The Proposal :)
Due to Indoc's training restrictions, Jake was not permitted to leave base for the majority of my short visit. After crying about it for a brief second, we decided we had no choice but to make the best of it. I purchased a blanket, cooler, and some food while he was at training, so when 1700 rolled around, I was ready to picnic! We drove out an empty park on base, found the perfect canopy tree that provided the most shade, and spread out the blanket. We ate some rotisserie chicken, potato salad, cheese and bread, and washed it down with some root beer. Once we felt satisfied, we laid down and looked up through the branches and green leaves to the puffy white clouds and bright blue sky. With the warm breeze blowing over us and the birds chirping and the sounds of the ruffling leaves, we laid in each other's arms in sheer and utter happiness. It was perfect.
It was while I was playing with his hand and cracking his knuckles that I realized he wasn't wearing his ring. We had decided back in December, before we parted ways and embarked on our separate journeys, that we would wear bands on our ring fingers as a symbol of our commitment to one another. I've been honored to wear his great-grandma Lala's wedding band, and every time I look at it, I think of Jake and feel so comforted (sometimes, when you are forced to endure a long-distance relationship, it's the little things that make all the difference). Anyways, I noticed he wasn't wearing his, and playfully backhanded him.
"Oh, whoops!" he laughed. He explained that training made it difficult for him to wear it all the time, and usually he only wore it on weekends. Although the past two weekends, he admitted, he had forgotten to put it on.
"Jake!!!" I shouted in disbelief. "Fine then, I'm not going to wear mine..." I said stubbornly as I took it off and pretended to give it back to him.
"Fine," he said, taking it from me quickly. "I thought it was special to let you wear my great-grandma's ring, but now you don't get to." He had turned the tables.
"NO!" I shouted. "I'm just kidding, put it back on..." I outstretched my hand.
"Nope. You don't get to wear it now," said the one who always has to win.
I rolled my eyes and stopped arguing, and decided eventually he'd give it back to me. I relaxed my hand and laid there, and allowed the peace, wind, and chirping birds to wash over us again. Jake examined the tiny band with his beautiful masculine fingers, turning it over and over, and studying the intricate detail on the antique band. I looked up at the clouds through the rustling leaves, and basked in how happy I was. Amazing that by having to "make the best of the situation", I wouldn't have wanted to be anywhere else...
I'm not sure how much time passed, but eventually he caved.
"Ok," he sighed, "you can wear it..."
Without looking I extended my fingers and let him put it back on. I felt him shimmy it over my knuckle and gently slide it to the base of my finger.
"Thank you..." I said in a way that also said "FINALLY!!!"
As I turned my head to examine it's rightful place, my mind became instantly confused and briefly I had no idea what I was looking at. When it dawned on me that he had slipped a beautiful sparkling engagement ring in its place, I gasped and sat upright. And gasped again. I had no words, and soon my body was shaking and emotion flooded my eyes and throat.
"Oh my God," was the first and only thing I could squeeze out. He sat up behind me, and wrapped his arms around me.
"Do you like it?" he asked.
I could only nod my head as the tears streamed down my face. Eventually I said, "Oh my God," again, and then "I love it. It's so perfect." I couldn't take my eyes off of it. It was hard to believe how absolutely stunning it was. I was literally stunned.
"Good," he said. "I was hoping you would..."
I turned around and hugged him and kissed him and cried. We said a bunch of I love you's through happy tears, and eventually laid back down on our picnic blanket. Holding my hand above us, I couldn't stop staring at it, turning it in the sunlight so it reflected was seemed like thousands of little bits of the setting sunlight. It looked so amazing with the leaves and branches and clouds and turning-pink sky behind it.
As he held my newly bejeweled hand in his, he told me the story about how he had come up with designs for the jeweler, and how he had to modify the sketches so that it was just perfect. He told me how many diamonds there were, and the sizes and the cuts and the clarities of each one. He was so proud of it, and I truly have never seen a more beautiful and perfect ring. I am so in love with it, but even more in love with him. I feel like the luckiest girl in the whole world.
So actually, now that I think about it, he never actually said the words "will you marry me", but that's pretty true to Jake's form. He's never been one to ask dumb questions... ;)
It was while I was playing with his hand and cracking his knuckles that I realized he wasn't wearing his ring. We had decided back in December, before we parted ways and embarked on our separate journeys, that we would wear bands on our ring fingers as a symbol of our commitment to one another. I've been honored to wear his great-grandma Lala's wedding band, and every time I look at it, I think of Jake and feel so comforted (sometimes, when you are forced to endure a long-distance relationship, it's the little things that make all the difference). Anyways, I noticed he wasn't wearing his, and playfully backhanded him.
"Oh, whoops!" he laughed. He explained that training made it difficult for him to wear it all the time, and usually he only wore it on weekends. Although the past two weekends, he admitted, he had forgotten to put it on.
"Jake!!!" I shouted in disbelief. "Fine then, I'm not going to wear mine..." I said stubbornly as I took it off and pretended to give it back to him.
"Fine," he said, taking it from me quickly. "I thought it was special to let you wear my great-grandma's ring, but now you don't get to." He had turned the tables.
"NO!" I shouted. "I'm just kidding, put it back on..." I outstretched my hand.
"Nope. You don't get to wear it now," said the one who always has to win.
I rolled my eyes and stopped arguing, and decided eventually he'd give it back to me. I relaxed my hand and laid there, and allowed the peace, wind, and chirping birds to wash over us again. Jake examined the tiny band with his beautiful masculine fingers, turning it over and over, and studying the intricate detail on the antique band. I looked up at the clouds through the rustling leaves, and basked in how happy I was. Amazing that by having to "make the best of the situation", I wouldn't have wanted to be anywhere else...
I'm not sure how much time passed, but eventually he caved.
"Ok," he sighed, "you can wear it..."
Without looking I extended my fingers and let him put it back on. I felt him shimmy it over my knuckle and gently slide it to the base of my finger.
"Thank you..." I said in a way that also said "FINALLY!!!"
As I turned my head to examine it's rightful place, my mind became instantly confused and briefly I had no idea what I was looking at. When it dawned on me that he had slipped a beautiful sparkling engagement ring in its place, I gasped and sat upright. And gasped again. I had no words, and soon my body was shaking and emotion flooded my eyes and throat.
"Oh my God," was the first and only thing I could squeeze out. He sat up behind me, and wrapped his arms around me.
"Do you like it?" he asked.
I could only nod my head as the tears streamed down my face. Eventually I said, "Oh my God," again, and then "I love it. It's so perfect." I couldn't take my eyes off of it. It was hard to believe how absolutely stunning it was. I was literally stunned.
"Good," he said. "I was hoping you would..."
I turned around and hugged him and kissed him and cried. We said a bunch of I love you's through happy tears, and eventually laid back down on our picnic blanket. Holding my hand above us, I couldn't stop staring at it, turning it in the sunlight so it reflected was seemed like thousands of little bits of the setting sunlight. It looked so amazing with the leaves and branches and clouds and turning-pink sky behind it.
As he held my newly bejeweled hand in his, he told me the story about how he had come up with designs for the jeweler, and how he had to modify the sketches so that it was just perfect. He told me how many diamonds there were, and the sizes and the cuts and the clarities of each one. He was so proud of it, and I truly have never seen a more beautiful and perfect ring. I am so in love with it, but even more in love with him. I feel like the luckiest girl in the whole world.
So actually, now that I think about it, he never actually said the words "will you marry me", but that's pretty true to Jake's form. He's never been one to ask dumb questions... ;)
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