She Said Yes

He planned it all this son of mine. The boy who turned his homework in on time and was well thought of by teachers learned the fundamentals of cut, color, clarity and carat to make a beautiful ring selection for his lady love lizzy. 
The boy who eschewed designer clothes for the cost budgeted his money - agreeing to pay off the ring in six months, knowing deep in his heart that he could never wait that long.  


"How do you feel now," I asked that day in January when he reached us driving from Phoenix to Vegas.  
"Anxious," I heard him say across the miles.
Not the "what did I do - I can't breathe" kind of anxious, but the "I'm so excited - I can hardly wait" kind of anxious.


But wait he did - not the full six months but four. He told her mother, asked her father and let us know his plans. 


"Do you have a speech?" his father asked. 
"No. I know what to say," replied this son of mine who always took the stage confidently singing and acting, while my heart leaped out of my chest just watching him defend Maria's honor in West Side Story or sing for sherry in Pirates of Penzance. This son of mine who brought tears to my eyes crooning Italian love songs knew how to ask his one true love to marry him. At Sunset Point. On the way to Flagstaff. Where they met. And that's all I know because this is their story not mine.