Playing in the Rain {an engagement story}

We had planned our vacation for months... road-tripping to the Gulf of Mexico in the Mini, spending five blissful days surrounded by white sand and teal ocean waves, accompanied only by the characters in our books. Given our opposite work schedules, time together was often difficult, and this trip was our getaway.

We left out early on a Sunday morning equipped with strong coffee and self-made playlists for the road, ranging from Bloc Party and old Jimmy Eat World, to Iron & Wine, Damien Rice, and, everything in between. We took mostly back roads, so the drive was peaceful and filled with the lovely scenery of southern Georgia... tall green grasses, cotton fields, and a clear blue sky.

Ecstatic to be on vacation and contented to be together, we made plans for the beach the next day. Unfortunately, we woke to find our view of the ocean distorted by fog, clouds and drizzling rain. I reacted as any rational girlfriend would. I became a terribly grumpy beach-goer. We hauled our chairs, books, and towels down to the sand, daring the clouds to release their contents, and no less than ten minutes later, the clouds let loose. Wet and grumbling, we hauled everything back {across the street, mind you} into our room.

My mood continued to darken, but the thought of food and eating on the beach brightened my spirits a bit. We decided to walk to a beach-side restaurant, but as we began our stroll, the rain began again. Grumpier than ever, I settled for dining on a covered porch with a view of the sand and ocean.

After dinner K convinced me to put on my rain jacket and play in the rain on the beach. He was absolutely determined to break my bad mood. We had driven all the way down to the shore to enjoy ourselves and relax together, and that was exactly what we would do, rain or no rain. His happiness was contagious, and soon I found myself shrouded in my raincoat with my jeans rolled up to my knees, wisps of hair plastered to my face jumping in the waves and searching for seashells with K.

"Come look. I found a really good one!" K said. Drunk with love and laughter, I skipped over to see what treasure he had cupped in his hands. When he opened them I saw the most lovely, most perfect diamond ring. He didn't say anything; he just looked at me, his brown eyes wide and dancing, raindrops falling off his jacket hood, a slight smile on his face. Not capable of speech myself, I simply looked up at him, smiling as he placed the ring on my finger. "So you will?" he said. "I would always choose you to be mine," was my response.

one year ago today i gave my heart to my K

here's wishing for a lifetime of playing in the rain together.

copyright Hiking in Stilettos