The Proposal:
I stood outside a restaurant called Tavern on the Green. I just flown in from Florida where I had asked Furi Kuri's father for her hand in marriage, and this was the place I would ask Furi Kuri to become my wife. I live in Dublin, Ireland, so tonight was the first time I had seen the the restaurant in person. I had heard so much about it, and it came highly recommended, plus it was used in the movie Ghostbusters... It was perfect. The restaurant was set just inside central park, so I stood on the line between woodland tranquility and the commotion of the city. I was greeted by a doorman wearing a bright-colored coat, like those that wait outside high-end hotels. I said hello, my voice stuttering unexpectedly, and then I realized how nervous I was.
I walked down the hallway into the lobby were the room was full of people waiting to be seated. Some were standing in line to have their coats checked and others were simply socializing and enjoying being out of the cold. An unmistakably Italian guy stood behind the reservation desk. I walked up to the him and got his attention.
"Sir, how can I help you?"
"I, uh... So I'm... Okay, I'm a little nervous because..."
Eventually I communicated that my girlfriend was coming here thinking that she was meeting my parents for dinner, but, in fact, I was going to be here instead, and when I surprised her I was going to ask her to marry me. For a moment, he stared. In the back of my mind I was willing him to say "Bada bing!" but that effort failed by the time he regained his composure. We worked it out so that when Furi Kuri arrived she would be seated immediately and I would hold onto a pager that would go off when things were set. Then I would walk into the room and Bada bing! However, I had some time to kill before she got here, so I asked the host where the bar was. I needed a drink.
While I waited at the bar, sipping my seven and seven, I got a call from Furi Kuri.
"Your parents just called me and said they were already at the restaurant!" I laughed, and was sympathetic towards her. Punctuality had been part of her plan to make a good impression. "Where are you right now?" she asked me "Oh, I'm at a bar. Some of people from work went out for drinks."
Furi Kuri pouted a few moments more. She was worked up and anxious about spending time with my parents for the first time without me there. I assured her everything would go well, though I secretly delighted in the fact that she thought I was still in Ireland. I gave her one last "good luck" before we got off the phone and then finished the last of my drink and paid my bill. She was only a few minutes away.
The pager vibrated in my pocket like a bomb about to go off. Nervous excitement surged through me. I took a steadying breath and left the bar area slowly, making sure that I didn't run into the hosts showing Furi Kuri to her seat. I walked passed the Italian in the lobby; from a distance, he gave me the thumbs up and nodded his head in the direction of the room Furi Kuri was seated in. I walked down a short, curved hallway into the "Chestnut room" of the restaurant. Furi Kuri stood at a table in the center of the room with a puzzled look on her face, seeing that there were only two chairs and that my parents were nowhere to be found. She immediately swung her head around in my direction and her face became a mix of shock and joy. She spoke words of disbelief as I made my way to her. I met her with a quick embrace, but when I pulled back she resisted, not wanting to let me go. I looked into her eyes and she paused long enough for me to say:
"I would have been here sooner, but I had to go to Florida first so I could ask your father's permission to do this..." I got down on one knee and pulled the ring in its black box from my pocket and snapped it open, "Will you marry me?"
She said yes.
I stood and kissed her and suddenly there was applause all around us. The room was full of people, which I forgot to mention because none of them had existed until now. We stood there talking in excitement, exchanging kisses and I love you's. People were taking pictures of us and we were barely aware of it. Finally, we sat down as our senses partially returned. A few moments later, a man in a suit came to our table and congratulated us. He was older, with a Texan accent and a mustache worthy of Sam Elliot. He offered us some marital advice.
"The secret is to kiss each other at least four times a day. Once when you wake up, again before you go to work, once when you come home, and then once before you go to sleep. My wife and I have done that for thirty years and it hasn't failed us. I hope you two find as much happiness as we have."
Furi Kuri and I were truly touched by such a kind admonition.
Our evening of bliss continued with a bottle of wine and people extending their congratulations to us as they walked by. An older couple with their granddaughter at the table next to us had taken pictures of the whole thing, from the moment Furi Kuri accepted. He later sent those to me via email. Coincidently, there was a hired photographer at the restaurant that evening, and she approached us and said that another couple had bought us a photo. We posed for her and then we asked who had bought it so that we could thank them. She pointed us in the direction of an older man and woman seated off to the side. We went and thanked them, and a conversation ensued during which the woman asked us how we met. In college, we answered, and then she asked where we went. When we said Vanderbilt, she put her hands on her chest and told us that is where her and her husband went, met, and fell in love.
That night, and the rest of the weekend we spent together, could not have gone better. Now, I have the pleasure of referring to Furi Kuri as my fiance' and soon I will have the honor of calling her my wife.
