I Mean It
Eighteen years ago today, I placed a phone call to Mr. and Mrs. Cute Redhead’s Mom and Dad and almost passed out from nerves.
Two days prior, I placed a phone call to Mr. Cute Redhead’s Dad and asked him for his daughter’s hand in marriage. He was more than a little caught off guard. He can’t very well be blamed, though: we’d met face-to-face only two weeks earlier. More, the poor man had no idea it was coming. So, before going any further he informed me he’d have to speak to her mother and “can I get back to you?”
“…Um. What?”
“Can I get back to you about this?”
“Um. Certainly, sir. Um…*cough*…could I ask when?”
“How about Sunday evening.”
The next two days were a blur. But, come Sunday evening, at precisely 6 o’ clock, I rang her parents.
The phone got off maybe half a ring before her Mother answered it half out of breath and nearly out of her nerves as well. “Todd! Todd, I’m so glad you called. I want you to know I’ve been looking for your number all weekend.”
And in that brief sentence, without having to say another word about it, I realized she knew I was losing my mind having put my neck on the line with her father and then been told…well, nothing. Unlike Cute Redhead’s Dad, Cute Redheads Mom saw it coming a mile away. In fact, the day we met she knew I was probably the one.
The rest of the phone call was a blur. I do remember drinking a bottle of beer for the duration, just to make it through. And when I made it through, when her parents did give me their blessing, I thanked them, got off the phone and went in search of my girlfriend. I had all kinds of plans for a proposal and scrapped every single one of them after suffering the last two days. I found her studying in a room all by herself and learnt that she’d just lamented to one of her best friends that “he’ll never propose (boo hoo hoo) he’s just not organized about things.”
Little did she know I’d been drinking with talking with her parents for the last hour and had the ring in my pocket. So, finding her alone, I got down on one knee and held out the ring box.
And she opened it.
And it was empty.
On purpose lol.
Because I took the ring out and had it on my little finger. Then I held it up, laughed because I was privy to her conversation with friend and said, “You have got to learn to trust me. And I mean it.”
And then I popped the question.
And then she popped the answer. And cried.
That was eighteen years ago.
Several months later, we vowed Forever And I Mean It.
And we’ve seen a lot.
I’ve seen that face happy
and angry
and sleeping
and sad
and all the rest.
And I promised I’d stay through all of it, and I meant it.
I’ve seen her get up and make the coffee
Get sick and throw up out of her nose
Get tired and cry
Get an idea and get out the sewing maching
Get furious and threaten me. Bad.
But I promised I’d stay through all of it, and I meant it.
I’ve seen holidays
and birthdays
and off days
good days and bad
I’ve seen all this and more…
…I could go on and on.
Except that she got Annoyed with all the shutter clicking and told me, “Get the camera off of me, and I mean it.”
So I did. And then wrote this a few hours later, laughing. Laughing because if I had a thousand dollars to bet with, I’d turn it into a million. That is, if I were betting on whether Cute Redhead even realizes the date. Trust me, she doesn’t. But don’t feel bad. She doesn’t even remember my birth date (I am so not lying). But don’t feel shocked. I have to remind her every single year of the birthday of her mom…
and her dad…
and her brother.
Okay now you can feel bad. And shocked.
And I mean it.
Is that a right or left brained sort of thing?
And you are still buying that ol’ I cannt find your number routine? Wait till the princess’s prince comes calling…with you…he is toast. Congratulations my friend, it is truely good we dont get what we deserve.
Congratulations both of you! My parents just turned 45 years of marriage and you look like them, strong and capable to face almost anything in life… Even she never remembers dates and you never forget them, it’s a precious miracle, a hard one but a worth it one after all.
And I bet you’re going to kill yourself with The Rebel Force. I mean: she’ll kill you someday throwing it into your head. And I bet she’d do de trick on you. Because she did so before: 18 years back.
Wonderful.