I always enjoy spending time on The Loop. It seems to draw a diversity that we don’t get to see much in St. Louis. It’s near major universities that draw people from around the world. It’s a crossroads of the affluent and the poor - almost a dividing line. But in The Loop, no one really seems to care.

The goal was to eat at Blueberry Hill. The wait was too long - nearly an hour - so we headed across Delmar instead and checked out Brandt’s. Javi’s band plays there sometimes, and I usually like their menu, so we took a table hostage and ordered drinks.

We’d spent the day together doing silly, mundane things, like shave the dog and clean leaves out of the pool. It was a beautiful day weather-wise, and a beautiful day in terms of experience as well. Nothing exciting, nothing awful and stressful. Those are the kinds of days I like the best.

Dinner was no exception to the lazy, fun time. The food wasn’t the best (four cheeses slapped on old french bread does not a pizza make) but a jazz trio warmed the air for us and we enjoyed every minute.

Just after 9p, Stephen and I jumped into his car and closed the doors. All of the sudden he looked at me and said, “I want some coffee and dessert. Where do you want to go?” As he’s halfway backed out of the parking space I remind him that Starbucks is just behind us, and he grins and pulls back into the spot. (I promised him the people waiting for the space would forgive him eventually.) And off we were to Starbucks.

At this point things started to get a little strange. We ordered and sat down in the big comfy purple chairs, and Stephen was on the edge of his seat. He bounced across the place when our order was called, and then sat and stared at me as I took a bite of carrot cake. “Want some?” I offered. “Not yet,” he replied. Yet? Was I supposed to save some for later?

If 100,000 people hit Diary-X in a day, how many people is that per second, he asks. I raise an eyebrow. Basic math isn’t my strong suit, so I had no idea. When he began floundering with numbers, I took pity on him and pulled a calculator out of my purse. (Yeah, so I’m in finance, sue me.) To get him to stop yammering about numbers I figured it out for him. However, upon hearing the number he seemed to pale. He glanced at his watch. I raised my eyebrow again.

“Want a piece?” I asked.

“Not yet.”

At this point he told me he had something important to discuss with me, because we’d been talking about being together forever. He took such a serious tone after such a light-hearted day, I stopped moving with my fork in the air. Mmm. Okay.

At this point I basically heard what he’d written. My eyes filled with tears when he slid out of his seat and onto one knee. “Will you marry me?” he asked.

Then I cried. “Yes,” I hiccupped. “I’d be honored to be your wife.”

He took my hand and slipped a ring on my finger. And I threw my arms around his neck.

At this point he told me about the Diary-X “time bomb” that he’d set up earlier in the day. For a web nerd, this was the most romantic thing I’d ever heard of. I laughed and repeatedly checked to see if he’d really done that. And he really had.

In Starbucks. Who’d have thought? With 9pm becoming the witching hour. What a man. What a gift. I am blessed.

Making a commitment,

Michelle