On February 2, 2008, I asked Monica to marry me. She said yes. We were both happy.

For those just joining us, I’ve detailed how I setup the engagement in my previous story. One might say that was one drawn out lengthy story just to setup the actual “how it all happened” story. What can I say, I’ve become long winded at the advanced age of 27, and by the time I reach 28 in a month I may have forgotten the whole thing. Good to write it down for prosperity. Without further adieu I give the second part of this three part story.

With things in place, I still had to actually pop the question. I actually had to get her to Sausalito without her actually knowing that we were going to Sausalito. To top it off, I had things setup a fair amount in advance and I suck at surprises. Maybe it’s the joy I get seeing people happy, but trying to keep things close to my chest and hidden is like trying to hide a pink elephant in the Prius. Sooner or later, someone’s going to say “Do you still get good gas mileage with that elephant in there?” The deck was stacked against me.

Most people who deal with me on a fairly daily basis have been asking me for the better part of three months when I might pop the question. For the most part, I parlayed these questions with “I’m thinking about it” or “Did you see sporting event XYZ last night?” With the date quickly approaching, my poker face begin to let me down. I know what people are going to say, “Justin your poker face is great.” Thank you, really. But I was dealing with love, and it was busting out of me at the seams. At this point I told a few friends and family I could trust and with every fiber of my being shaking, refrained from telling the location of where it would happen.

It was at this point an invitation arrived from her cousin Stephanie. She was having a apartment warming party in San Francisco the same day and time we were to be checking in at the hotel in Sausalito. This would work to my advantage, as it gave us a reason to head into San Francisco unwarranted. I should note that while my flat is in San Francisco, we pretty much live out towards Modesto, which is roughly and hour and a half away. She works at the CSU Stanislaus as a wildlife biologist, working with endangered riparian brush rabbits.

Her job would end up being an important factor. It just so happens that February 2nd she had to be out doing a census in the morning, trapping at an undisclosed location. Even working with a co-worker, this could take a while, to the point of all day. Not a good omen. Just when I thought the wheels were beginning to fall off, the weather report comes in. Significant storm was heading our way that weekend, which could not only delay her trapping but also make getting to Sausalito a longer trip than usual. This was not good, not good at all.

I had a game time decision to make; delay the whole thing due to the “what ifs” or go for broke. With only a day left I decided it was time to suck it up, weather and schedule be damned and make this thing happen.

As she left work early Saturday morning, I begin the dead sprint towards that night. I cleaned the house to spotless levels; there was no way that house work was going to be on her mind when we got in the car. I had the car cleaned head to toe. I took care of all the animals. I packed bags, loaded that car, and had pretty much everything ready to go.

With a bit of luck, she was done trapping by noon. So far, so good. She came home, I gently rushed her to shower and pack and by one o’clock, we were on the road to Sausalito, yet she had no idea. This was working like clockwork. Then, the weather hit.

The winds gusted, the rain poured. As she slept in the car, I slowly made our way to San Francisco trying to get us there in one piece. Upon making the Bay Bridge, a police officer yelled at me thought a loud speaker to slow down. This I thought was funny given I was driving a Prius, I was doing two miles per hour over the speed limit, and I was getting buzzed on the two left lanes by other cars. This woke Monica, and we cruised into San Francisco as she laughed at me.

I took a very roundabout loop to get to the Golden Gate Bridge. The pouring rain helped in this instance, as she didn’t notice which way were headed until we had nearly reached the bridge. It was at this point she looked at me and said in a inquisitive voice “where are we going?” I don’t think she bought my proceeding rambling story of being lost. At this point, it didn’t matter.

We had crossed the bridge and soon found ourselves in Sausalito. As we looped around and soon pulled into the driveway of the hotel, she looked confused. “Are we getting out?” she said. With the heavens falling, we made it into the lobby. She sort of wandered around a bit, taking in the art and marble floors, and proceeded to ask “Are we staying here?” The look on her face was priceless; she was shocked and surprised all at the same time.

The bell hop would bring our bags to the room, the car was being parked, and as we made our way to the Vista Suite, I marveled in my small but important victory; I had truly surprised her for the first time in my life and gotten her here without her knowing. Would the second surprise be just as good?