Cynthia always gets mad at me the way I tell this story but it is quite funny. Enjoy…
Cynthia’s favorite destination has been Salem, MA for years and I intended to keep it that way. As a couple we had visited Salem every year during the month of October, so for me there was no better place to ask her to marry me. With the help of a few friends (Rob Hildebrant, his daughter Zoey for keeping the secret so well, Mike and Aline), I was able to coordinate the whole days event. On Memorial Day weekend we spent the weekend in New Hampshire with Mike, Aline and their son Freddie. For months we were secretly planning and plotting how we can justify going to Salem in May, the towns off-season but we managed. We came up with my wanting to go to a restaurant I like so much the next town over and played the whole day off as “Why not just stop in Salem for the day, hang out for a bit and then go out to eat”. And the bait worked. On May 26th we were in Salem, MA. But there was something I overlooked in my planning: that town is Cynthia’s favorite place in the world and she wanted to see things. Every. Thing.
Hours were spent going in and out of shops all along Essex Street. The sun was setting and Cynthia and Aline were firing on all shopping cylinders. Time was running out and we were still half way across town from the Salem Commons where I planned to get down on one knee at the Gazebo. I had to enlist Mike and Katherine (Cynthia’s mother) to start herding the girls across town and what fine herders they were. We were in the Salem Commons in about 15 minutes and I can see the gazebo and in that gazebo stood a flock of tourists, heavily entrenched. KAPOWW! Plan blown out the window. Things were going down hill fast. We were burning daylight at an alarming rate. People were hungry. I had to think fast. And then Cynthia throws a Hail Mary of NFL game day proportions. She suggests: Let’s go check out the historic ship.
Yes. Why yes Cynthia, we should go check out that ship.
So off we went to see the historic ship “The Friendship” and it was perfect. The breeze coming off the water. It was a pretty little area and not very crowded. After taking a few photos of the ship I saw a bench open up. Here was the opportunity that I must seize. I made the excuse of taking a seat for a few minutes before we headed back to the group. We took a seat on the stone bench and I started setting up the segue into my proposal however Cynthia interrupted me. She needed to use the ladies room. So I sat and watched her walk down to the park restrooms when I witnessed the death of my grand scheme. The bathrooms were locked and we needed to go hunt down a location where we could find one, and off we went. I vacated the bench and we went down the block to the cafe to seek their relief and behold! The line for the restroom was about 8 people deep. Now its about 30 minutes by the time Cynthia returned, fully energized and ready for more shopping. In and out of stores we snaked looking at this dress and those shoes and that funny cat thing. I had to shepherd her out of the stores and bring her back to the bench somehow and I knew of only one way: show disinterest.
With everything item she picked up and showed me I horribly had to fake disinterest and crush her hopes and dreams of owning that particular item. I said mean things like “When will you ever use that?” and “I think it looks stupid”. As terrible as I was acting, it was starting to work. Cynthia was getting the drift that I wanted out of the shops and she obliged reluctantly.
Now (full disclosure) I am in no way faulting Cynthia for anything that has happened thus far or the things yet to be described. She obviously had no idea what I was keeping secret in my back pack but she certainly seemed to have a way of raising my anxiety.
Now on our way out of the wharf shopping area I dropped the suggestion of taking a seat again at the bench in the ship park thing space what ever it is. But Cynthia was determined to get back to the group who have been waiting in Salem Common for about one hour now. I had to counter her by suggesting I wanted to just sit for a few minutes and enjoy some alone time before we headed back. Nope. She wasn’t having it. Here is a paraphrased version of the conversation:
Steve: Can we just sit for a few minutes. We haven’t been alone all weekend. It’s just be nice to take a breather.
Cynthia: But the bench is in the other direction of the car.
Steve: I know, I just want to take like 10 minutes. 5 at least.
Cynthia: But they have been waiting for us. I feel bad.
Steve: 5 minutes
Cynthia: We can sit in the car on the way to the restaurant.
Steve: …5…minutes
Cynthia: Fine
So off to the bench we went but it was occupied. And why wouldn’t it be, right? So I had to settle on concrete wall about waist high. We sat for a bit, my camera bag on my lap with the ring inside. I told her that I felt guilty for not buying her anything for Mothers Day and that I got her a little gift, something small that we can do together since we don’t really need any more stuff. I asked her to close her eyes but she didn’t. She looked away. I requested her eye lids shut…but she is inquisitive.” Why must they be shut” she asked when I pleaded for her to just close her eyes. She didn’t. She pulled the hat over her face.
Close enough.
On one knee, her eyes behind her hat and sunglasses, I prepared to iterate the little speech I had prepared and practiced a million times over in my head. PSHHHH! Right out the window. She opened her eyes at my request and I lost it about two sentences in. There was no recovering and the cat is now out of the bag. Luckily I was able to squeak out the important phrases and the actual “Will you marry me?”. Her hands trembling and I shaking like a leaf, she began to glow and smile and tell me the one word I was hoping to hear. She said “yes”.
The struggle was over. The deed done. Kissing and hugging while still on one knee, random strangers were quickly becoming our cheer leaders as they ran up shouting “OH MY! CONGRATULATIONS!”. We sat for a bit and let things calm down. The group were hungry and wondering where we have been for almost 2 hours now but that didn’t matter any more (sorry Mike, Aline, Freddie and Kathy). We were about to set sail on the voyage of our life time.
We were going to be getting married.
-A story by Steve
