The Story So Far (Part 2)

The Engagement
If you haven't read part 1 of The Story So Far, click here and read that one first, so it's all in order and makes sense and doesn't lose all its drama and suspense.

Recapping:
I've got the ring, but have not proposed.
I'd like to use that Fiancée term, but I don't have a Fiancée, yet.
I'm randomly sprinkling Italian phrases throughout my blog to impress all my Italian friends, of which I have none.
Gradico il bruschetta.
I'm looking for right time / right place to propose.

Today's Story:
I pick the date: July 27th. Since Nancy grew up on the water & loves being on the water, I'm looking for a Skipjack or Schooner or Dinghy to make my way out onto the water and a romantic time. I'm thinking sunset cruise, and start trolling the internet for the right boat. I'm thinking the Dinghy might just not be right.

I finally find the right boat. It's the Schooner Woodwind, sailing out of Annapolis for a sunset cruise.
Perfect! What could be more perfect than a sunset cruise?
Wait ... not so perfect. They only have one ticket left. It would kind of defeat the purpose to send Nancy on a romantic cruise for our engagement and not be there to propose to her ("Hey. You look like a nice guy. Right after the boat goes under the bay bridge give this ring to that cute blonde and ask for her hand in marriage. Can you do that? Good." .... "Oh! Wait! Don't forget to mention it's from me!").

Okay, genius, now what? Dov'è il vostro cervello? (note to Nancy, remember that phrase for driving in Italy, next month)

I'm kind of stuck on this boat. I like it. I think it likes me. I look harder. No, still only one ticket. I call them. No, still only one ticket. I look again. Earlier in the afternoon (not so romantic), is a three hour tour (everyone, now, "A three hour tour! A three hour tour!") on the Chesapeake ... with a wine tasting (ding-ding-ding-ding-ding ... we have a winner!!!! ... okay, that is romantic). Perfect. Tasting various Spanish wines on a three hour tour (everyone, now, "Un giro di tre ore! Un giro di tre ore!") ... and I'm allowed to join her!

I call up Nancy, trying to be as nochalante as I can with secret plans like these up my sleeve, and tell her to plan nothing for Sunday (smoooooth ... she suspects nothing). That night, I tell her about the wine cruise. She asks me a few questions, but lets me off the hook relatively easily. She suspects something, but - as always - she's way cooler than I about it.

Sunday afternoon rolls around, and it's the perfect day for sailing: nice and warm with a firm breeze. The time comes to board the boat, and we find we're heading out on the Schooner Woodwind II, the boat Christopher Walken (left) pilots in the movie "The Wedding Crashers." Very, very cool. Nancy is pleased and impressed. I've made arrangements with Captain Ken well ahead of time. While boarding, I give him the sign, feeling like Robert Redford in "The Sting," and he looks at me like I've lost my mind. (again: Dov'è il vostro cervello?) I'm kidding. Captain Ken was great, and he helped me hatch my plan with such nonchalance that it almost seemed spontaneous, or at the very worst unimportant to him.

We set sail. I get to do all kinds of manly sailing things like "hoisting the sails" and "going to the head." Captain Ken (no relationship to Cap'n Crunch ... they spell "Captain" differently) invites me back to take the helm (that's the really big steering wheel in the picture above for those sailors out there who've never "hoisted a sail" or "gone to the head"). Of course I'm ridiculously confident taking the helm, being certified as a level 2 sailor (a "level 2" sailor - for those who have never sailed before - is one level above a "level 1" sailor). It quickly becomes apparent that I can't keep this boat on course. I'm not entirely sure Captain Ken likes the cut of my jib. Nancy waves and smiles at me, happy to just be sitting on a sailboat at sea. I wave her back to come join me. She declines, not having the need to do manly sailor things like I do. I wave her back again. She declines again. I persist to the point of annoyance until she acquiesces and starts toward the stern. Since I'm at the helm, failing to keep the boat on course - able level 2 sailor that I am - the boat's tossing her about on the way back, causing her to stumble over and into people minding their own business and just wishing they'd start opening bottles of Spanish wine, arriving at my side sufficiently annoyed. This is going well, no? Captain Ken asks her to take the helm, which she does, since she's also a level 2 sailor and also smart enough not to beach our WaveRunner on a shoal in the Chincoteague Inlet ... but I'm getting ahead of myself.

Nancy takes the helm, focusing on the horizon as a level 2 sailor should, missing the fact that I'm now at her side on one knee with a ring in my hand. Captain Ken speaks to her, but Nancy's not quite sure what he's saying. He speaks again. "Pay attention to your man," he says. It's not the typical nautical command, but he's the captain, so she does. As she's turning toward me, before her eyes even get to me or the ring, the rest of the passengers are wise to my plan and let out a long "awwwwwww."

