Once upon a time, a girl of about thirteen was hired to tutor and clean for a family in her ward. Often times, the girl would find herself cleaning alongside the family's teenage son. They became friends. The two worked together for years, and eventually began meeting away from the home, going on adventures, getting into trouble, and generally just having fun. A few months before the girl turned sixteen, the young man presented her with his first gift:
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a ctr ring the young woman had greatly desired
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| eww eww eww |
Unfortunately, the teenage romance didn't end well, and our heroine broke up with the young man.
Their relationship thereafter was in shambles. It went from silence and cold-shoulders to almost-a-romance, back and forth over the space of a year. Still, the young man bought her a gift for her seventeenth birthday. Knowing her love of writing and of things that whispered of eras past, he bought her a quill and ink pot.
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| For the record, she wasn't expecting a gift that year. She still swore he was upset. That's what she thinks. |
Our young man left for two years to serve a mission, during which time the young woman missed (quite a lot) her friend of years ago. So she wrote him. Faithfully. For two long years. (Talk about dedication, right? Do any of you guys out there have a girl who will do that? Yeah, she's pretty awesome.) In return, he wrote back, and continued to send gifts on her birthday.
For her eighteenth, he sent her something straight from a missionary's heart:
For her nineteenth, he surprised her, and caused the girl to experience her first ever laugh-cry. (Success!)
He sent her a printed, bound copy of her first completed work of fiction. It looked like a book she would find in a bookstore (where it should be), and holds a place of honor on her shelf.
Eventually, the young man returned home, and the young woman apologized (for what??) and expressed her desire to be reunited with him. She surprised him by flying from Idaho for his homecoming (or rather, redefined surprise. She was talking to her roommates in Idaho one hour, and the next she was in my living room!). Once the young man rediscovered cellphones and skype, the couple remained in near-constant contact. The girl went home again for Thanksgiving, where this time, she asked him to be her boyfriend. Of course, he said 'yes'.
For Christmas, our young man bought the young woman a beautiful and unique necklace (one of the girl's three eternal hunts, I'll have you know. That thing doesn't exist anywhere else in the world), and hand-crafted her a wooden box to keep it in.
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| Unfortunately, some four-legged creatures got to the box. (I swear I'll kill those dogs) |
After Christmas, the couple traded places. He left for Idaho, while she stayed in Temecula. Still, they kept in constant contact. They talked. And talked. And talked. They made plans and secret schemes. He sent her flowers on Valentines Day.
One specific weekend in February rolled around, and the young man flew to California. The couple met with her parents, got their approval and blessing, and then the magic began.
First, she was blindfolded. Then, she was driven in circles, and finally, led over treacherous fields and dirt paths. When the blindfold was taken off she was sitting...in the middle of the meadow, where the couple had spent many nights stargazing. The young man surprised the young woman with:
And then...
"Let's go get some dinner."
That's it? the girl thought. We talked to my parents, he dragged me out here for this big show and...rootbeer?
She shrugged and followed regardless. They gathered their things and walked over the next hill, where written in glowsticks was:
He then handed the girl a package, which contained:
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And inside that:
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| A ring, on the chapter titled "The Unbreakable Vow" |
Jared then got down on one knee and asked me to marry him.
And I said yes.
Katie Helen Thompson is officially engaged to Jared Christopher Allen, as of 2/17/12.
