The Proposal
Stephen asked Kristine to marry him on Sunday, September 18, 2005
Kristine:We came back to Massachusetts for the weekend, to see a Boston Red Sox game. My parents gave Kristine and I a pair of tickets for my birthday (a co-worker of Dad's has season tickets).
On Saturday, Steve took me to my first Red Sox game at Fenway. I was very excited: we got park foods, had great seats and cheered our hearts out. It was a great time and we even won!
Kristine:Sunday morning, we had a few things we'd planned on doing before driving back to New York. I had one more item on that list than Kristine knew about, and just before we left the house, I slid a green ring box into the front right pocket of my jeans.
Our first stop was Newbury Comics, in Shrewsbury. Walking the aisles, I was careful to keep my right hand in my pocket, covering the bulge of the ring box, so that Kris wouldn't notice. We took a "scenic route" back to my parents' house, stopping at the Wachusett Reservoir in West Boylston.
Stephen:Steve was taking me to an old church at the reservoir. He had been telling me about it for a long time. He had said it had a very rural British Isles feel to it (which is to my liking).
Kristine:Dad used to take my brother Matt and I fishing at the reservoir when we were little. I was always fascinated by the empty shell of a church along the shore. In all our times fishing there, we'd never actually gone near or in the church.
With Kristine's Scottish heritage and her love of old architecture, it seemed someplace she'd appreciate. I'd been casually mentioning the church on and off for a few months - right after I began looking for a ring.
Stephen:It took a little while to get there, but it was a nice day and a beautiful drive. I was really excited when we got there; it was beautiful. The building was gorgeous. I took a few pictures and we walked into the building. It was completely gutted, but still really pretty.
We walked into the hollow church, and Kris stayed by the door with her camera. She took a photo looking up through the shaft of the roofless steeple toward the sky. I crossed the width of the room, to a wall of windows that faced the reservoir.
Stephen:Steve walked up to the window and looked out. I really liked the shot and got ready to take a picture of him when he began to turn around. I scolded him to turn back because I wanted to take a picture. After I was done, I walked to the window to see what the view was like.
Kristine:While Kristine looked out the window, I took a step back and quietly took out the ring box while her back was to me. I said "You're always going to remember that picture", trying to keep my voice from shaking.
Stephen:I turned around to ask why, and he was on one knee with a green box with a lovely diamond ring in it.
I'm pretty sure I didn't scream, mostly I think because I was in shock.
KristineKris didn't scream.
She stood with her mouth open, looking at me, for a few seconds. Those few seconds felt as if more than a minute went by.
I designed the ring and had it made by a local jeweler. It rode to Worcester in its box, rolled inside a sock in the bottom of my bag, where it wouldn't be seen. I'd been planning this for months. Now the box was open, in my hand, in front of Kris.
Finally she reached forward and, when I stood, she wrapped both arms around me and wouldn't let go.
Of course, I said yes (I had been saying yes for the past year or so, since the previous year when he had asked me unofficially on his birthday).
I hugged him a lot and he put the ring on me. We walked around the building, and along the reservoir, holding hands.
I don't really even remember what else we did that day, but it was great I'm sure.