27th
1 Year ago today, Nic and were married.
The original engagement story. Written last year:
So, Sunday night, Nic and I headed over to my mom’s house. I had been scheming with her for a while about this as well, and we came up with a fool proof plan. We had dinner per usual, sat around and chatted for a bit, waiting for it to get dark. Then, once it did, my mom asked my little sister Alex, “Did you get all your homework done?”
Alex, who gets WAY MANY POINTS for being an awesome actor said “Oh crap,” she’s thirteen now, she’s allowed to say crap, “Oh crap, I forgot! I have this project I have to finish at my friend’s house.” My mom, of course, didn’t like that.
“Alex, (cussword), you know I can’t drive at night with my ONE EYE!!” Okay, she didn’t say the one eye part, but that IS why she can’t drive. I just think she should have said it like that. She did cuss though. She does that a lot, and she’s a writer too, so she’s really good at it. “Chris, can you take Alex?”
Of course, me, being the loving son and brother I am, said “Absolutely, mother dear. I’d be priveledged to take my darling studious sister to her friend’s house to do her work.” or something like that.
“Okay, I’ll go with you,” said Mom. “I need to talk to Chelsea’s mom,” that’s the “girl she was working on the project with.” My family is a bunch of awesome liars. I love em.
“I’ll be right back babe,” I told Nic. And I do call her babe, which is different for me. But I like it. I call her other things too. Like Chewbacca.
So, my sister, my mom and myself headed out. First stop was the grocery store where I picked up flowers and a buttload of candles.
Then, we headed over to the street corner near Northwest High School. This is the important part. You see, after that first homecoming dance, in my sophmore year, before we were to be picked up by my dad, we took a walk in the neighborhood. And, it was on THAT street corner, nearly nine years ago, that Nic and I had our very first kiss together. So, basically, I’m awesome.
We took out the candles set them up on the corner, lit them, and then put the flowers all around. My mom and sis helped to do it quickly, although it still seemed to take forever. Then, once we were done, mom and I hopped back in the car, leaving Alex to watch over it.
So, mom and I made it back. Nic was sitting in the living room with my dad, two of my brothers and one of their fiancee’s. (The other one is twelve, so he doesn’t have a fiancee yet..) I walked in and apologized profusely for taking so long. “My mom just wouldn’t friggin shut up! And I kept telling her that you were sitting here all alone with my dad, and that you’re terrified of him when I’m around, who knows how’d you act without me being there to protect you!” She was forgiving. Nic I mean, not my mom. My mom yelled at me for blaming it on her.
Anyway, a couple minutes passed, and my dad got a phone call. Then he got really pissed. For real too. I mean, he was acting, but he did a really good job. There were a lot of cuss words and everything. Then he threw the phone at my brother Sam’s head. Poor Sam just happened to be sitting next to me. I’m not making that up either, Sam almost did lose an eye. But my dad is a bad shot, and the phone bounced off the couch. “It’s for you Chris.”
This was Alex telling me that she “forgot her binder.” I kept asking her where it was, and she kept laughing on the other line, and said “hurry up, I feel like a prostitute.” Because she was on the street corner, not because of how she dresses.
“Nic, baby, you mind going with me to take Alex her binder?” Nic didn’t mind. My dad had scared her sufficiently to get her out of the house.
So, we headed out to give Alex her binder. When we got into the right neighborhood, I parked the car and called Alex. “Hey Al, which house was it again? I can’t remember.”
“Okay, I’ll hide,” was Alex’s response.
“The one with the blue car in the dri—yeah, yeah I think I see it,” I said. Then I opened the door. “You wanna come with me and find this thing?” I asked Nic.
So she got out. She still didn’t know what was going on either. I asked her afterward. She thought I was just being dumb and feeling bad for not really talking to her much all night. So we started walking down the street.
“Awww, babyyyy,” Nic said, “it’s like when we were kids after that homecommmminnnnggg. This is that neighborhood.” I kid you not. She said this. Totally sincerely too. I’ve never felt more awesome than that moment right there. I was gooooooooood.
Then we kept walking. “I thought you knew where this place was? Weren’t you like just here?”
Then, she saw the candles.
Then, she started shaking.
“Babyyyyyyy. What are you doing???” Dude, my heart was pounding in my throat by this point. Nic told me after that she could hear it pounding. She finally knew what was up.
So, I made it to the street corner. Candles were all around. Cars were driving by making her feel awkward. And I told her some things about the first time we kissed here, and what the past nine years have brought about, etc etc. I don’t wanna make this xanga TOO mushy. You get the idea. Then I told her I had something to ask her.
“Nicole Anne Lech, will you marry me?” And busted out an awesome little itty bitty ring that I had picked out.
She said yes. Then I stood up and held her and she was about to cry. Then, I hear:
“What are you doing lighting fires on my lawn?!?” Some crazy old lady had run out of her house. I’m not joking here kids.
“I just proposed to my girlfriend!” I said, all happy and in love like.
“Well, I’m calling the fire department!!” Then she stormed back inside.We laughed. It was pretty good timing. So, even though it was the sidewalk and technically not her lawn, I thought it might be a good idea to clean up and head out. Alex came out of her hiding spot, and laughed with us, and helped clean up.
And then we were engaged.
So now we’re getting married. We’re aiming for January 27th. Details, and confirmation to follow.
