The day we met (when fate & love collide)

The rain was just stopping as we came out of the car. Victoria Station... one of the steak houses in Malaysia we've been talking about trying for ages but never did. After donkey years of talk only, I finally said to her, we're going. The place was quiet and rather empty.. no doubt due to the rain. We were seated and ordered... steaks, lobster, soup, salad... and of course, a bottle of red wine. We settled in and before long, we were already busy chatting away like old friends...going on about how fast things seemed to go by in a flash, the challenges we faced, how we met, etc etc

"You look so beautiful tonight dear..." I say to her.

"You always tell me that.. all the time. Fat or thin, jeans or dress. I can never believe you." she replies..

"What? That's because you DO look beautiful all the time." I reply.

"You ar...You only say that because you love me" she smiles...

"No. Who says so? Who says I love you..." I shoot back and she gives me a spank my hand and shows me the face for being cheeky...

It was our 7th anniversary of being together......... She NEVER tires of telling people the story of how we met or how we ended up together. Most of the time, I let her do the telling.. but here's how it went.... roughly..

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7 years ago on that day, we went out on what would be our second date and third time meeting face to face. I had arrived AN HOUR late from from our meeting time. Neither of us had a mobile back then, so it was hard to try and reschedule. I couldn't find her when I arrived at the entrance. I thought the worst; she had left. She was probably pissed off after waiting for so long and walked off. I was completely dejected and miserable. I had blown it. After a whole year of waiting, I had blown it off. I thought of leaving, but against hope of hopes, I stayed there thinking maybe I could spot her passing the entrance and try to salvage something. So I just sat there, staring into the nothingness... waiting for apparently nothing, lost in my own thought.

An hour of sitting there... at the brink of leaving, and she shows up...and in a hurry too.. She whisk me away, dragging me along with her even before I had a chance to say anything. As we headed towards the washroom, she explained; she had woken up LATE! So she rushed to get ready to catch the next bus, and in doing so, she had put on her blouse inward out. She didn't notice until the persons behind her started giggling.

"Don't laugh at me ar..." she said.

I burst out laughing... more in relief that in amusement. I thought I had screwed up... Turns out she screwed up even more. Haha..... It caught me off guard. It was the last thing I'd expect out of this date. One an hour late, the other, TWO. But I was just so glad that she was there. I still had a chance.

Hours later, after dinner and movie, as the evening sun went down, we sat in front of the entrance, waiting for someone to come pick us up.

"Do you have something to tell me? Are you OK?" she prodded and prodded

I couldn't stop shaking. I was a nervous wreck, I was having cold sweat, my heart was racing.. I didn't know how to be charming and witty, I didn't know how to be confident and suave... I only knew that I was crazy about this girl. There was this looming feeling that I was supposed to DO something. (she especially likes emphasizing and exaggerating this next part) And so, at a sudden impulse, with as much elegance and poise as a drunkard sailor, I reached out, grabbed her hands and blurted (more like vomited) out "Would you be my girlfriend?"... just like that.. out of the blue.. no introduction.. no elaboration, nothing.... (GOWD.. Talk about lacking finess)..... She keeps silent.. and I felt like an even bigger fool that before.

"Let me think about it..." she tells me with a wily smile on her face.

"OK..... " I replied.

I hadn't expected myself to do that. And after a while of silence, I felt like I was not only ill prepared to ask that question, I was also not ready to hear the answer. What if she said no?

"On second thought, you don't have to answer me tonight OK. Think about it and just give me an answer when you're ready." I said.

"OK. But I'm ready to give you an answer now. Do you want to hear it?" she asks.

"WHAT? NO. DON'T TELL ME. I'm not ready yet." I responded.. This was going waaaay to fast....

And so she keeps quiet. Our ride comes, and we head toward the car..... There could be no more lovey dovey talk once we were inside. Just before we entered the car... she turns to me, and she bursts out..

"Oh ya.. by the way... the answer is YES."

We got in the car, I turned back and whispered to her "Did you just say yes?"

"I don't know. What do you think?" she says with a grin... and I just smile back at her. She sure had a way of catching me off guard. And the rest they say.. is history....

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I smiled a lot throughout the night.. partially because we finished a bottle of wine between the two of us and I was feeling quite relaxed... partially because of the two items sitting safely inside my jacket pocket. I hid it there.. it was the last place she would search (if she was searching that is). My mind wasn't on dinner.. it was on the two items in my pocket.

I called for the bill, tipped the waiter, and made our way to the car. I spot the waiters and other customers eying her as we walk by. She really looked beautiful. I don't know why she never believes me.

It had started drizzling again. Darn it. A quick "Tolong saya-lah Tuhan (God help me!)" under my lips... and I suggested to her that I wanted to walk in the park.. Eat too much... need to digest a bit.

"But it's drizzling..."

"Ya.. it's not VERY heavy.. and I really feel like I need a walk. Come la.. lets go. I'm sure it'll stop."

"............. OK."

Proposing in the restaurant seemed a bit cliche.. and not quite my style. I had other plans. The lame excuse about wanting to take a walk was just a front. I knew I was never the type to come with flowers, go down on bended knee and propose in public. Sooo.. not me la.. I have never gave much serious thought about how I would propose to my future wife when I was younger. But when I finally did start to think about it, I knew mine would have to be personal.. and meaningful.... something significant.. not to others.. but to the two of us. That was how I decided when, where and most importantly, HOW I was going to propose.

So far, so good.

Off we drove.. towards the park for 'a walk'. There wasn't a more perfect time to propose than tonight.. our anniversary. And there wasn't a more perfect place to do it than there, in that park... at that very place, that very spot where we first met.

Now, if only the rain would just stop for a while............