04
Say Yes
It’s hard to surprise her because she knows what I’m thinking. She knew I was up to something but decided to play along.
So by the time the dessert was served, the flowers came…she knew what was coming. Though, she was still a little unprepared because she expected it to happen on our birthday (our dates are two days apart, so we celebrate our birthdays together)
It’s not so much a woman’s intuition, but we’ve been together for about seven years. Like my mom, she knows when I’m twitching my tail.
Several things I did gave the game away: when I was so insistent on going for a date at a nice restaurant somewhere along Shanghai Bund. When her friend called to ask me about the flower delivery; the previous night I’ve asked her to arrange for a dozen roses to be delivered to the restaurant. When I suggested coming back to the apartment (in the Pudong area; we’re spending the day over at the Puxi side) to drop off our shopping bags so that we can have a hassle free evening…and some other small details that suggested I am behaving out of the norm. Okay, so I make a bad liar.
I’d wanted to go back to the apartment note to change and freshen up, but hopefully to retrieve the proposal ring as I didn’t want to carry it with me the whole day. In the end, we dropped the idea of returning to the apartment because it didn’t make sense to make the dash to and fro from the Jinqiao area to downtown Shanghai and back again. So I had to carry this around with me the whole day.
I didn’t have the mood to ’shop’ that day. I was on my own while she went to meet up with her friends. As I walked around visiting the otaku places in Shanghai, half my heart wasn’t on the task at hand. I was nervous…but the queasiness isn’t about her refusing my proposal. I was worried about getting robbed or pickpocket-ed. I can’t afford to lose this ring.
Besides, I’m also getting vertigo from the leap of faith. I am going to bid farewell to bachelorhood. I know you married guys weep for me. Yet, the time has come for me to move on to the next phase of my life cycle. I’ve already found the one that I want to love and care for till the day I heave my last breath. So, I have to take a step forward.
She’s not someone who likes to be the centre of public attention. As much as I’d like to go down on a bended knee with a bouquet of flowers in my hand, she wouldn’t appreciate the attention from strangers. So, when the bouquet of roses came with the desserts, I pretended to be shocked and asked the waiter if those roses were for me…
Earlier, we’re discussing about what she should wear next week for the event at the Istana. Last year, during the Aide-de-Camp appreciation dinner, President S R Nathan spoke to my girlfriend, and commented about the ‘tribal-looking’ necklace that she wore. So I said, this time, you have a different piece of fashion accessory to wear.
“Why don’t you try this on to see if it fits” And I presented her the ring.
And when I slipped on the ring, I asked,”Oh, and. Would you marry me?”
