Warning: chocolatey sugar rush. In deference to friends who are waiting for juicy details, the following account is as faithful as I can remember it. I am not one for romance, but since I assume people are waiting for the good stuff, please bear with the overindulgent details.
The Plan. As many of you know (at least the LHC, some folks at school, and of course Caths' and my respective families), last Saturday, November 17, I took Cathy to Mi Piace, a nice Italian restaurant at the Peninsula Manila (right across Makati Shangri-la), where we had dinner. This was the night I fully intended to make memorable for her, and I honestly think I succeeded, to a certain degree. My mother and I visited Mi Piace a week or so before the 17th, and was assisted by the very accommodating and kind manager, Mr. Jose Sabino, who helped me pre-select a menu and graciously gave in to my request to reserve a certain table (far away from other diners and relatively quiet). Thanks to Ria for the suggestion of Mi Piace; it was fabulous.
The Ring. I bought a simple engagement ring for Caths, set in white gold. I felt I didn't want to propose with a box, so I bought a bottle of Flower by Kenzo and tied the ring to the bottle with a bit of silver string (no thanks to Ed Harris in Stepmom; it never occured to me that I may have been ripping him off), taking care not to rip the plastic wrapper. I wrapped it in shimmery green paper and that was that! A gift that was simply, to Caths, a gift. Inside, however, was something that I've been dying to give her since the day we met.
The Date. Earlier on the 17th, Caths and I went Christmas shopping. To our chagrin, GreenHills was empty!, so we transferred to SM Megamall and did most of the shopping there. From Ortigas, we went home to wrap, rest a little bit and recharge (yes, honey, believe it or not, I was able to rest). After about two hours, she and I dressed to the nines... well, maybe eight and a half. I wore a black suit (without the tie to take away from the formality), while Cathy wore this really pretty black skirt and top. I told her to dress well, and quite appropriately, I believe. She is always beautiful, but this evening, she was really glowing. I was nervous, and my palms were wet. I hid the bottle of Kenzo in my left pant pocket.
Before dinner, we were served a complimentary bread basket with about four different types of bread: soft rolls, hard rolls, garlic sticks and tortillas. We were given balsamic vinegar and olive oil (with olives in the bottle to add to the ambience) to go with the freshly-baked bread. We started dinner with a salad for Caths, arugula, I believe, and minestrone soup for me. I added too much Tabasco to my soup, and Caths and I subsequently swapped. The arugula was delicious, with slivers of cheese and artichoke hearts bathed in tart balsamic vinegar. My minestrone was made with real tomatoes, pasta shells, carrots and olives. We had a dry white wine to drink.
Cathy's main course was a grilled salmon plate with asparagus, potatoes and a light sauce that tasted faintly of tarragon and chili. I had a sea bass, also with asparagus and potatoes, and a sauce that tasted absolutely delightful. It was my first time to have sea bass, and I was surprised to find its taste clean and refreshing! It went superbly with the wine. As for the salmon, Caths herself admitted that she was not exactly a salmon fan, but this time, she really enjoyed the flavor of the fish. The entire time, we were reminiscing about previous romantic dates (Cafe Appasionato, L'Incontro) and how far our relationship has grown in the past three years. I looked at her in the cozy lights of Mi Piace and then I knew that there was no way I was going to let this woman slip through my fingers; whatever doubts I may have had disappeared into thin air.
The Proposal. After the main course, this lovely woman named Tess offered to serve dessert. Caths, in her impeccable timing, excused herself, and I told Tess to wait five minutes or so. I brought out the gift and had a hand-written poem to go with it. She opened the package, saw it was a Kenzo, and set the box aside! I had to open it myself. Let Caths post the poem na lang; I don't remember most of it.
Anyway, I got down on one knee and held the ring up. "Will you marry me?" I said. My hands were shaking, and I felt light-headed. So this is what it's like to propose, I remember thinking. Please say yes.
And she did. We kissed (out of the corner of my eye, I saw someone peeking, ah let 'em, I couldn't care less! Cathy was going to give me the chance to make her happy! For life!), the sweetest kiss we've ever shared. I also remember getting all teary-eyed, but that's just me. *sigh*
So there you have it. We're planning the ceremony for sometime in December next year. Life certainly may not be a box of chocolates, but it's made so much more tolerable when you've got someone who likes bittersweets as well as caramels. |
