Tuesday, January 08, 2008

Three Years

On July 31, 2004, Richard and I were running errands in Oakdale and decided to stop for Chinese food at our favorite dirty, disgusting, hole-in-the-wall Chinese restaurant.
Richard had been acting pretty weird all day and even mentioned over lunch that we might stop at the humane society and look at the cats. This was something I wanted to do for ages, but Rich said we should at least be engaged before we got a cat together.
I thought this was all out of the ordinary, but didn't pay much attention--I was dreaming about my future kitty!
When we sat down for lunch, Richard was very strange. He bounced through the entire meal, perched on the edge of the booth. He ate about three bites of his favorite Sesame Chicken. I said, "Why aren't you eating? What's wrong with you?"
"Nothin', I'm just not very hungry."
"Alright, well, I'm gonna dig in, then..."
I ate to my hearts content and chatted through lunch, ignoring what I assumed was an ADD fit on the part of my nutso boyfriend.
When we (I) finished eating, the owner brought out our fortune cookies, unwrapped on a plate.
"It's cookie time!" she shrieked as she hurried back to the kitchen. She and the cook peeked out at us.
Richard grabbed one of the cookies and stuffed half of it in his mouth.
I left mine on the plate.
"Aren't you gonna eat your cookie?"
"No...I don't really like fortune cookies. Plus, it's unwrapped. That's sorta gross."
"Don't you at least want to see what your fortune says??"
"I guess so."
I opened the remaining cookie and read, "I love you, Erin Duffert. Will you marry me?"
I was flabberghasted. What was my name doing in a fortune cookie??
Richard came around to my side of the booth and got down on one knee.
"Will you marry me?"
I'm pretty sure I said yes. Honestly, I can't remember. My brain was still trying to catch up with everything that was going on!
Rich said, "Do you want your ring?"
"Yes!"
"It's in the cookie!"
Sure enough, there was my DREAM engagement ring hidden in a cookie.

We married 6 months later on January 8, 2005, three years ago today. The best decision of my entire life.
Recently, I stopped at the China House to pick up some Sesame Chicken to bring home for dinner, and the owner said, "Hello, Erin!! When is the baby coming?!" She didn't even know I was pregnant. She just knew it was about time for the baby to come. : )

17 comments:

Anonymous said...

Erin, thanks for sharing that GREAT story. I love it!

And the black and white pictures are gorgeous!

angie said...

i had no idea the proposal was such an awesome one! what a guy you've got there. :) i'm so glad you shared the story--and you're right, the ring IS a dream. yours is pretty much the only engagement ring i still remember, out of all the one i've seen. gorgeous!
congrats to you and rich on 3 years!!!

Jolene said...

What a beautiful love story!

Elisabeth said...

Happy Anniversary!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I hope you have a wonderful day remembering that fun day and looking forward to fun days in the future.

Naomi said...

There are tears in my eyes. That was the sweetest post I have read in a long time. You two are wonderful. I hope your anniversary this year is memorable as you await the arrival of YOUR CHILD. What a precious union of the two of you, brought together in a beautiful new life. I love you so much. Congratulations!

Kelli said...

How sweet is that?? That man of yours has quite the heart buried under all that quiet, huh?

Happy Anniversary!

kristi noser said...

"buried under all that quiet" That pretty much fits Rich, huh?

Excellent post Mrs. D.

Carla said...

I love it!! What an awesome story! Happy 3rd!

zcoffeegirl said...

Beautiful..happy anniversary!

-V- said...

Mmmm (happy sigh)... :-)

erin said...

Kelli nailed it.

Mandi said...

Hmm, I really should have known it was your anniversary...sorry i'm so late. Happy Anniversary! I love you guys.

theswamphare said...

Happy Anniversary!

quite a guy you got there; good job, Rich.

I'm getting off the computer and go kiss my bride.

Cara said...

What a great story--I hadn't heard the story of your proposal yet! Happy 3rd Anniversary!! Enjoy your last anniversary as just the two of you..... :)

Unknown said...

damn. That's (sniff) friggin beautiful. good thing you did'nt like fortune cookies or you might have choked on the ring. What girl would say no to that?

Leslie Willard said...

I have chill bumps! That sounds like something out of a movie. SO SWEET!!! I'm so happy for you!

Katie R. said...

That's wonderful. I hope your anniversary was just as wonderful as your proposal. Congratulations!