Celine visited me again in May, 2018. We all know it sounds like Celine visits me more than I visits Celine. Let’s recall that remark about American bankers being so busy. Although I may not fly to Taiwan as often as I would like, I am still pretty good at planning surprises. Celine had no idea what was in store when she arrived in the US.
After a few days of rest from the day long trip to Charlotte, we headed down to the Virgin Islands. It was the first time either of us had visited these islands. We would not be disappointed.
I had thought long about how to propose to Celine. Despite the risk of making the rest of the week quite awkward, I settled on giving it a go the first night. After we arrived and had settles into the apartment, I asked Celine to walk down to the beach with me.
We arrived on a nice small beach just at the end of our driveway. We walked down a few steps as the sun was setting. Holding her in my arms, I told her how much she meant to me ad how much I loved her. I asked her if anything could make our lives better. Then, I said I had one idea that could make things fuller. I pulled the boxed ring out of my pocket and asked her to marry me.
She immediately replied: “You didn’t get down on one knee” …and so it goes. Awakening from this unexpected response, there was only one thing to do. I got down on one knee and pleaded for marriage.
It must have been written in the sand or stars or somewhere. As I was down on one knee asking to marry the most beautiful woman I know, two vans stopped on the road next to the beach. We first thought they were lost, but quickly learned otherwise when a hoard of women leaped out of the vans cheering and congratulating us. I suppose that knee was waiting for the vans to come into view.
Following all the excitement of getting engage, the our trip became rather ordinary. As any newly engaged man would, I drove my fiancé through the most ridiculous trails on the island. I found it quite exciting; I’m not sure the screams and desperate requests to “slow down” mean Celine felt the same way.
That was just for the first day. My bride-to-be was able to relax a bit more after I had explored all the treacherous terrain of the island. The following days would be more consumed with blanket covered sunbathing. The sun may be magical, but some of us still don’t love dark skin.
We enjoyed lazy days with coffee in the apartment until almost lunch time. We ate at all the restaurants that we could find. We enjoyed the beach and the ocean. It was a wonderful week for the both of us.
When we returned to Charlotte, we visited family in Augusta to let them enjoy the wonderful newness of our future together. We had a delicious dinner in Charlotte with my friends from work. It was all that we would want it to be. And in Celine style, we finished it off with one final date night at a wonderful restaurant.