It was Friday the 13th, August 2010, and Paul Rudd was filming a movie right outside my office window. I first saw his adorable smile in the film Clueless and have had a crush on him ever since. While some stargazers may have been disappointed that he was sporting a beard, I was daydreaming of a photo opt with Paul standing on side of me, and my favorite bearded beau, Arturo, standing on the other.
The workday ended at 6pm. I ran out the door to meet Arturo, who supposedly had been kayaking with a buddy on the Hudson. He told me earlier to not rush; the tides were slowing him down, but when I called to get our meeting location he wasn't answering his phone. I knew he wanted to show me the northern section of river that is lined with trees, and that a Fairway grocery store was in the area (because he offered to pick-up some dinner there). I almost began to head in the wrong direction, but Arturo called back just in the nick of time!
Everything seemed routine. The first time we went kayaking after work, a year earlier, the novelty struck me as romantic, and I thought he might be proposing then. However the most unexpected thing I did that evening was hide under an old steel pier to pee into the Hudson. Needless to say, I wasn’t expecting anything romantic this time and I had already assumed he would use his upcoming vacation to get a ring.
When I finally met him at the river he was lounging in his kayak with both feet airing out to dry. Once I got in my boat I tried the same lounging position with one foot out, but I didn’t find it comfortable; later I found out that Arturo wasn’t comfortable either.
I suggested we paddle down to the little red light house and get pictures to show my mom. The Little Red Light House under the George Washington Bridge has become famous because of a children’s book written about it, and my mom reads books to her 2nd grade classroom, so I figured she had heard about it too. I did not realize at the time that I was playing right into Arturo’s secret plan. Just off the coast near the lighthouse was a rock, just big enough to create a small “island” for two people and their boats. So Arturo suggested we land on the rock and enjoy some dinner.
As he was pulling himself out of his boat his cell phone fell into the river! He was able to grab it out of the water but it got really wet. Later, when he was mumbling strange things (attempting to create a romantic mood) I simply thought he was feeling flustered from dropping his phone. (It was also our only camera for the event.)
Unveiled clues, and still clueless -
I was completely unaware of what was really going on. He pulled out a picnic basket from the boat and had me smell the dried flowers and herbs inside. He simply said he went crazy at the grocery store, and I believed him. In reality he had a professional chef create the goodies. Then he pulled out a bottle of wine and two REAL glass wine glasses. That was the first time I got suspicious but then my doubtful self simply disregarded it as one of several romantic things he would do this week to keep me “on my toes.” (His thoughts seemed too disjointed for it to be the real thing, now I see that should have been my first clue!) If I had known he was paddling with his legs out of the boat because the picnic basket took up all his legroom, I probably would have clued into it much faster!
Arturo’s strange behavior continued when he poured the wine. Some cork got into the first glass so he claimed it as his. I held his glass while he poured the second glass. Then completely forgetting to trade glasses, he said a quick toast and drank the wine that was still in his hand. When he went to refill my glass he noticed I had hardly drunk any and asked what was wrong, so I quietly reminded him of the cork in the wine and we traded.
He went back to mumbling goofy things about how our names are similar to Arthur and Guinevere and asked me if I like West Side Story. My disinterested mind remembered the food in the basket, so I explained that I wanted to start with eating a banana. He recommended we pray first and I agreed. After the prayer I noticed him fishing around in his bag. My eyes began to spy his hand as I watched him pull out a carabineer with a two-inch wide piece of copper wrapped around it. Then referencing the George Washington Bridge he said, “well, I’m no king, that’s no castle and it’s no oil refinery either, but I’d be honored if you would be my wife.” I hardly heard the wife part because in my head I was thinking, “that copper thing is the ring, I won’t be able to bend my finger in it“ and “he’s already used the oil refinery line before; it was smoother the first time”. (Read “Falling for Arturo”)
I was pretty confused; I knew that he had been working on getting the “perfect” ring for a while, and I also knew that he didn’t believe in “joke proposals”. Unfortunately my mind was so behind reality, the only words I could utter were: “Seriously?” “Are you joking?” Next thing I realized he was staring up at me, on his knee, waiting for an answer and near my finger was a uniquely sculpted ring with a beautiful blue stone. Finally I said, “Yes, of course”.
The moment was simple and quiet; the background music normally heard in the movies wasn’t there, but when he started to explain that he made the ring in his apartment with his own hands, my skin started to tingle. He called it the “Yoh Ring” since I will be taking his name and a Y is represented in the shape, then my eyes started to water a bit. My elation finally caught up to reality when he suggested we drive around to celebrate with friends and family. I asked if we were going to Ohio then jumped up and hugged him as I watched him smile and say yes.
With the sun closing down on the horizon we ate a few bites of the picnic. Then we paddled back in the dark to our “put-in” spot. A friendly stranger from the nearby kayak club blessed us unexpectedly by letting us use their dock and kept it open late as we packed-up our equipment.
Secrets unfolded -
Arturo rented a blue Mini Cooper convertible for the night-drive through Manhattan. By midnight we arrived at his parent’s house, and woke them up to share the surprise. Then we finished the bottle of wine with two friends who had also recently gotten engaged.
Saturday Arturo was finally able relax and enjoy the relief of not needing to keep any more secrets. It had been at least a month since I had visited his apartment. He used countless excuses to keep me away, and I found most of them completely believable. Later, when I got suspicious, I imagined he was building me a table. I had no idea he was actually forging a ring!
When I called my parents to share the news I also told them we'd be stopping by the next day. My parents were excited and proud that they kept a secret for an entire year! Arturo had asked for their blessing when I was in the middle of an ice-cream run during a wedding we were attending in Iowa in August 2009. I had no idea at the time, but I should have suspected something because we left that wedding with both the tossed bouquet and garter!
Getting out of the city with our last-minute car rental was unbelievably difficult, but it was completely worth it once we arrived. We had dinner and a slumber party with my parents and brother’s family in Columbus. My niece Madison had grown fast over the last four months so we also enjoyed our playtime with her!
Monday was spent in Brickerville, visiting Grandpa and the rest of the family. There are a lot of creative hands in the family, so they enjoyed hearing how Arturo sculpted the ring. Then my aunt and uncle from Indiana drove in a day early for their already planned visit to meet Madison, and met Arturo too!
Now that we’re back in our routine, it’s nice to remember how this special time was shared with many people, across many miles. Thanks for reading and sharing in our joy too; we hope you feel encouraged and blessed by it.
For WEDDING details go to www.arturo-jen.us
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