Pop goes the weasel
Why do they call it 'popping the question'? I suppose because it is supposed to come as a surprise to the intended. In my line of thinking one's future wife should never not expect you to ask her hand in marriage.
Stacey has known from before we started dating that I wanted to marry her (but that's a story for another time). In fact, she did all of the leg work on the rings, as she wanted them to fit her exacting specifications. So the challenge for me was to make the time and place of the actual event a surprise for her.
We had talked about doing it at Disneyana on Main Street at Disneyland. We met there while standing in line for a merchandise event. I even conspired with a few Cast Members there about how I might go about doing it. But as it turns out that was just a ruse.
I think most people expected us to get engaged on Valentine's Day. I expected us to as well. I had tried to arrange a nice dinner and movie sort of thing, and then I'd ask her before dessert. But that failed as we didn't get to dessert until 11:30pm that night. (I'm sorry if you lost your bet, James).
I had even bought a disposable camera and planned to ask the waiter to snap a few shots of the moment. Stacey found the camera and I think she expected the question that night, so that kept me from asking her too.
The date I really wanted to propose was Feb 17th. I wanted to do it at Disneyland, but as it turns out we were scheduled to be in Las Vegas that day to meet my Dad and stepmom, Rosemary.
So, I thought, I'll do it at the house. We made a special detour to the property under the thin guise that we might meet more neighbors. And we did. However, we also discovered that our house was locked. We'd visited the day before and found it open, but not on the 17th. Oh well. I quickly thought up a backup plan.
One of the things Dad and Rosemary wanted to do was walk the strip and check out the pirates show at Treasure Island, the volcano at Mirage, and the new casinos like Paris and Bellagio. I knew Stacey loves the Bellagio water show, so things were starting to fall into place.
Eventually we ended up at the Bellagio water show at 4pm. The music was 'One' from 'A Chorus Line' which played into my hands. I started formulating a speech in my head and warming up the flash in that disposable camera I'd been carrying around since Valentine's Day.
After the water show, I handed my Dad the camera and asked him to take a picture of Stacey and I. After the first picture I got down on one knee and it quickly became apparent what was going on. He snapped away as I worked through my simple speech.
"Stacey, I wanted to do this at Disneyland, however, we're going to build a new life here in Las Vegas, so this seems appropriate ... You are my one. Will you be my one? Will you marry me?"
Thankfully, she said, "I will."
Afterwards, a small group of tourists that had gathered applauded. But there was no confetti.
I am glad my Dad got to see the moment. He really was tickled pink (as he promised he would be). I wish Stacey's Dad could have been there, I know he's watching us from above.
Thank you to everyone for the well wishes and congratulations. Stacey and I look forward to seeing you all.
-Indigo (John)
