Proposal

Three months of practice had finally come down to this. We were driving around the UT campus searching for a parking spot. Unbeknownst to us, Austin was in the middle of a Ron Paul revolution on February 23rd and parking spots were a rarity. Jen seemed fine in the passenger seat, but I was watching my plan to propose slowly crumble before me. I had planned everything before hand, and I was sure I would have Jen in tears before the night was over. We were supposed to find a parking spot on campus, take a tour of all the places we used to hang out at, then I would swoon her at the music building with Alicia Keys’ help, propose to her, and cap the night with a nice dinner at Jeffrey’s. Perfect. Except that the reservations at Jeffrey’s were for 6pm and at 5:10pm, the first step in the plan still had not been realized. Not only that, even if we did find a parking spot now, we would have to run to each of the six locations (Andrews, Kinsolving, Union, Whitis Place, Nueces Duplex, and the Music Building) that I wanted her to see. With a feeling of dread, I told Jen that we would have to edit the itinerary a little and head off to the music building first.

As we walked into the music building, Jen started to get a little suspicious. I had a backpack with the music in it and she wondered what I had in the backpack. I knew beforehand that it would be weird for me to have a backpack, and the best cover I could come up for it was the fact that I had to carry a camera. However, for some reason, I began to feel at ease once we got into the building. Jen didn’t seem to mind the change in itinerary and we were having fun reminiscing about the times we spent in the practice rooms. But, we finally got settled in a room and it was time to get down to business. Proposing. I told Jen that I would like to play her a song and asked if she would help me by turning the pages. I opened up the music and filled the room with the opening chords of “No One” and tried my best to not mess up. As I played and sang, Jen would alternately put her head on my shoulder and sing along. I thought it was a pretty good sign. As we neared the last page of the song, I started to get a little nervous. I missed a few notes, the beat started to get a little off, but I was able to finish without any huge mishaps. I had taped a picture of the engagement ring that was still in Hong Kong underneath the last page of the song. As I tore off the last page of the song, I asked Jen “Will you marry me?” hoping the picture of the big rock would sway her decision. She responded with a hug. So as we sat on the piano bench hugging each other, I was a little confused and nervous. Did the hug mean “Aw, you’re so sweet, but let’s just be friends for now.” or did it mean “Yes I’ll marry you”? So, a little awkwardly, I broke the silence of the embrace and asked “So, uh, is that a yes?” She replied that indeed it was and I was relieved that the picture of the big rock had enticed her to marry me.

The rest of the night was spent dining at Jeffrey’s and going around to the places around UT. As it turned out, it was much more romantic seeing the places at night anyways. I should have just played it off as it all being a part of my plans anyways. But whatever, I gots me a wife.

-Matt