Anna and Neil

Posted Thursday, October 02, 2008 12:32 PM

The Office Pop-In 

Neil, my fiance, came to my office on a Thursday afternoon (September 2007). He never stops by, so I was surprised when the receptionist announced him, and I instantly thought, I hope everything is okay. I met him at the front desk and walked him back to my office. I was clearing off a chair for him to sit while expressing to him how happy I was to see him in the middle of the day. He looked at me and said, "Pack your things...we have to go." I said, "What? What are you talking about?" He said, "Yep. Let's go -- we don't have much time." At this moment, a thousand thoughts were flashing through my mind: Where are we going? What is he talking about...did I send out that email....I need to return so-and-so's phone call...I have to be present for so-and-so meeting...etc. Neil could see that I was bit confused (and slightly panicked), so he said, "Don't worry. I spoke with your boss and she gave you the okay to go." With that, we were off!

The Bags Are Packed

I still had no idea where we were going -- he just kept saying it was a surprise. We got downstairs to the lobby and there was a cab waiting for us. We hopped in; it was a minivan cab, so I looked in the back and there were three packed suitcases. I thought, Wow! He packed my bags?!?! No way did he get all my makeup and hair products. (But I wasn’t going to say that aloud to him.) I wish we videotaped the cab ride because I'm sure I looked like a fool with the biggest grin across my face the entire time. He still didn't tell me where we were going. I thought we were maybe heading to NYC for the weekend.

We lived in DC and had access to three airports. Reagan was the closest, just outside of the city, but only services domestic flights. BWI and Dulles are the international airports, and I knew after a few minutes of being in the cab that we weren't heading to Reagan.

Leaving on a Jetplane...to Paris!

I was so excited at this point but still had a million thoughts running through my mind (sadly, they were mostly thoughts about work). I was silent for a moment and he asked me what I was thinking about. I said I was concerned about a few items I left undone at work. He then said, "Don't worry, I brought a laptop, and if you need anything else, we have offices in Paris..." My mouth dropped. I screamed, "WAIT -- go back. You're taking me to PARIS??" He didn't mean to let it slip, but he was trying to reassure me that I would have everything I needed to work if I had to. I had never been to Paris before, so I was over the moon!

The flight over was wonderful -- we landed at Charles De Gaulle at 7 a.m. on Friday. We checked into our lovely hotel, showered, and changed, then immediately started our day sightseeing. I was anxious the entire time because I thought, At any moment -- his could be IT! But our first day in Paris came and went, and nothing happened. Our second day in Paris consisted of more sightseeing and dinner at a nice restaurant. The restaurant was so cute, a little stuffy, but just what I would imagine a nice restaurant in Paris to be. I just knew he was going to ask me after dinner, but once we were done with our entrees (and passed on dessert), he asked for the check. I was a little disappointed, and I think I said aloud, "Really?" To which he responded, "Excuse me?" I said, "Oh, nothing." After that I thought maybe this was just a trip to Paris and nothing more.

The Proposal (Oui!)

We left the restaurant and headed over to a lively area with many bars, so we stopped at one to have a drink. It was a nice evening, so we decided to explore the area a bit and began walking. We were on a cobblestone road (no cars), and he said to me casually, "Have you ever seen the movie Four Weddings and a Funeral?" I replied, "No, not in its entirety." He said, "Well there was a scene in the movie where this poem was read: 'You were my north, my south, my east and west; my working week and Sunday rest; my noon, my midnight, my talk, my song; I thought that love would last forever, I was wrong.'" (We were still walking and I had no idea where he was going with this.) He continued, "But in our case, love is forever." We stopped walking, he took my hand, and before I knew it, he was on one knee. He said, "I don't deserve it, but if you were to say 'yes', you'd make me the happiest man alive." I, of course, through tears, said, "Yes!" He then slipped the ring on my finger, and I haven't stopped staring at it since!

The street where he proposed!