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 a previous story, and how I got her to the location in my last story. In this third and final part of the series, I detail how exactly the actual asking of the question went down.

As you may recall from the last story, she was quite shocked to find herself in the lobby of the hotel. As I checked us into the room, I was given the key to room 213. As we walked into the elevator she asked which room we would be staying in. I of course said room 213, failing to mention that we would be staying in one of the suites.

With rain pouring down to our right, we walked past room doors; 210, 211, 212...but no 213. As we came to the end, she asked me if we I had misspoken. But there at the end was a door labeled "Vista Suite." I said I guess we should just take that one, and opened a door into the private porch area. Deck chairs and potted bambo greeted us warmly and as we reached the door, I could see the surprise begin to come back to her face.

I opened the door to what has to be the nicest place I've ever personally stayed. The size of the room was huge, with plush furniture and original art work hanging from the walls. There appeared to be no walls towards the ocean, only glass floor to ceiling. The bed faced the ocean and allowed for spectacular views when the weather was right. Fresh orchids offered a nice center piece.

As she walked in, she was quiet. Her shock seemed to freeze her, as she wandered around the room taking in all that the suite had to offer. She soon exclaimed "it has a spa, did you know it had a spa?" In fact I did and it was one of the key selling points. What better way to relax than by sitting in the jetted spa I had though, and given her already long day trapping rabbits, I though she just might want to use it.

The champagne sat on the table chilled in ice, two glasses near by. The staff had left local chocolates as well, packaged beautifully along with a note welcoming us to the Inn. With rain hammering the winds and waves crashing below us, I popped the champagne and poured us a couple glasses.

As Monica sipped champagne looking over the water, I tended to out bags which had arrived from down stairs. In the side pocket sat the ring, which I had checked numerous times before leaving the house. Given my propensity to forget things at times, the last thing I wanted to do was forget the ring. With ring checked for the fortieth time I got the spa tub up and running, and soon she was relaxing with jets ablaze as I contemplated the question.

Besides being over the water and offering a wonderful view, there was another reason I choose to stay in such a nice room; the weather. If the weather didn't cooperate, and it would offer a lovely fireplace setting with waves crashing below. As I looked out into the pouring rain from the windows, I knew there was no way we were headed out for the evening. It was happening here, and it was happening sooner rather than later.

As we relaxed from the drive, we decided the weather was simply too horrible to brave, and it wasn't like the room wasn't lovely. We decided to order in from one of the fine restaurants in the area (Izzy's), and the Inn would bring it up in fashionable style. With sun setting I begin my attempt at building a fire in the fireplace. Mine was a laughable effort; the wood was slightly damp from the rain, and the wind was gusting in down the chimney. Much to Monica's amusement, I had run out of paper and I had to call the front desk for more.

On second attempt, Monica and I packed paper and kindling into the fireplace, and with matches drawn, hers of course lit while mine did not. It was a light hearted moment, as romantic Justin had just been out-romanticized by his soon to be fiancee. We laughed about this, and with fire finally going and dinner having finally arrived, we dimmed the lights and sat down to eat.

Dinner was simply wonderful, as mix of calamari, drunken shrimp and filet mignon. As we conversed about all matter of things, my mind was racing as to when to actually ask the question. This is more than likely why I forget what we actually talked about over dinner. Should I ask over dinner? Would she choke on a shrimp?

In the end, I waited until after dinner. The city lights had begun to show through the fog and rain. As she stared out into the the distant horizon, I had placed the ring in my robe pocket unnoticed. I held her in my arms and asked her if she was having a nice time. She replied that it was beyond anything she could imagine. With fire light filling the room and the waves crashing below, I slipped out the ring from my pocket, and proposed that she was beyond anything I could imagine, that I would like nothing but to spend the rest of my life with her.

I'd like to say that it was smooth delivery, but it probably wasn't. She'll be kind and say it was, but I think I probably had a bit of wobble in my voice while I did it. With a bit of luck the ring actually fit on her finger, when I expected it not to. It was the perfect ending to what had been a marathon to get to that final question. Location, ring and question had come together despite weather, jobs, and fatigue to create a magical beginning to our new lives together.

We went to sleep immediately following the proposal. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

The next morning, the storm and fog cleared for a spectacular morning view. We were actually able to use the private deck the suite had to offer, and were greeted with with sailboats and a full view of San Francisco across the water. As we snacked on our morning breakfast and took in the scene, there was a slight hint of happiness in the room. We laughed and kissed and basically made general fools of ourselves in private as we danced around the room.

As we finally packed our bags and left the Inn, we found ourselves leaving in a much different state of mind than when we had arrived. We were engaged to be wed. We had no idea when we getting married. We had no idea what kind of wedding to have. We just knew we were happy. And a week later, we're still in that happy state of mind. We're hoping it lasts forever.

I think that's a pretty safe bet. And you can quote me. :-)