Rachel

Today is the day.

Today is the day I finally propose to her. I thought about how I was going to do this for the longest time. I came up with a few scenes in my head of how each one would go down. I thought about proposing to her at the Bay State Carnival a few weeks from now. I thought I couldn’t do it there; that would have been too cheesy. On top of a ferris wheel trying to get down on one knee wouldn’t have worked out so well either. I feel like I would have dropped the ring off the car. Imagine walking by the ferris wheel when suddenly a ring drops out of the sky and hits you right on the head. That’d be a lucky thing to happen. Or I thought about how I might fall out of the car.

However, despite all the angst I had over this moment in my life, I finally decided where I would propose. Olive Garden seemed like a suitable location where the food is cheap, yet classy. The breadsticks are the right amount of tacky, and the service bad enough where they screw up your order often, but not so bad that you never want to come back. I thought that it would be a fairly decent place to propose, considering my small budget as a starving artist.

That is right, dear reader. At this point in my life, I was a starving artist, living in Boston. Yes, I had a day job that supported my soon to be finance and I to a point, but I yearned for something much more suitable to our views, hopes dream, etc.  So I decided to propose to my dear Elizabeth in an Olive Garden. I told the staff when I arrive, making sure I did before she go there.

When I arrived at said Olive Garden on the corner of Watsky and General streets, I was greeted by a pleasant hostess. She wore a white button up T-shirt white complimented the Black apron she wore with a purple Olive Garden Logo on it.

“Hello sir.” she greeted with an empty smile. I had the oddest feeling she didn’t like her job to much. “How many are in your party today?” she politely asked while she pulled out a small notepad.

“My girlfriend and I.” I said, trying to return the courtesy. “I want to do something special today, here at this fine establishment.”

“Oh my!” she responded with a wink. “What’s the occasion?”

“Well,” I responded, “ I would like to propose to her. I hope she says yes.”

“Oh I’m sure she will!” she responded, putting her hand on my shoulder. The hostess walked towards the kitchen and hollered.

“Jacob!” she hollered  over the sounds of clanking pots and pans.

 A man on the staff who hunched just a little bit too much for it to be healthy waddled out of the kitchen. The hostess signaled for him to come over and started to whisper into his ear. scoffed when a hostess told him the news. He disappeared into kitchen, only to return with a small cake. He grumbled something inaudible into her ear as her eyes brightened with delight. A sigh escaped her lips while I leaned to one side and put my hand on my hip.

“This is for you and your future wife! I’ll put it in the host stand. Just motion for me like this” She waved her hands over her head. “Alright?” she asked.

“Yeah, I got it” I replied, checking my watch.

“What time is she getting here?”

“I’m not sure.” I responded, checking my phone. “She’s about to get off work in ten minutes, so anywhere from fifteen to twenty minutes from now.”

“Alright sir, we’ll make sure we direct her right towards your table. What was her name?”

“Her name is Rachel, mam” I replied. The waitress nodded and smiled like a madman. It was almost as if she was more excited for this proposal than I was. She nodded and started to lead me to my table. It was a nice quaint corner of the Olive Garden that had this amazing little glow about it.