Monday, January 25, 2010

So How Did He Pop the Big Question?


All weddings begin with an engagement ring, but much like our relationship, the proposal unfolded in a haphazardly way. It was a typical sweltering Australian summer. No amount of cool drinks, cold showers or ice-cream was doing anything to relieve the disgusting humidity. It was the kind of summer that sapped most of your energy and all you wanted to do was lounge around, moving as little as possible, in the hope of emanating as little heat as possible. On this particular day, Craig and I had made the drive from BrisVegas to Coffs Harbour for my good friend's wedding.
Tara and I had met when we'd both moved to Brisbane to study. Although we went to the same university, we were doing different courses (she was studying to be a nurse while I was doing radiography). She'd been somewhat instrumental in Craig and I getting together, even if her method of choice had been a guilt-trip. She needed to meet an old friend from school and had no one else to go with. At the time, I was depressed and homesick which for some reason, made me an ideal candidate (go figure). If I didn't go, she was going to brave the night alone and needless to say, I didn't want to be remembered as that girl who let her friend get ravaged by some BrisVegas drunk. So I trudged along to the pub and met her friend Luke, who'd also brought along some friends, one of whom was Craig. Long story short, there was a lot of awkward introductions, Long Island Ice-Teas and snogging by the pool table. That was just under eight years ago.
Anyway, Tara had since found a love of her own. So Craig and I were enduring the heatwave at Coffs Harbour, our own discomfort made minor against that of the wedding's party, who'd been all dressed up and putting up with the heat all day. As lovely as the ceremony was, everyone was more than keen to get out of the Church and head for the reception, where the promise of beer and food awaited.
Craig was sitting with Luke, while I'd gone dancing with Tara. At this stage, the boys were more than a little tipsy and Craig was confiding in Luke that he was planning to pop the big question. What Craig didn't realise was that I'd ducked back from the dance floor, chasing a drink. The irony is, I didn't really overhear anything but when Craig turned around and saw me, he thought the worse and proceeded to spill the beans. I kinda thought it was a joke (he was pretty drunk after all and beer had the tendency of bringing out a strange romanticism in him) so I brushed the subject aside and reminded him that it was Tara's wedding, therefore making it an utterly inappropriate setting for talking about engagement rings. So the whole thing was sorta shrugged aside and there was more drinking and dancing :D
The next morning, Craig woke up with a nasty hangover and being the sensitive being that I am, I decided to tease him about "the crazy stuff" he said last night. It wasn't until his expression got awfully serious that it dawned on me. Oops.
So uh, that's how we got engaged. Sure it wasn't the most romantic of proposals but I love it for its accidentalness. It's made a full circle and if we're lucky, the wedding will go a bit smoother :D Anyway, we'll see.



No comments:

Post a Comment