My Engagement Story - Part II

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It was done. We were finally engaged! We had been talking about it for so long and now it was official. Sheldon put the his ring on my finger. The appearance of the ring was the only part of the engagement that was a major surprise. It is yellow gold with an oval ruby in the centre. The ruby is clasped by tiny gold claws which resemble minuscule golden beads from above. The ruby is surrounded by fourteen miniature diamonds. on either side of this whole oval deal are two slightly larger diamonds. The gems are about half a centimetre at the widest point. I love it. 

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My ruby ring is perfect for me for several reasons:

1. I prefer yellow gold over white or rose gold. It feels more old fashioned to me and I am always interested in appearing vintage.

2. The central stone is a ruby rather than a diamond. I love rubies because they are red and I love red. Wow. So deep. But I also love them because my great-grandmother's name was Ruby. Ruby Lee Foster to be exact. Sheldon didn't know this, but I feel strongly about symbols which gradually acquire significance even if the original intention wasn't there initially. I also prefer gemstones because Sheldon and I are invested in conspiracy theories surrounding the diamond industry which would suggest that diamonds aren't all the media had cracked them up to be.

3. I like that they include diamonds. I know I just finished telling you about my distrust of the diamond industry, but that aside, I love sparkle. Most people don't know this about me, because my style is pretty understated and I wear a lot of grey and blue. But I have always been a racoon (maybe a magpie?)--basically attracted to shiny things. Sheldon knows this about me, which is why he included a few small diamonds, so I could have something sparkly to wear every day.

Back to the story. After The Question had been posed and answered we slowly made our way toward the car. Now the pressure was off and I felt my appetite return, my stomach settle and I could enjoy the walk. Sheldon told me his plan for the rest of the evening. We would go get Mexican food and then drive back to my apartment where my roommates had planned a surprise party. I think that Sheldon blew the surprise by telling me this, but remember, Sheldon is not the greatest at surprises.

We were both giddy. We got into Sheldon's car and drove the long way to dinner on purpose so that we could look at a cool factory I wanted to see. We had dinner together at one of our favourite Mexican restaurants in West Chicago and then drove back to Wheaton. We received a text from my roommates asking us to dawdle a little that gave us a chance to stop at Walgreens (favourite store EVER) and buy a newspaper from the day of our engagement that we will keep it forever.

We finally made it back to my apartment where a group of close college friends was gathered. There were only about ten of us total, including Sheldon's younger brother who is a Freshman and my three roommates. They had turned our little apartment into a lovely place of twinkly lights. In one corner were some plastic champagne glasses and cupcakes. Tinsel and sequins hung from the wall as well as assorted baby photos of both of us. Our party consisted of telling the story of how Sheldon asked me to marry him, chatting animatedly and playing a How Well Do You Know Your New Fiancé Game designed by Leya. I was deeply impressed.

My favourite part happened half way through. We were standing around eating cupcakes and I turned to Leya and muttered, "This is everything I could have dreamed of. I feel so loved. My only regret is that my family and Jo (my best friend) are not here with me." Leya put a hand on my shoulder and said, "Come here. I need to show you something." She led me into our bedroom. On her empty desk were laid out several sheets of paper. One of them was an email from Jo telling me how much she wished she could be here for this. The others were notes from each of my parents.

At no point in the evening had I felt tears come to my eyes, but when I saw these notes they came. All of a sudden I felt so deeply loved by so many people: Sheldon (duh:), my roommates for anticipating my homesickness, my parents and Jo...

Sheldon and I spent the rest of the evening after the party going through our lists of family members and calling them to tell them the news. It felt so odd to wake up the next morning and look at my ring. I thought, "How can I just go to class like nothing has happened? I became a fairytale princess over the weekend, but the only way anyone would know is if they looked at my ring finger."

As I write this I have now been officially engaged to Sheldon for a week and two days. The magic has still hasn't disappeared yet.

Thanks for sharing this story with me. I want to tell you guys more about our story over the months leading up to our wedding. My plan is to make Saturday my Love Story Day. I will write about how we met, what we are like as a couple and all sorts of sappy things like that every Saturday. Keep an eye out!

Love,
Lucy Rose
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I haven't signed off like this for a while. I sometimes miss it, because it feels like I am writing you all a letter. I think I might pick it up again.