Engagement: Part 1

 It was a week full of uncertainty - sickness, pending Covid tests, disrupted travel plans, and trying to make the most of virtual school. My boyfriend told me he felt super scatterbrained but, as far as I could tell, had no concrete reason why. I attributed it to symptomatic roommates, teaching through a pandemic, and trying to navigate the weirdness of a Covid-ridden world. However, his scatterbrained-ness took shape on a cold Friday evening when he was supposed to come over and showed up approximately four hours late.

I was a bit confused and concerned by his distance but didn't figure we were nearing a breakup, especially considering the recent closeness and deep-rooted love of the past couple weeks. The only other logical explanation was that he was hiding some sort of massive question that was about to change the course of our lives forever. I assumed that was the case and went on my way, decorating for Christmas and de-stressing after student teaching.

When he finally arrived on Friday, we barely talked. Shared a few highlights from the day, wondered why he was so vaguely mysterious about being four hours late, and quickly fell asleep. The next morning was a typical morning at the Saunders house - breakfast made by Brian, slow coffee-sipping over open Bibles, and a basketball game for my sister. I noticed he had barely eaten all day, but thought nothing besides, "I'll eat it." Every once in a while, I thought I might be getting engaged, but quickly dismissed the idea for fear of getting my hopes up.

During a mid-afternoon workout, Lilly showed up in my basement saying she had gotten a gift certificate to Best Nails for a secret Santa gift. Oblivious (and primarily focused on regaining oxygen from the workout), I wiped my sweat and hopped in her car. I picked fourteen different colors and asked her and my sister to narrow it down using alternating elimination. We landed on plum. 

When I came back, Joe had asked if we wanted to go to dinner. I hurriedly got dressed and jumped in the car again - optimistic but not overly so - and headed to an undisclosed location. Francis and Mount, I presumed. Wrong. We drove right past it. Creekside? Wrong again. The only restaurant left in town was KFC. I wasn't mad, but certainly assumed I was not getting engaged after all. 

Then he drove past KFC. At this point I was clueless. We blared Taylor Swift and I tried not to think about it, tried not to look for a box in his pocket, tried to just enjoy the date and tell myself I would be content whether I came back with a ring on my finger or just food in my belly. Anything could happen and no matter what, it was going to be good. 

We landed at Mountain Jack's in Lafayette. The hostess greeted us warmly and asked if we had a reservation. Joe said, "Yes! Table for Joe House, please." 

She looked over the list, her eyes lighting up.

"Ohhhhhh! You're here for your engagement dinner! Congratulations on your engagement!"

..

.

.......

Joe's eyes grew the size of walnuts. The entire universe froze, aghast, shocked and speechless. My eyes moved from the hostess to my boyfriend and back like a ping-pong ball. The waitress beside her quickly realized the premature congratulations and hurried us to our table. 

We shuffled nervously into our seats, looked at each other, and began to laugh. "Well," Joe stammered, "I guess that takes some of the pressure off!"

(to be continued)