Yes.

Hello readers, I hope you enjoy the following story. It is not regarding our lives here in El Salvador but it was my next life-altering moment after being born again in “Redeemed”

The graveyard was deathly still.  The only sound was the thump-thump-thump of my heart and my shallow, nervous breathing.  I wanted to speak but could not.  My heart was pounding out of my chest and into my throat until I couldn’t speak a word.  Never in my life had there been five words that I wanted to say more than I did at that moment but they would not come.

My girlfriend’s birthday started off all wrong.  I had come into work early and set up a beautiful bouquet of flowers and some chocolates on her desk.  She was, of course, delighted with my thoughtfulness.  I was feeling like the world’s best boyfriend, until I noticed a familiar looking paper on her desk.  My heart stopped beating, my stomach turned inside out and cold sweat broke out all over my body.  With maximum casualness, I swiped the offending paper, offering up a prayer that she had not seen it as I headed to my office.

 

Lunch time came quickly and Melody and I headed out the door for the promised birthday lunch.  El Salvadorian food was her favorite and we made short work of the steaming hot pupusas and ice-cold fresca.  I looked across the table into her soft brown eyes and my heart skipped a beat.  “Why don’t we head to down-town and walk for a while?  I arranged to have someone cover for both of us at work this afternoon.”

Her face lit up with joy and I hoped the big smile was due to being able to spend the afternoon with me and not just relief for an early day off at work. 

Arm in arm, we meandered the lovely cobblestone streets.  I maintained a casual carefreeness and carried my end of the conversation.  My mind was racing ahead, almost as fast as my heart was beating.  No matter how hard I looked and how far we walked, the perfect spot would not appear.  “How about we walk through the old graveyard that we’ve been wanting to explore?”

“Sure, that would be fun.  It’s such a beautiful evening, it would be a shame to spend it inside.”

We wondered down the tree lined paths in the historic graveyard, reading the gravestones and imagining the lives and deaths of the soldiers buried there.  I looked desperately for a bench or anywhere to sit but nothing appeared.  In desperation I scanned the gravestones, looking for one that was sufficiently sized for two people to sit on.  The beautiful memorial to the unknown soldiers of the Civil War came to my rescue.  Placed on top of a grassy knoll, its wide stone steps provided a perfect place to sit down and watch the setting sun. 

We settled down on the steps and chatted about our day.  The small talk became entirely one-sided as my tongue refused to function properly, no doubt disturbed by my wild, out-of-control, beating heart.  Unable to converse with herself, Melody fell silent.  I struggled to gather my courage and say what I so desperately wanted to say but it was like gathering water in a net.  Melody yawned and murmured, “I’m starting to get a little sleepy.  I think I could fall asleep right here.”

Gathering what little courage I could summon, I jumped to my feet and turned around to face her.  As I sunk down to one knee, I pulled a little black box out of my pocket, opened the lid and held it out to her.  “Melody, will you marry me?” 

There was a long pause.

“I’m not sure how to answer that.”

My racing heart stopped cold for the second time that day.

“Yes would be great,” I managed to choke out.

“Of course, I’d be honored to marry you!  I just thought ‘yes’ seemed like such a trite answer to such an incredible question.”  She took the ring and slipped it on.  It was a perfect fit.

Relief flooded through every part of my body as I took her in my arms and held her.  In that moment, I was the happiest man on earth.  The most incredible girl in the world was not only willing, but honored, to spend the rest of her life with me. 

I had to ask, though I was afraid of the answer.  “Did you see the receipt for the ring that I left on your desk this morning?”

“I saw it.”

“So, this whole time, you knew I was going to ask you to marry me and you just played dumb?”

“I didn’t want to mess up the perfect date you had planned.  Besides, I didn’t know exactly when you were going to ask me, so it was still a surprise.”

Now I knew for sure that not only was I getting married to the most beautiful girl in the world but the one with the kindest heart as well.

Note of clarification – Mel and I are members at a church that does not wear jewelry/wedding rings and she does not wear the ring. However, it just didn’t seem right to go down on one knee and ask this beautiful girl to marry me without a ring. Thus the saga of the wedding ring and the misplaced receipt.