Sincerely Adeline

Journal Entry #2: Fireworks

HE PROPOSED!

Oh, wait a minute.

Dear Diary,

HE PROPOSED! HE PROPOSED! HE PROPOSED!

Oh my... He... he... Now, I promise, I didn't just wake up from a dream. I promise. I'm not kidding. He actually did it! He did! I'm... I'm... Okay, I need to breathe. Or at least take off these ridiculously heavy earrings. Alright, that's better. Where to begin? I know I've been flaky with the entries, but you have to understand, it was all worth it. I mean, I was out on dates so late that I would normally just get home and go to bed. Sorry.

So I know what you must be thinking. What happened? I... I... I honestly don't know. I mean, it was all so fast or slow or something... I mean, he took me on a nice date tonight and I didn't really expect anything. But now I must be thinking why didn't I expect anything? It's been over a year now that we've been dating. And he's gone from Sergeant to Colonel. I am so glad that I joined the army otherwise I never would have met him.

It's been so long since I've written, where to begin? Not with tonight, I still need it tall to sink in. Ah! I can't stop looking at the ring on my finger. I wonder how long he had to save up for it. Okay, back to the beginning I guess. I remember when I was training him. I had offered to help him out after he had shown a substantial improvement. I guess I had eyes for him even then.

But I wouldn't let him know it and would make conversation with lines like, "Your balance is good now, but remember that balance and aim are necessary..."

That was so lame of me. I wonder if he ever really noticed that. But either way, I guess it doesn't matter too much now.

Because he proposed. He proposed!

During the sessions, I just, I don't know, I got to know him. He loves horror and suspense flicks. His favorite food is anything from Germany. We talked about random stuff. I told him about my life at that prep school that my mother sent me to and he seemed to sympathize. He told me that his school life was pathetically slow and the kids were more brawn than brain. That's where he learned that he was good at fighting.

I told him about my family and how I learned to respect those in the military from my father. I think he was impressed by the fact that I was a real tom-boy. I liked that he was headstrong, but graceful in etiquette and manners to others. The first date was a couple weeks before he graduated under my regime. I probably shouldn't have gone out with him, it might have given the other men... ideas, but for some reason I said yes.

And I'm so glad that I did!

I mean, it wasn't like day one that he asked me out, but it was gradual and we got to know each other more as friends first. The second date was on a boardwalk. He took me to a remote beach, not full of many people, and the sunset was incredible. I remember some of our conversation. It went like...

"You know, if you ever manage to impress my father, you'd be one of the first." I said.

"Is that where you get your high standards from?"

"I guess it was from both parents." I answered, "What about you, Slade? Where did you get your manners from?"

He laughed and asked, "Aren't all men born with it?"

So he had a sense of humor and he was smart, too.

"The sunset is gorgeous." I commented... I think that's what I said.

"It's due to the ozone layers." he said after that.

Okay, so maybe that was simple stuff, but I don't know, you should see him really. Not me talking about him, but really see him. Slade's IQ is incredibly high, not like genius high, but still high. On another date, I remember he let me choose where to go. I chose to go driving around. We passed by a mall and walked in. By the end of the night, we had eaten at some fast food place, I had gotten him into a photo both, and when we left Nordstroms, we danced while a pianist played in the middle of the store.