Driving to Manti

(part 3 of 4)
Continued from Telling Andy

On the drive to Manti, I was a giddy, love-sick girl and couldn't stop talking about our future together.  In my memory, Andy drove, patiently tolerating my unbridled enthusiasm, piping in on the conversation every so often.  He and I had both brought a stack of CD's for our road trip and I remember putting mine into his case saying that we might as well combine them now.

After a while I started lamenting about the fact that I didn't have a ring.  The ring had been an interesting point of discussion throughout our courtship.  At one point he suggested that we casually look at rings together, but I refused.  I had been "engaged" once before.  I use the word loosely because in retrospect the whole thing seems practically imagined.  A boyfriend and I had committed to marry and we had announced it to family, but nothing further than that had really happened before the relationship crumbled apart.  We (the ex-boyfriend and I) had gone out ring shopping numerous times and nothing ever seemed right.  I remember one time holding his hand (the ex-boyfriend) as we walked into the ring shop.  He paused unexpectedly at the door and it felt as if he was forcing me to look like the foolish girl pulling the un-wanting boyfriend into the ring shop.  That experience had always left a sour taste in my mouth, and I had refused to ever look at rings with Andy anywhere but online.  I remember a night or two when Andy was working that I sat at my computer looking at rings and I sent him links to the things I liked.  Andy would e-mail back, asking clarifying questions, and eventually he and I both had a clear idea of exactly what I wanted.

One time Andy's parents actually pulled us aside, offering us a family diamond in the case that we ever got to the point of engagement.  They had recommended re-setting it, which seemed unnecessary to me because it was a simple gold band with a solitaire diamond, which is exactly what I wanted.  Except that I wanted a square diamond and this one was a traditional round one.  Andy refused to accept it, saying that when the time came for something like that, he wanted to give me a ring that he selected and paid for himself.  Driving that day to Manti, though, I started to beg for that ring.  It didn't matter - I told him.  "I don't care what the ring looks like or where it came from," I explained.  "I just want something to show the whole world that I am promised to you!"

Well Andy hated this whole line of conversation and continued to stand firm in the point that he wanted to get me my very own ring.  Eventually he admitted that he had already been to a jeweler and had a ring ordered.  I was absolutely shocked (and a little bit mad that he told me and ruined the surprise - poor guy can never win with me)!

Around lunch time we stopped at Arby's to pick up some food.  Then we drove to a nearby hiking trail that my mom had told us about to have a nice picnic.  It was one of the most uncomfortable meals of my life.  I could see Andy wanting to do something more formal to cement our engagement.  I felt like I was forcing him into an awkward proposal that he wasn't prepared for.  We were both extremely nervous as we ate and I was relieved when we finished lunch and got back on the road.

A few hours later we arrived in Manti.  As we parked and got out of the car, I had no idea that he was about to propose to me in a way that had been planned and prepared for well before I admitted having called the temple that morning.  In telling me about the ring, he hadn't ruined the surprise at all - he had tricked me!

To be continued in The Proposal