On the Schooner Woodwind II, in front of 30 strangers, I ask Nancy to marry me in eloquent prose that still escapes me. She says "yes," as long as I promise to let Captain Ken drive from now on. I'm kidding. She says yes, and we spend the next 5 minutes recreating the proposal moment while a nearby woman figures out how the camera on my iPhone works.

The picture to the right is proof (a) that the woman taking the picture doesn't know how to operate the camera on an iPhone and (b) that I was on my knee when I proposed. It also shows I'm not wearing socks.

We make our way back to our seats on the Lido deck, accepting congratulations from all the passengers, just in time for the first bottle of Spanish wine to be opened: a bottle of sparkling wine, perfect to start my first moments with my Fiancée, toasting our newfound happiness (the annoyance of stumbling over people to get to the helm far behind us and long forgotten; the annoyance of beaching the WaveRunner on the Chincoteague inlet shoal well ahead of us).

Comparing Nancy's post-engagement smile (below) to her pre-engagement smile (up above), I think I've done okay. It's nearly two months later, and she's still got that smile. I'm pretty deeply in love with this woman. I think I'll marry her.

Coming up:
Beaching the WaveRunner, planning and packing for the trip, and the feirce competition of learning to speak Italian with Rosetta Stone.

Ciao! - M. Brent

The Story So Far

Ideally, this blog would all be real-time, revealing the details of this wonderful journey (engagement & marriage, not the trip to Italy & Greece) one day at a time in real time leading up to the other wonderful journey (Italy & Greece). Well, that train has already left la stazione ferroviaria (and, yes, before you ask, I will be sprinkling Italian words throughout the blog to give the illusion that I truly can speak Italian ... which I can, at least until someone asks me a question or speaks to me at all in any language, at which time I respond "uuuuuuhhhh, Io ... quanti anni hai? ... parle inglese?" It makes me feel better about myself, so just humor me) ... but I digress.

Point is: I'll be filling in the gaps of history prior to today; Nancy and I will fill in the details from this point forward in real time, or at least as real as we can make it.

_______________________________

I won't start at the very beginning, but will fast-forward to May of this year. I don't remember the date, but I started skulking around the Smyth Jeweler website, looking for a ring design no one's ever actually designed (perhaps a design no one would actually want to design). It was going to be unique and beautiful, with swirly silver flowing metal things around three stones ... the three stones were important ... one for each of my daughters, Elizabeth & Aliceann, and the big one in the middle symbolizing me. This was important because I was a package deal with two wonderful young ladies; it's a very important part of the whole relationship of our new family since Nancy's so good with the girls and because the girls seem to truly adore her ... as do I.

Well, the swirly silver things would have probably put out several eyes and destroyed every sweater Nancy owned, and I luckily abandoned any thought of the design when a three-stone setting with a beautiful flowing trellis design on the side found me, instead. Several days later, I made my way to Smyths and made friends with Rob who helped me find the perfect stones and got the ball rolling. Several weeks and a new mortgage later, I nervously had the ring in my hands.

Buon Giorno! Just wanted to throw another Italian phrase in here. Impressed yet?

Much like the swirly silver flowing metal thingy design thing I had going, I had the perfect plan for proposing to Nancy, and much like the swirly silver flowing metal thingy design, another plan found me, instead. It's really not surprising another plan found me because my plan - remember, this is June now - my plan was to hang on to the ring until October, secretly stow it for the trip to Italy, find some perfect location in Tuscany, put my knee down in the Tuscan soil and propose. OCTOBER! Let's see ... June July August September October ... I was going to sit on this plan for four months! Quattro mesi! Well, like, a week goes by and - I'm not entirely sure how we got there, but - we're talking about getting married in Tuscany, which we both agree is perfect for both of us. This would make the engagement kind of short if I didn't speed up the proposal process a bit. I like the idea of having a Fiancee and I love using the term Fiancee, and if I didn't make her my Fiancee rather quickly, I wouldn't have much time to call her my Fiancee or to casually drop the term Fiancee into everyday conversation about Fiancees, cars, Fiancees, or high Finance, so I either had to get hopping on the Fiancee plans or at least cram the Fiancee term into every conversation I could, whether my Fiancee was there or Fiancee not Fiancee. E la mia Fidanzata!

By this time it's July. My Fiancee, Nancy, and I are about to leave for Florida with the girls, and I've got to find the right time & place to propose. An idea starts to brew, followed by the obligatory internet research ... you'll have to wait for the next post for the details. Domani.

Ciao! - M. Brent