Step One: The Proposal

According to every chick flick I've ever seen, there is a "typical" way for every love story to unfold.  Most girls I've met will protest, at least a little, that they don't expect these types of fantasies to ever really happen to anyone - but that doesn't mean they aren't secretly hoping for Prince Edward to ride up in his limo brandishing an umbrella and bouquet of flowers.  I'm sure of it.  The reason I am sure of this is because the first thing everyone always asks (after "Can I see your ring?!") is "How did he propose"?

They are usually disappointed.  My fiancé and I had both resigned ourselves to bachelor(ette)hood after the failures and hassles of previous relationships.  And we were both pretty okay with that - until we bumped into each other and couldn't ignore the butterflies.  Neither of us was interested in wasting time or being disappointed again so we went into the relationship with the understanding that, if all went well, we were headed to the altar. 


Five months later, things were working out.  Or maybe they weren't.  I don't remember.  What I remember is having a huge argument about something, and afterward sitting down on the couch exhausted.  After a minute or two of silence he said "What would you say if I asked you to marry me?"  And I said "Okay".  

Only one person has found this story to be romantic.  Another found it to be hilarious.  Most of the rest didn't know what to do with it.  My fiancé did not pop the question on a billboard or with a fancy dinner or on bended knee or with a quirky online video.  Instead, it slipped out of him when he had nothing else left to say - and isn't that when the truest things actually get said?  Also, there's a special sense of irony in this proposal.  It's like accepting that even though we wanted to kill each other just then, we were good to want to kill each other, and only each other, for the next fifty years.  Marital bliss.