August to Eternity

It is August 10th, 2023, and my partner and I are on the way to the coast. Unexpected rain pattered on the windshield and slickened the curvy country roads that had not seen a drop since June at least.

That morning, while in an online meeting, I decided to check and see if there were any last minute hotel deals at our favorite beach spot. I found one, and excitedly went to wake up my boyfriend, who had two days off work.

"Do you want to spend the night at the coast?" I asked as he came to.

"Um..." He seemed to hesitate, and that confused me.

"I found a hotel. Do you not want to?"

"No, no, I do." He sat up and rubbed his eyes. "Yeah, that sounds great."

I made the reservation, and once I had wrapped up work, we began our usual routine for going on trips. As I was bagging up necessities, my boyfriend slipped on his shoes and let me know he was going to check the mail.

No problem. I continued what I was doing, and he returned a few minutes later.

On the road, the cityscape behind up, clouds had begun to gather. It was a weekday, and luckily not much traffic to contend with the weather.

By the time we reached our destination, it was evening, and the weather had cleared. As often happens, I had a tension headache after the long drive, and was eager to have dinner.

Fresh bread, a glass of cold water, and basil pesto fusilli managed to turn me somewhat human again, but my head still ached terribly. I had waited too long to eat. But I still wanted to watch the sun set over the ocean

My partner paid the check and got us a lava cake to go. We took ourselves across the street to a bench atop a cliff that overlooked the water. Seagulls and crows passed by overhead, waves crashing down onto the rocks below. Kayakers rested in the distance, likely also admiring the glorious sunset. A sea lion glided through the water, dancing in between matted seaweed as it searched for the plentiful crustaceans in the bay. We mixed our cake with ice cream, and it was gone within a couple of minutes as we contentedly looked out over the expanse. I laid my head on my partner's shoulder, and his head on mine.

We returned to our room, and my head was still pounding. I decided to take a shower. The water barely warmed, and it did not help much. I knew sleep would be in order soon. My partner had gone out to the car to grab a bag of water bottles, and when he came back, he told me I just had to come and see the sunset.

I was in my pajamas, my hair wrapped up in a towel, and I hesitated, but eventually followed. It was more than worth it. Rain was gently coming down, the clouds to the west pink and purple and orange and utterly fantastic. One of those magic moments which nature gifts us with on occasion that you hold onto forever.

We went to go hang out on our balcony, which was much more private than the parking lot as it faced a forested area, and leaned on the ledge as we listened to the rain plink onto the tin roof. Crickets chirped quietly, a toad croaked now and again. It was nothing short of an enchanted moment to me. I was there in one of my favorite places in the world, with my favorite person.

"This is perfect." He declared and I agreed.

"But, there is only one thing that would make it more perfect."

"Oh yeah?" I asked and waited for him to make a joke, to say something silly like he frequently would.

But there was no light-hearted quip. In fact, he was no longer next to me at all.

I turned to see where he had gone, and there he was, kneeling on the balcony, open ring box extended out.

"Will you marry me?"

I swear I was frozen for a solid few seconds, fully taking in the sight before me.

It is August of 2023, and we have been together for twelve years now. Tonight, he has finally asked the biggest question of all.

I am grinning from ear to ear, and I tell him yes. I have been looking at him the whole time, not idea what my ring looks like yet. But I wrap my arms around him as he joins me for a hug, and I am practically spinning in my mind.

After several seconds, he had started to pull away, eager to show me my ring, but I held fast.

"Wait," I said softly as I finally closed my eyes, "Wait a second."

I want to remember this for eternity.

Every detail, from the cerulean paint on the wood planks, to the scent of the eucalyptus trees, the rain quietly pattering on the roof and tree canopy, and the sudden liveliness of our amphibian audience. It was a piece of movie magic; no orchestral swell, but a thundering of toads croaking out a symphony, backed by the chorus of crickets. I wanted to remember how my cheek felt against his shoulder, his faded black, long-sleeved shirt. My soaking wet hair wrapped in a hotel towel, the warm glow of the lamp I had left on in our room, the way we both radiated shock as he waited for me to finish my moment and then accept the ring.

I was finally ready.

I gave him one more squeeze, and took a step back as he slid the rose gold and morganite ring onto my finger. It sparkled brilliantly in the light, and i was in love immediately. I was unsure why I had not started crying yet - the surprise of it all, perhaps.

I had a few questions, number one being, how had he planned it when the trip was so last minute?

When he had gone to check the mail earlier, my ring was there. When I asked if he wanted to spend the night at the beach, he hesitated. The ring was not supposed to get to our apartment until the next day. But lo and behold - it had arrived a day early.

"It was fate." He told me. "I knew I wanted to ask you on this trip then."

It suddenly dawned on me, "Do my parents know? Did you talk to them?"

"I did, I talked to your dad." He beamed. "When I went to check the mail, I called him for his blessing, and he said yes. Your mom was there -"

It was then I became choked up, and the tears fell as I ugly cried and he laughed and came over to console me, also beginning to tear up.

"I know how important that is to you, so I called them."

"Thank you," I said, my tears wetting his shirt, "Thank you. That means so much to me."

The room, the balcony, the toads and crickets, the ice cream, the rain on the windshield, the towering pink clouds and the illuminated, sparkling rain...

I'm never going to forget one single detail of that night, as long as I live.