The proposal from the other point of view
So Jenn shared what she saw in the proposal, I figure I should share with the rest of you what went into setting it up. Picking out the ring could be it's own post entirely, but I won't go into that now, other than to mention salespeople who do not listen to expectations can go to hell.
Jenn didn't realize, of course, but I've been carrying around the ring for a while now. As soon as it was decided to push the move in date up I went out and picked it up, as I promised myself many moons ago that I would have a ring on her finger before she moved to the city and I wasn't going to let something minor like shifting the date forward break that promise to myself. I had the ring in Des Moines, and she almost stumbled upon it when she went to plug her cell phone into my laptop to recharge it, but thankfully I wasn't discovered. This also afforded me the chance to attempt to take some pictures of the ring in Jenn's apartment, kind of as a teaser after I gave her the ring. Alas, the battery gods conspired against me, and decided that the battery in my camera did not need to charge despite being on the charger for 10 hours, and my attempts to take pictures with my cell phone failed miserably and kept being interrupted, and the pictures weren't worth ruining the surprise of being discovered.
So moving right along and back on subject. The great thing about Robbin's Brothers is they sell you on being able to assist you with the proposal. The bad thing about Robbin's Brothers is that once the money has exchanged hands, they second class you, and while they did dial the phone number to the diner for me, that was pretty much the end of their involvement. It was fine, as that got the ball rolling as I started talking to the dining area manager at the restaurant where Jenn and I had our first date, and informed each other that the feelings we had for each other for all these years were very real, and that both of us were very serious. So I leave the store and high tail it over to the diner to meet Del face to face and go over what I envision of the evening. I point out the table we had our first date at, and ask again if they'd be willing to serve up our favorite food off the brunch menu at night. He ensures us it wouldn't be a problem, and even helps me work out how to handle the 'surprise' of getting brunch items served to Jenn at night.
With the stage set it was merely to get Jenn to the city in time to make the 6:30 reservations. Unfortunately the diner gets very busy at night, and while they said they'd be happy to hold the table until 7:00 they couldn't make any further guarantees as they do not do reservations. I hint to Jenn that I had made plans for Friday night, and she met me half way and took a half-day on Friday to make it to the city. She made excellent time and was in town around four, so the hustle and lateness of the reservations was unnecessary. It was too late to modify them now, so we set about getting Jenn moved into the Chicago apartment so she feels at home here in the city.
Time passes quickly and we make for the diner. Get there a few minutes to 7:00 and are seated at table 16, where we had our first date. Jenn mentions "hey, I remember this table" in a tone that indicated she knew something was up, but played along non-the-less. They bring around menus, and we start pouring over them. I decide on the 'bacon' bbq burger while lamenting that the brunch menu looks appetizing as always. I ask Jenn, attempting to be coy and off handed, what she would have ordered if she could have gotten brunch, knowing full well what she would answer, and already having that item en route. Unfortunately I'm not as smooth as I estimate myself to be, and she saw straight through my attempts to be jocular.
The food comes out, and Jenn mentions she feels like she just got set up. We enjoy our meals (I was still chuckling about the promise of M.C. Hammer pants for giftmas next year) and continue our conversation while waiting for the two old hags sitting next to us to finally figure out how much to tip on their checks and to put their 18 layers of coats and scarves back on and get the hell out of my way. Once they'd vacated the table next to us I knew it was time to make a move, so I began the well rehearsed speech...that quickly became mumblings as the nerves got the best of me. I repeated how much I love her, how I'm the happiest now that I've ever been, that there is no reason to wait around or delay when you know things are right and got down on one knee, produced the ring and asked Jenn to marry me. Utter disbelief that it was actually happening took both of us, and the look of absolute shock, glee, and happiness set over Jenn as she said yes before I slid the ring onto her finger.
Del and the waitstaff came over and congratulated us, and took our picture for the web site (front page currently, get over there and check it out while it's still up!). All in all a very memorable night, and I'm glad it went off without a hitch, and the rest of our lives started off on a good foot, with great food and a great memory at our very favorite restaurant.