in Ohio, and I had just moved into an apartment near the Eastern Michigan campus.
It was Friday, April 16, 2010, and my roommate, Danielle, and I were just settling down to a late dinner and a movie on the couch. It had been a long week. Suddenly, Danielle received a phone call and, as was her habit, jumped up to take it in her room (actually, part of me remembers her usually taking phone calls wherever she happened to be at the time, but she must have taken them in her room often enough that it didn't strike me as odd in this particular instance). She came back a few minutes later and said that it had been our friend, Antoine, on the phone. Apparently he and his on-again/off-again girlfriend were off-again. I asked if he needed ice cream, and she said he was already walking to Starbucks to meet us. (No, Starbucks doesn't have ice cream, but it does have strawberry smoothie frappes of deliciousness.) I went to find my shoes.
Two minutes later, we were booking it across campus (because, as anyone who has walked with Danielle knows, she only has one speed, and it's fast) to the Student Center Starbucks and complaining that Antoine could have picked a slightly warmer day to fall apart. As we passed through University Park, someone came up the steps from the lake. This is not an uncommon occurrence, so my eyes had already moved on before my brain realized that this particular person deserved a second look because he was wearing a tuxedo. That IS uncommon.
The person in the tuxedo was Bryan. I went over to say hello, and Danielle turned and started to walk away. There was some major confusion on my part as Bryan said, "Thanks, Danielle," Danielle said, "No problem," and I said, "What about Antoine?" Danielle walked away, looking back over her shoulder to say that she'd made up the part about Antoine. I found out later that the earlier phone call was from Bryan, and he was telling her to get me over by the park without alerting me to the fact that he was involved. Apparently the story about Antoine was the first thing she came up with.
Bryan and I went walking back down the steps towards the lake. When we reached the bottom, he took a deep breath and began singing As We Stroll Along Together. Bryan never sings (at least, he didn't then; now he sings all the time because Olivia requires it). By this point, I knew what was going on. We walked to the middle of the bridge, and he got down on one knee to propose. After I said yes, he finished his song. We walked back to my apartment while calling our families to share the news.
This is where the story gets hilarious: Danielle had NO IDEA what was happening. She left me with Bryan and walked back thinking, "Aw, I wish I had a boyfriend who would come surprise me wearing a tuxedo." When she got back to the apartment, she got another phone call, this one from Antoine (really, this time). He started asking if she was anywhere near us and if she was getting a good picture. Danielle finally realized that Antoine was apparently lurking in the bushes near University Park, but had missed the actual proposal. This led to a second realization: THERE WAS A PROPOSAL HAPPENING! And she had also missed it. She immediately started jumping up and down in the kitchen and excitedly waited for us to get back. When we did, she took the only engagement picture we have.
We gathered a group of friends together and went out to Bubble Island (a bubble tea/smoothie place) to celebrate.
It was Friday, April 16, 2010, and my roommate, Danielle, and I were just settling down to a late dinner and a movie on the couch. It had been a long week. Suddenly, Danielle received a phone call and, as was her habit, jumped up to take it in her room (actually, part of me remembers her usually taking phone calls wherever she happened to be at the time, but she must have taken them in her room often enough that it didn't strike me as odd in this particular instance). She came back a few minutes later and said that it had been our friend, Antoine, on the phone. Apparently he and his on-again/off-again girlfriend were off-again. I asked if he needed ice cream, and she said he was already walking to Starbucks to meet us. (No, Starbucks doesn't have ice cream, but it does have strawberry smoothie frappes of deliciousness.) I went to find my shoes.
Two minutes later, we were booking it across campus (because, as anyone who has walked with Danielle knows, she only has one speed, and it's fast) to the Student Center Starbucks and complaining that Antoine could have picked a slightly warmer day to fall apart. As we passed through University Park, someone came up the steps from the lake. This is not an uncommon occurrence, so my eyes had already moved on before my brain realized that this particular person deserved a second look because he was wearing a tuxedo. That IS uncommon.
The person in the tuxedo was Bryan. I went over to say hello, and Danielle turned and started to walk away. There was some major confusion on my part as Bryan said, "Thanks, Danielle," Danielle said, "No problem," and I said, "What about Antoine?" Danielle walked away, looking back over her shoulder to say that she'd made up the part about Antoine. I found out later that the earlier phone call was from Bryan, and he was telling her to get me over by the park without alerting me to the fact that he was involved. Apparently the story about Antoine was the first thing she came up with.
Bryan and I went walking back down the steps towards the lake. When we reached the bottom, he took a deep breath and began singing As We Stroll Along Together. Bryan never sings (at least, he didn't then; now he sings all the time because Olivia requires it). By this point, I knew what was going on. We walked to the middle of the bridge, and he got down on one knee to propose. After I said yes, he finished his song. We walked back to my apartment while calling our families to share the news.
This is where the story gets hilarious: Danielle had NO IDEA what was happening. She left me with Bryan and walked back thinking, "Aw, I wish I had a boyfriend who would come surprise me wearing a tuxedo." When she got back to the apartment, she got another phone call, this one from Antoine (really, this time). He started asking if she was anywhere near us and if she was getting a good picture. Danielle finally realized that Antoine was apparently lurking in the bushes near University Park, but had missed the actual proposal. This led to a second realization: THERE WAS A PROPOSAL HAPPENING! And she had also missed it. She immediately started jumping up and down in the kitchen and excitedly waited for us to get back. When we did, she took the only engagement picture we have.
We gathered a group of friends together and went out to Bubble Island (a bubble tea/smoothie place) to celebrate.
This is the only engagement photo we have. It was taken by Danielle in my apartment about 20 minutes after Bryan proposed.
Danielle took photos of my ring the next day:
An absolutely wonderful bonus post!
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad you posted this story for posterity. :) I had fun reading it.
ReplyDelete