You Make Me Wanna Say I Do

Hello All!!

I know I was supposed to write about Cambodia, and I promise that I will, it's just that something rather momentous has happened. Tom, as you know, came to visit. Well, he had an important question to ask me, the on-one-knee kind of question. I, of course, said yes, and so now this humble blogger is honored to inform you that I am now the future Mrs. Thomas Duncombe, Esq. So, without further ado, the story, pictures, and all the gory details (you know you want them :)

 Tom said one day over the phone that we ought to go out to a nice dinner one night when he was here. I agreed, and made a reservation at Halia, a fancy restaurant in Singapore's famed botannical gardens (see earlier posts). Well, on Saturday, aka The Day, we went to the gardens around sunset for a stroll and dinner. As we walked hand in hand through the heliconia, I could tell that something was up. Tom seemed a thousand miles away, despite the lush scenery. I enquired, and he quipped that perhaps the Indian food we had for lunch was not agreeing with him. As we made our way to Halia (which is near the back of the gardens), all I could think of was how perfect the moment was. When I'd visited there earlier, I sneered at the lovers blissfully cuddling on the grass. Why did they have to rub it in the rest of our faces that their loves were nearby? The gorgeous blooms were soured by the lack of my sweetheart beside me. Now, he was here, and my hand was clasped firmly in his, and I knew that together, the two of us just like this, could go on perfectly well. 

Once seated at our table, tucked safely away in the greenery of  Halia's patio, Tom's behavior became even more erratic. I found myself tongue-tied, as well. He looked so handsome, in my favorite green polo of his that makes his eyes sparkle. We were both sweating profusely, partially due to the heat, I suppose. We had talked on and on all day and now neither of us had anything to say. Tom commented that he wished he had worn a nicer shirt. I gushed, completely devoid of snark or irony "oh no, you're perfect." We smiled at each other, almost helplessly, me somehow sensing (and him knowing) that something greater than ourselves had been set into motion. We ordered our meals, dispatched our waiter, and stared at each other nervously. Tom had insisted on bringing his jacket to dinner (in case it rained, I was told) and he kept fumbling with the pockets. Finally, we could no longer bear the tension and he blurted out, "you look so beautiful, let me take your picture."

He turned from me and unzipped the pocket of his jacket, but when he turned back to me, it was not in fact his camera in his hand, but a small black velvet box and the most beautiful ring I had ever seen.
"That's not a camera," I stammered. "No, it's not a camera." Our eyes danced from each other to the ring and back. Now that the bomb had been dropped, neither was quite sure what to do about it. "Aren't you going to say something?" I finally commented, mentally smacking myself on the forehead for being so bossy. It broke the tension, though, and Tom laughed. "I'm working up to it." He took a deep breath, grasped my hand across the table, and said, "I love you so much, and you make me so happy. I want a life with you. I'm sorry for all the times I made you think this day would never come." I chuckled, and he took that pause to get down on one knee, right in front of me, the whole restaurant, and God himself.
"Will you please make me the happiest man alive, and marry me?" I, of course, said yes, and we kissed. It was a bit awkward with me in a chair and him kneeling, but we managed. He sat down, slipped the ring on my finger, and that was that.

Yes, we talked of other things. But those are secret things, lover-things, and although my life is public via this blog, there are certain parts of that night that are only for us and God. But, it was perfect. The ring is perfect, the proposal was perfect, dinner was perfect, and essentially my life is perfect. I have been dreaming of this day since I was 12 and it was better than anything I could have come up with. I am blessed to have a man who crossed oceans for me. What else is there to say?

Our first act as an engaged couple was to watch "Family Guy: It's a Trap!", which was the best thing to do. We called our families, we updated our facebook statuses, and we kissed a bit more. It was the best day of my life. And there are so many more to come :) In my life I have been a daughter, a sister, a friend, and student, an actor, a writer, a lawyer, and many other things, but I have never been more thrilled and grateful to be something as I am to be a fiancee. And someday soon, I'll be a wife. It's overwhelming, to say the least. I have been praying pretty much constantly since the Big Event, prayers of thanksgiving and praise, and prayers for guidance and wisdom as we embark on this adventure, the biggest adventure of my life.

The rest of the week was a blur of sightseeing, kissing, periodically saying, "hey Tom!" "What?" "We're getting married!" (Me squealing), things like that. We took tons of pictures, talked about The Wedding, future plans, and everything else. When he left this morning, I cried bitterly, but it's hard to stay sad when I think about all the amazing things that life has in store for us. So, now I'm back in school, going to class, taking notes, eating crappy cafeteria food, but my whole world has changed. And I could not be happier.

My girlfriends threw me an improptu engagement party-meet Tom party at Din Tai Fung, where we all had an awesome time. Tom was quite the charmer and everyone loved him, naturally. I am still on a huge rush-I have not slept much at all :) So there you go. I promise I will update on Cambodia when the weekend's over (I'm going to Tioman Islands this weekend) but hopefully this will hold y'all over for a while. Thank you all for reading, listening, and supporting. Lots of love and until next time, sayonara suckers!