the Engagement story

The mall is always packed. And by "mall" I refer to the large rectangular span of lawn between the Capitol Building (often confused by tourists for the White House) and the Washington Monument. On the night of January 26, 2008, however, we were completely alone under a clear sky between the two icons of freedom – not exactly my idea of the most romantic setting.

But this engagement story is more about him than her. The mall is my fiancé’s favorite location in all of D.C. I think it's part of why he wanted to be a lawyer here – to be a part of something bigger than himself and to be reminded of his place in the world by running around such giant architectural reminders three days a week.

I am not a lawyer. Or a runner for that matter. I came to D.C. in 2006 to be near my sister and her kids. I'm a creative surfer girl from Florida/California who finds herself to be a fish out of water in this city. My sister's friends kindly took me in as their friend, and I have made a few of my own. I truly miss the sunny weather, but am determined to make it as a writer/photographer regardless of where I am based -- as long as I am surrounded by a group of people I love.

This group of people now includes a young, sophisticated and witty athlete whom I met through mutual friends 15 months ago at a historic landmark known as Brass Monkey. I remember thinking after my first date with Gary that we were not compatible because he had an Economics degree from Johns Hopkins and I virtually finger painted painted my way through school in San Diego.

As we crossed the middle of the lawn, having left the Sculpture Garden where we had been ice skating and heading to where he parked the car, he stopped me to ask how I would photograph the Washington Monument at that moment. Strange, I thought. I wonder if he's trying to find out if I've used the tripod he bought me for Christmas.

As I humored him with a reply, I turned back around to find a large turquoise box in his hand and a large smile on his face. "Yes!" I exclaimed, so excited that he had successfully chosen the right platinum tension setting for the diamond I unwittingly selected over a month prior. "Wait! I have to ask you the question," he laughed. I told him to ask me in the car because I was freezing.

He proceeded to tell me that the box barely fit in his pocket and that's why he had not held my hand while we were ice skating. The last thing he wanted was to see it fly out of his pocket and slide across the rink. As he went to remove the box when we were standing on the mall, he ripped a hole in his jacket pocket. Now, he says, every time he loses his car keys in his jacket lining, he remembers the day he proposed to me.