351 Days

On Christmas Day, I drove up to Westley's parents' home, arriving shortly after 4pm. Moments after I had laid down my bags and gifts, Westley informed me that his brother's family had accidentally left a gift behind at their house. As we still had some time before dinner was going to be served, he had offered to retrieve the gift right then. Did I want to join him?

"Of course," I gushed, clinging to his arm. "I just arrived, and I don't want to be separated from you!"

We climbed in Westley's car and drove the short distance to his brother's home. Once we had parked the car in the driveway and Westley shut off the ignition, I announced I was going to stay in the car. I didn't expect that it would take him very long to find the gift, and I was quite comfortable sitting in the car.

"But you just drove all this way to see me," Westley protested. "I don't want to be apart from you, even for a minute."

"OK," I said, grinning.

He assisted me up the stairs to the back door as I precariously walked in my heels on the ground, trying to step over the places where snow had melted. (He'd told me in advance that his family "dressed up" for Christmas, so I'd worn a cute green sweater dress with brown heels.)

Once we arrived in the kitchen, Westley took off his coat and encouraged me to do the same. I demurred, saying that it would take longer to take off my coat and scarf and put them both back on again than it should take to find the gift. He offered to help me remove my coat, and I assured him that I was fine as I was.

We meandered into the living room, where his brother's family had set up their Christmas tree. An assortment of goodies lay unwrapped beneath the tree.

"Where's this gift that we're looking for?" I asked Westley.

"Um, I'm not sure," he told me. "Let's look under the tree." I looked around, but I didn't see any gifts which were still wrapped.

"What does it look like?" I inquired. "Is it wrapped? Is it in a gift bag?"

"I don't know." He said. I grinned, thinking to myself, Typical male.

"So they sent you here to get this gift, but you have no clue where it is or what it looks like?" I asked, half-laughing.

"We'll find it," he assured me, continuing, "Let's just enjoy the Christmas tree for a moment."

"OK," I agreed, even though I wanted to hurry up so that we could return to his parents' home for dinner.

As we stood there, he had his right arm around my back, and we fell into an easy half-embrace. The tree was pretty. The soft glow of the Christmas lights and the almost-twilight haze from the windows behind us created a gentle ambience. The baubles on the tree were quite lovely.

"It's nice, isn't it?" Westley murmured.

"Yeah," I replied, enjoying the moment. Slowly, I began to sense that Westley seemed nervous, like he had before the first time he told me he loved me.

"Are you OK?" I asked him. He had been sick for a few days already, and while he seemed to be feeling better, I wanted to make sure.

"Yeah," he said, pausing. "Do you like the ornaments?"

"Yes," I replied. "They're very sweet."

"Which one's your favorite?" He asked.

"They're all nice," I replied.

"But which one's your favorite?" He persisted.

"Um ..." I murmured as I glanced over the tree. A pretty red ball, which read "Noel," caught my eye.

"I think that one's pretty," I said, pointing to it. Westley reached over to take it off the tree. I wondered, perplexed, Why is he taking the ornament off of his brother's tree?

Then I saw it: the glint of starlight attached to a gold band, on the outside of the ribbon which had secured the ornament to the green branch. Everything began happening faster than my mind could process.

Westley slid the ring off of the ribbon, and before I knew it, he was telling me he loved me, getting down on one knee, slipping the ring on my finger (perfect fit!), and asking me to marry him.

"Yes!" I exclaimed as he quickly stood up to embrace me. "Yes, of course!" We continued to murmur "I love you" to each other, sharing a few sweet kisses.

"Oh my gosh," I found myself exclaiming in shock. "We're engaged! Oh my gosh!" I couldn't stop looking into his eyes. We held hands and embraced, reveling in the magic of the moment.

I began to cry a few moments later, as we returned to the kitchen. Westley was amused by the delayed reaction, and he held me in another embrace as he pressed the red ornament into my hand.

"Is this mine to keep?" I asked, confused.

"Yes, I picked it out especially for you." Westley assured me, laughing and smiling. The shock was beginning to wear off, and the reality of what had just happened was beginning to sink in.

"We're getting married," I murmured happily, tears gently gliding down my cheek. "We finally get to be together! This is real!"

"Yes," he murmured back in response as he put on his coat. We left the house, and he opened my car door and helped me in (as he always does) before going around to his side of the car. This was the first chance I had had to look at the ring, and I held out my hand to admire its sparkle before reaching over to unlock Westley's car door.

As he settled into his seat, Westley noticed that I was enjoying the twinkling fire on my finger.

"Do you like it?" He asked me.

"Yes!" I exclaimed. "It's perfect!"
~*~*~*~
When we arrived back at his parents' home, Westley's mother asked if I had said, "Yes."

"Of course!" I replied, going around to hug her and Westley's stepfather. We enjoyed the "Congratulations!" shared with us by the various family members present before settling down to a scrumptious Christmas dinner.
~*~*~*~
351 days ... until our wedding!