"the choice" ch-10

"in which Dave is a big fat chicken"

My mom was being awfully quiet on the phone. As a mother now, I'd probably think my child was certifiable if they called me with the sort of news I called her with. She finally started asking questions. How old is he? 24. How did I meet him? Choir. Is he a returned missionary? Yes. (I decided not to mention that little detail of him getting arrested while on his mission.) What does he do for a living? I dunno. Something with computers. I gave all the right answers and she agreed that I could bring him home for Christmas. I assume she then went into overdrive to make sure she had things prepared for an extra guest.

I don't remember the drive there, we probably just talked a lot. Had to get to know each other, after all. I do remember standing in the kitchen after we got there. My parents house is on 10 acres of land and my dad was out near the barn. My mom was talking to Dave and he said he was an eagle scout. She opened the door and hollered out to my dad "HE'S AN EAGLE SCOUT!"

He was making a good impression.

Now I knew the point of this trip. I knew he wanted to talk to my dad before he officially proposed. What I didn't understand was why he wasn't doing it already. I mean, sure, my dad is maybe a little protective, maybe a little scary. And maybe Dave realized that he'd only known me a week and he had a ring burning a hole in his pocket and a future Father-in-law to talk to and it was maybe a little overwhelming. But, HELLO! Soon to be bride, here. I was not feeling very patient about the whole getting the ring business. After all, I had no idea what it looked like.

So, we're coming up on Christmas morning and I'm thinking, he's got to talk to him soon. I mean, it's Christmas! What better gift could I get than a ring on Christmas!? But as far as I knew, there had been no talking yet.

Christmas morning comes and I was sitting on the couch with Dave on one side and my 18 yr old sister on the other side. We're waiting for our 12 year old sister to join us so we can get started. She finally comes down and walks by the couch. At this point Rachel leans over, grabs April's sweats and pantsed her right in front of everybody. April collapses to the floor squealing in indignation while Rachel laughs hysterically. I remember thinking "crap, he's never going to want to marry into this family."

Somehow April recovered and we made it through Christmas and there was no ring for me. Boo. I figured it was time to get creative or he'd never get the guts to talk to my dad. (as an aside, I gave him a framed picture of the Seattle Temple that I happened to have taken on the day we met. Just a few hours before we met.)

The next day was a quiet Sunday and as the day was winding to a close and knowing we were leaving the next morning, I asked my dad for a father's blessing. My mom, sisters and Dave were all there. The spirit was very strong and I was reassured that I was making the right choice. I was told if I hadn't followed the promptings of the spirit I would have missed out on great blessings. The room was so calm and quiet at the end. I gave my dad a hug and then I looked at my mom and sisters and was like "I'm gonna go, uh...write in my journal" and they were all "yeah, I need to go...um...do stuff" "Right! I forgot about this thing..." and we high tailed it out of there leaving Dave and my dad stuck with each other.

I tried to eavesdrop but they were being quiet.

I found out later that when my dad gave me the blessing he knew then that it was the last time he'd say my maiden name in a blessing. My mom said the spirit was so strong that she knew it was right for us to get married. Rachel hated "Matt with the stupid small head." (seriously, that's what she called him) so she was just glad it was anybody but him.

We went home the next day. Still no proposal. I was getting anxious. What in the world was he waiting for?