Yes! I DO!

After walking for nearly a week with a ring in my pocket I proposed to Marie on Saturday evening, just after ten 'o clock. Initially I wanted to ask her on New Year's Evening, to ask if she wanted the start of the new year to be the start of our lives together. However I didn't have the ring yet. It wasn't ready in time and so I had to find another moment.

That moment came last week. While my birthday is the 8th of January, I celebrated my birthday with Marie on the 17th with a nice romantic weekend together in a little castle hotel in Zeist nearby Utrecht. Her surprise present for my birthday was a gourmet 4-course dinner in the Wilhelminapark Restaurant. Little did she know that it provided the perfect setting for the big question.

And a perfect setting it was.

Seldom have I dined this good. From the cod poached in red beets on a bed of cooked cauliflower with nutmeg foam to the dessert of Bavarois (Bavarian Creme)of Raspberry and olives with Pistachio ice cream it was superb. The wines and champagne delicate and soft, and the setting gentle and calm.

Near the end of the dinner Marie marked on how delightfull she found it, how much she enjoyed to be together by saying "I wish every day of our lives is like this" and "I just want us to be together like this forever".

I could've asked her there and then, the moment was perfect, but for the presence of the other diners, few as they were. I didn't want to to it in public. This was our moment, not theirs. It was not a sense of jealously exactly, but any other presence was an intrusion. After the dinner I asked Marie if she wanted to go for a small walk in the park the restaurant was located in. The outside air was crisp but clear and the night was beautifull, with few clouds and the stars out. Under a big oak tree in the park (because she didn't want to sit down on one of the benches) I asked her if the had meant what she said, that she really wanted us to be together forever. She said "Yes, I'd love that". Kneeling, I then proceeded to ask her if she wanted to marry me then. Grinning, thinking I made a joke, she said "sure". But when I reached in my pocket to take out the ring, it changed to a Gasp and "What, No, Really, Oh My God, YES, OF COURSE.... YES! I DO! Oh My God, Really...Really Owwwww!

I think she was surprised....

And with that we were engaged. We enjoyed the rest of the evening together, we went to Holland Casino in Utrecht, and then in the hotel, the night, and the next morning. And we are still enjoying it. Marie is excited as only women can be about the wedding, but admittedly I am too. I didn't ask her because she wants to be married, I asked because I want her to marry me. I like the idea of being married, have never doubted that I would. But I am also looking forward to the wedding, the fun of planning it, arranging all the details, and the day itself. And I don't need Marie to say Yes. I only have to take a look at the sparkle in her eyes, at her face, at her whole being to know the answer.

-R-