I was a happily surprised when Dallin's parents invited me to join the family in Canada over the next weekend.  Although I've been around for quite a while, I still felt a little unofficial to be joining in as Dallin's girlfriend, especially for something so important as a funeral.  Still, I agreed to come.  That night, still a few days before the trip, Dallin called me and asked me out to dinner.  

    "We haven't had a nice sit-down dinner in a while," he said. "Would you like to go Carrabba's tomorrow at 5? How bout let's dress up." 

     And so I dolled myself up in my favorite blue floral dress. When Dallin knocked on the door, his brows pinched together as he stared at me like I was the most beautiful woman on the planet.  He kissed me even sweeter than normal. 

     "Wow, you are so gorgeous," he murmured. 

     Rain poured hard we enjoyed an Italian dinner with a friendly waitress.  Afterwards, he said, "My friend Jason showed me this cool spot over by the amphitheater.  Do you wanna check it out?" 

     So we drove the Bricklin up the side base of the small mountain, rolling down our windows to increase visibility and flashing our headlights at wide-eyed deer in the grass.  At last we pulled the car off the side of the road, and he pulled out his mission journal. 

     "I'd totally forgotten about this until the other day, but I found an entry that I wrote after our first time seeing each other after our missions."   After dating our senior year of high school, Dallin and I had spent two years apart, and then both returned within two weeks of each other in August, 2017.  The entry described that oddly-normal moment when I came down the stairs to see him, our nervous awkwardness in the car, our dinner date, and then the process of us becoming more relaxed as we lay next to each other in the grass of a random park.  We caught each other up on 24-months worth of experiences on different continents and established our mutual hope to simply test the waters between us before making any big decisions. Although in high school I had been so timid and he had always had to make the first move, Dallin wrote about how I slowly moved closer and closer to him...first reaching my hand for his...then snuggling my head on his shoulder...then eventually planting that second first kiss. The story continued until the entry ended with, "I think I love her."

   Now, as I heard the words in the passenger seat of the Bricklin, I couldn't stop smiling.  Dallin had been so reserved for so long after our missions, I'd had no idea the feelings he had for me the day we were reunited.  

     "Do you want to go outside for a little?" he asked.  I nodded.

     The rain had trickled out to nothing more than a mist as he stepped out to see the glittering view of Provo.  Almost immediately he exclaimed, "Well, there's no time like the present!" He dropped down onto his knee right there in the brush and asked, "Will you marry me?" 

     "YES!" I shouted emphatically. I squealed and laughed and gasped, "Oh my gosh!" about a hundred times, hugging and kissing him after slipping the beautiful ring onto my finger.  It was stunning-- my dream ring.  

     Eventually our friends Parley and Riley stepped out of the bushes to take our pictures.  Our feet stuck in the mud and even the car wheels were beginning to sink a little, and all I could do was stare at the ring in shock, happier than I could possibly describe.  "We're getting married!"

    The four of us went out to ice cream and I tried to contact all my close family and friends to announce our wonderful news.  That night, Dallin and I lay together for hours discussing the possibilities of our future together.  If only we could get married next week! 

     Oh how I love him.