Nineteen

Nineteen years ago, about this time, I gave my word.  

Nineteen years ago last night, I was on the last flight into the airport.  It was such a dense fog on New Year's Eve that the airport closed, but not before a divinely-guided pilot bravely brought our flight down in the hardest landing I've ever experienced.  We applauded him as we taxied to the gate.  

My love picked me up at the airport-- I had not seen him since before Thanksgiving, and missed him terribly. He sent my Christmas gift to my house, 2000 miles away, and it arrived well before Christmas.  It was a small box, most definitely jewelry.  He begged me to open it on Christmas Eve, and I was all too happy to do so, as I had stared at it for days wondering what it could be.  I knew it was too soon for a ring-- we had only been together for 18 months or so, and while we had been inseparable, we were only partially through our junior year of college.  Besides, he didn't have money for a ring.

No, it was not a ring for Christmas, but a beautiful pair of emerald and diamond earrings.  Very significant, as my birthstone is emerald, and I had, for years, hated the stone.  As I got older, I began to appreciate its beauty, and I had shared that with him, so it was very telling that he bought me my first piece of jewelry containing that beautiful stone.  I couldn't wait to thank him for being so thoughtful.

He was waiting for me at the airport that night, having driven in the dense fog the hour-plus trek to fetch me.  He was not daunted at all by the weather, nor was I, and all we could do was thank our lucky stars that we were finally together again.    Never mind that the hour was now after midnight, and we were welcoming in the new year as we drove back to campus.

I remember waking up the next morning, opening one eye and seeing his arm very close to my face, realizing that he had slept with both arms wrapped around me.  I never wanted to leave that embrace-- in his sleep even, he didn't let go, and I slept like a baby.  I didn't want to disentangle myself physically or emotionally from him ever again.

The campus was not yet buzzing, as we returned days before most students migrated back from winter break.  I was an R.A. that year, so I wanted to come back early to have a few days to mentally prepare before my charges moved back in for the second trimester.  My love and I found some friends on campus, likely folks who had "wintered" over on campus, maybe returning home for the holidays and scurrying back to resume research, or an off-campus job.  The group of us played a game of Monopoly, likely livened up by no shortage of libations.

He walked me back to my dorm after the game, wearing that ugly, pea-green, army coat.  I remember it vividly (he probably still has it-- and can fit into it!).  It had deep pockets, and when we got to my room, he reached into that coat and pulled out a box.  Another box!  His look was serious, and I didn't know what to expect.  Right then and there he asked me to marry him, and presented me with the most beautiful ring ever-- it was full of emeralds and diamonds, and it matched the earrings he bought me for Christmas.  I was stunned-- of course, I knew I wanted to be with him forever, but the moment a girl is proposed to is one where time stands still!  Nineteen years later, I can't recall what went through my head, but I recall that it was full of thoughts.  Would I marry him?  I could think of nothing I would rather be than B's wife.  I am sure that the split second I took to grasp the magnitude of his question seemed like an eternity to him.  After all, he was waiting for an answer!

I answered yes, of course, and the rest is an amazing story that is much stranger than fiction, for sure.

Happy anniversary, to my best friend in the whole world.  I would say yes again, even quicker, if I knew then what I know now!