The Proposal

“Kristen, do you want to go bowling this Saturday?” It was Tuesday evening, January 1^st. Kristen, tired of the ever-present cold and snow in the dead of winter, was eager to do something outside ofher or my apartment.

I was trying hard to invite Kristen to something that wouldn’t tip her off to my proposal. She knew that I would be proposing soon, but she didn’t know when or where. She strongly suspected the coming Saturday: it was the last weekend before classes started, and she’d seen a link on my computer for the jewelry company where I purchased her ring. Still, she readily accepted the invitation.

I had tried everything I could to confuse Kristen about when I would propose. I casually downplayed Saturday’s significance and told her that the jeweler had delayed shipment of her ring due to the Christmas holiday. Kristen’s friend Kayla even chimed in, independently telling Kristen that the ring would not arrive for another few weeks.

Kristen was right to be suspicious: I was going to propose to her that Saturday. I had to make sure she had a ring before she started class again with all those other college guys! My plan was to propose at the Y Trailhead (the trail to Brigham Young University’s mountainside collegiate letter) – the same place I stammered while asking her to be my girlfriend several months before.

I started laying the groundwork a week in advance: Step one – seven days in advance – I nonchalantly told her that my brother was hiking the Y Trail with some friends the coming weekend. Step two – five days in advance – I invited Kristen to go bowling that Saturday. You see, I needed to get Kristen out of her apartment without arousing her suspicions. I needed a feint, a ruse, to get her in the car so that I could then “unexpectedly” take a detour to the Y trailhead.

So that was my plan: “Hey, let’s go bowling! By the way, my brother went to hike the Y trail during this bitterly cold weather and he forgot a warm coat! We’ll need to swing by and drop a coat off for him.”

On the day of the proposal (January 5^th), I got an early start to prepare the Y trailhead for my proposal: I bought a bouquet of roses on my way to pick up my brother. My brother and I then scoped out where I would propose to Kristen (a bench with 12” of snow that we had to remove, the same bench where I had asked Kristen to be my girlfriend). My brother then hid himself in the snow so that he could record the proposal without Kristen seeing him.

I  picked up Kristen from her apartment. As I entered her apartment, Kristen asked me a question about an electronic device she had seen online. I tried to answer in a normal tone but Kristen noticed that I seemed unusually fidgety. She didn’t comment on my unusual behavior, though, and we got in the car.

As we pulled away from her apartment, I casually reminded her that my brother and his friends had gone to hike the Y trail. I then informed her that I just received a text from David asking me to bring him a coat and gloves and asked Kristen’s permission to detour to take the gear up to David. Kristen was suspicious of the detour and told me later that she had thought to herself:  “What sort of idiot would hike in 10⁰F weather without a proper jacket? Well, James would do that. Maybe his brother would do that too.”

When we got to the Y trailhead, I invited her to exit the car with me. She did, not questioning why she had to leave the warmth of the car just to give my brother a coat. I guided her to the special bench where we sat. She started reminiscing of that special summer evening when I had shyly said, “I would like to date you.”

Our reminiscing was soon cut short when Kristen started shivering. Joking, she exclaimed, “If David doesn’t get here in five minutes, we’re leaving without giving him his coat!”

Realizing that my moment was passing, I said slowly, “Well, I actually owe him an apology.” Kristen looked at my quizzically. “Well, it’s not his fault we’re out here.” A confused look crossed Kristen’s face as she processed my statement.

Her confusion turned to surprised delight when I knelt down on one knee and pulled a ring box from a fold in my jacket. “Kristen, will you marry me?”

She covered her mouth, then grasped the back of her head as she burst out laughing. “Yes!” Then laughing, she exclaimed, “You brilliant man!”. I slid the ring on her finger. “It’s so pretty!” she said.

When Kristen and I finished sharing our celebration, I said, “Well, I suppose I should really go get David now. Come on out, David!” Kristen burst out laughing as she saw my brother spring out of the snow with a bouquet of roses in his hands. She threw her arms around him when she realized the role he played in the proposal.

Kristen and I spent the next few hours informing family and friends of our special event. But Kristen had one last request at the end of our special day: “You know, James, you told me we were going bowling.” And so, to celebrate our new engagement, Kristen and I went bowling.