Modern Day Fairytale

Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! I opened my eyes and tried to clear away the fogginess of my dreams. It took just a few seconds for me to remember where I was and why I was getting up at 5:30 in the morning. I stretched to hit the alarm. Rolling over I saw that my boyfriend was already pulling clothes out of his suitcase and beginning to get dressed. He pulled his favorite yellow sleeveless t-shirt over his head. “We don’t want to miss it. Get up. Get up!” I lay there for just a few more moments, smiling inside. I couldn’t show any of my suspicions for fear I would ruin everything.

I hopped out of bed and headed to the bathroom. The hotel was nice. Nothing overly fancy but it was clean and that’s all I cared about. I brushed my teeth, popped in my contacts, and slathered some lotion on my freshly sunburned face. When I emerged from the bathroom, Jeremy was standing at the door looking impatient, nervous and wide-awake. “Good morning,” I crooned, hoping to see him relax a little. I slipped on my shorts and tank top, and slid into my flip-flops. He kissed me and opened the hotel room door. We knew we hadn’t missed it.

We walked the one block toward the beach. We strolled quietly hand-in-hand, each deep in our own thoughts. I could hear my heart beating. It felt like my whole body was pulsing. “Don’t get excited. Don’t expect anything. This might not be it,” I kept telling myself. We walked past a large hotel. I looked up at a few folks standing on their ocean-front balcony. “They are probably waiting to see the same thing,” I thought.

We hit the sand and took off our shoes. The sand was cool now but in a few hours it would be scorching. We continued to walk, more like float, down towards the water. Then Jeremy stopped, reached an arm around me and it began. The horizon turned orange. As the sun rose out of the water, a reflection of orange, yellow, and pink hues stretched out towards us. It was breathtaking. I was sure Jeremy could feel my heart racing as we embraced for a few minutes watching the sunrise. Then I know he said some sweet things and told me how much he loved me. I remember him asking me if I was sure that I loved him. I nodded my head but didn’t speak a word. My voice wasn’t functioning. He pulled out a small white box and flipped open the top. That’s when the tears began. This was really happening. He got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. The look on his face is locked in my memory forever. He was so serious, so close to tears, so nervous. No reason for him to be nervous at all. My reply was, “YES, of course.” We spent the next few minutes hugging and laughing. We walked along the edge of the water and collected some shells. We needed some mementoes to help us remember this occasion. So there it was. The moment I’d dreamt of since I was a little girl. It was truly romantic. My very own fairytale.
July 15, 2005