As we approached two years in our beautiful relationship, it was time to "seal the deal," as they say. I ordered the ring and Ana's daughters were the only ones privy to what was being planned. Time passed, and the day of what would be our second anniversary as a couple arrived.
While I did my best to keep it a secret, I'm sure she suspected something since we had invited our kids to the dinner and some of our closest friends. Flashing back for a moment, Ana made a comment that I shouldn't get her jewelry or clothing or anything like that, but instead I should get her some useful tools, or power tools. Flash forward to the second anniversary day, and I decided to use this to my advantage.
On our anniversary, I presented Ana with my gift to her in a big gift bag before heading out to our dinner reservation to meet everyone. She looked at me with a confused face and then wondered why the gift was so heavy. I then reminded her of when she told me that she would prefer tools over any jewelry. Let's just say that I'm lucky to still be alive because she was ready to rip me to shreds based on the look on her face. Nevertheless, after a few nervous chuckles, we headed out to meet everyone at the restaurant.
The place I reserved for the anniversary dinner is called "Mercato della Pescheria," a lovely restaurant on Miami Beach's Española Way. When we got there, we were seated in an area with two tables that had a division in between for people to get in and out, which was perfect for us to sit in for that perfect moment. Once everyone arrived, we enjoyed a fabulous dinner followed by dessert, leading us to the grand moment of the gift opening.
As she pulled out the large, wrapped box from the gift bag, I could see the look of concern on Ana's face after our little conversation about the gift at home. She opened the anniversary card I gave her, and was touched by the words in it, so that eased the tension enough for her to proceed opening the gift. After removing the wrapping, she was presented with a box with "James Allen" labeled on it, and her demeanor changed. Upon opening the larger box from the top lid, a look of joy came upon Ana's face once she was presented with a little red box inside, and then her elated response once she opened the red box to reveal her engagement ring in all its splendor!
At this point, I got up from the table, took Ana's hand to have her stand with me, and got down on one knee with the ring inside the box in my hand. I then asked her the question ever woman wants to hear from her partner...
"Wirst du mich heiraten?"
Yes, I asked, "Will you marry me," in German. And thankfully, especially since she was relieved it wasn't tools, Ana replied, "Natürlich!" (That means "Of course!" in German.), and I placed the engagement ring on her finger. We then kissed and hugged, and continued to enjoy a lovely evening with family and close friends.
And that is how the engagement of our love was sealed, and we look forward to the day where we officially will be husband and wife later this year with excitement, anticipation, and lots and lots of love.