Anita Stylist dot com

Well it happened.  On Friday, December 19, 2008, Benjamin Mark Moretsky, the man of my dreams, proposed to me!  I thought this day would never come and I’m still not sure it’s real yet, but I guess the big shining rock on my left ring finger proves otherwise.

This week started normally for the most part.  Several things happened that in hindsight, were hints, but there was never a thought in my mind of what was to come.  To tell the story, it’ll be easier for me to list out the various things that occurred the last few weeks, along with the “lies” accompanying them, that led to this unforgettable moment in my life.

- Ben and I went to Phoenix to visit his family last weekend.   The “Going with Mom to look at cell phones” was the cover-up for “Going to Mr. Goldstein’s to look at diamonds.”  It gives a whole new meaning to “Just give me a ring when you’re done.”

- When the blackjack dealer at Casino Arizona asked how Ben’s sister and I knew each other, she answered we’re sisters.  I thought it was such a cute and moving gesture at the time, but now I know it was just some foreshadowing since she knew the truth.

- My dad called on Tuesday to say he needed Ben to fix something on his computer.  Usually, I would go with him so he wouldn’t have to deal with the Chus by himself, but I had a long day at work and told him to I didn’t feel like driving in the rain so late.  I warned him that my dad may ask him about his future plans with me.  I even IM’ed (half-joking) that this could be the perfect time to ask him for my hand in marriage which Ben responded with a convincing “HAHAHAHAHA”.  DRATS!

- The truth was that he actually did take this prime opportunity to ask my father for my hand in marriage, which he always said was such an outdated tradition and didn’t really believe in it, because I’m not a piece of property.  To be completely honest, I’m secretly glad he did adhere to the archaic tradition in the end.

- That night, Ben comes home and tells me that my dad did, in fact, ask him about our future which made him uncomfortable.   This upset me a lot, to the point of tears, since I felt like it just put up yet another road block to him wanting to marry me.  Ben reassured me and convinced me to not call my dad to “yell” at him for contributing to my permanent singledom.   He’s lucky he was able to do so since I know my parents are not the best of liars and a call from me would’ve surely ruined the surprise.

- During the week, Ben tells me that there’s a special Friends and Family concert on Friday that John Mayer is putting on for his closest 90 fans at the Nokia Theater in downtown.  I was told to keep this to myself since it was a secret show so my big mouth only blabbed to 3 friends.

- Friday finally comes, and I am stoked to soon see John Mayer up close and personal with the chance of getting a glimpse of girlfriend-of-the-moment, Jennifer Aniston.  As we get closer to the venue, never mind that the Nokia Theater is HUGE and George Lopez has a show there that night.  “There’s a smaller backstage venue for these intimate gatherings…” of course!  Never mind that earlier that day I saw a paparazzi snapshot of him and Jen going on a date in MANHATTAN on people.com.  “They must’ve taken the red-eye back to the west coast…” of course!

- Ironically, the place his company told us to park for the concert was in the same building I used to work at in downtown, which wasn’t that unbelievable since it’s just a stone’s throw from Nokia and The Pantry (where Ben suspiciously developed a hankering for their bread and pot roast earlier in the week…hmmm).

- With my eyes peeled for free street parking, a prime metered spot was found on Figueroa Street, which was even closer to Nokia than the assigned parking lot.  So as any Angeleno knows, a free spot that’s close to your destination is great parking karma, and not to be ignored.  This kind of throws a wrench into the plans but alas, he is too quick on his feet.

- The best and most believable reason to head AWAY from Nokia was that he had to use the restroom.  But not any restroom, mind you.  The one at Hotel Fig was just across the street and super convenient but he said he had bad memories of it, more specifically, “one time I went in there and they looked at me like I was a homeless person.”  I think I was too annoyed to think that made no sense, so I followed him unwillingly to the Denny’s bathroom, a good few blocks in the wrong direction from where we wanted to go.

- FUMING inside, I lagged behind him as he became quieter which I just attributed to his very full bladder.  We crossed the street and suddenly he got a call about the John Mayer concert which he answered, said little and then hung up.

Ben:  So the John Mayer concert is cancelled
Me:  Why?
Ben:  Because there is no concert.  -Gets down on one knee-  I wanted to ask you to marry me at the place we first met.   -Opens up a velvet box with a sparkly ring staring back at me-  Will you marry me?
Me:  How?
Ben:  -Leaned me against some sculpture so I wouldn’t collapse-
Me:  How did you do this?  -Leaning back on the sculpture thing and still not saying yes-
Ben:  Are you going to say yes?  -Removes the ring from the box and proceeds to put the ring on the right-hand (wrong) ring finger-
Me:  It’s the other hand…-tears and confusion ensue-…I love you and yes, of course!

The rest is pretty much a blur to me.  I had to write what I remember about last night ASAP and still a lot of it is fuzzy in my head.  I think the mixture of anticipation, annoyance, surprise, and elation got the best of me and now I have this vague memory of the most romantic proposal ever.

As for the icing on the cake (since really what’s a cake without icing), Ben had a playlist on his iPod ready in his car named “Schmoopie’s Getting Married.”  The one and only song on there is the latest Beyonce hit, Single Ladies.  My favorite line is “Cause if you liked it then you should have put a ring on it.”  I guess Ben likes it, because he definitely put a ring on it.  Plus, this final gesture just sums up everything I love about him.  Not only is he creative and thoughtful, he can always make me laugh.

At this point, I am still in a state of shock.  I’m not necessarily looking forward to planning a wedding (Thanks WeddingChannel.com for taking the fun out of planning for me!) but the good thing is that I have family and friends who want to help.  What I am looking forward to, however, is marrying my soul mate and making a family and life with him forever…even if it means going the extra mile to find a better bathroom.