Our Love Story
:: page 26 ::

The revelation
Amy was sitting on the edge of her parents' bed, getting ready to dial her father's work phone. Meanwhile, Deanna was stuffing miscellaneous things in closets, washing dishes and complaining that the dog smelled. She was a blur of movement, like the Tasmanian Devil from Bugs Bunny.

"Mom, please! Just come in here. I'm calling Dad now. I need you to come in here and sit on the bed with me."

"Well Amy, if we're expecting company, this house is not remotely ready."

"It looks fine," her daughter countered.

"Okay," Deanna said, finally giving in.

At that point, Amy called her father at work. 4:30 had arrived.

"Hello?"

"Hey Dad. Well, Mom is sitting next to me on the bed. I wanted to tell you something important." She paused, trying to collect herself. "On Christmas Day…" Amy's lip started quivering and she began to cry. "On Christmas Day, Adam…" Tears were welling up in her eyes. "Adam told me he wanted to marry me."

While Matt listened intently, Deanna began to "sympathy cry" with her only daughter, getting emotional because Amy was emotional.

After she had finished updating her parents on the major development in her life, her father asked a Dad-type question. "Why didn't you tell us this a couple of days ago?"

"Because it wasn't the right time. We were still figuring everything out. Which leads me to the other big news. I need to leave right now to go pick him up from the airport. He's flying in from D.C. to ask you and Mom for my hand in marriage."

Amy expected a pronounced reaction from her mother. Maybe she'd scream, maybe she'd pout. But Deanna was in another world. Her eyes were staring off into space and her mouth had dropped open.

Not surprisingly, Matt knew he needed to intervene. "Be careful going to the airport. I love you. Hand the phone to your mother."

"Okay Dad. I love you too; I'll see you in a couple of hours."

Amy could easily overhear what he said next since she was sitting immediately next to her mother on the bed. "Now Deanna," he said, "we will be supportive of Amy. We will listen to what Adam has to say for himself. Do you hear me?"

Deanna was still absorbing the shocking news and mustered an "Ah ha."

Time was running short in order for Amy to be on time to pick me up. So, with her cheeks still wet from her previous tears, she stood up, kissed her mother on the forehead and whispered, "I love you. I'll be back."

Adam's change of plans
Meanwhile, hours beforehand in Potomac, Maryland, I had awoken early, unable to sleep too soundly since I anticipated one of the important milestones of my life. Today, I would ask for Amy's hand in marriage. I showered, shaved and changed into my grey suit, white shirt and red and white striped tie.

While I was packing, Mom heard me stirring earlier than she had anticipated.

She came into my bedroom, saw that I was dressed fairly formally, wrestling with the zipper on my red garment bag. "What's going on?"

"Major change in plans," I said. Amy and I had only talked with the Southwest operator hours before to change my flight. It had been around 12:30 a.m. "I've decided to fly to Dallas today instead of San Antonio to ask for her parents' blessing."

"Well, that is a change of plans. Okay."

"But first I have to run a quick errand and exchange that pepper grinder that I gave you for Christmas that doesn't work at Williams-Sonoma. I'll be back shortly so that you can take me to the airport."


Continued >> The selection of my best man


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