On October 1, I flew to Lansing. Sarah’s understanding was that I was traveling to New
Jersey to visit with my father. She would house sit and take care of Emma. Despite not being
able to sleep until 2 am, I woke up at 6 am and made it the airport. I drove to my cousin’s
home in Fowlerville. I had three hours before I had to head out, so I visited for a while. I was
able to see Cy’s new combine and see Keith walking all around the house and hay fields. On
the way there, I saw that there was almost a 10 mile back up on I-96 Westbound due to
construction. Cyrus was able to help with road maps of the local back roads. My trip to Olivet
was the same time it would have been if I had been on the interstate without any traffic
despite a bridge being out between Fowlerville and Mason and a wrong turn in Mason.
I arrived at her parent’s house right on time. I had asked Sarah earlier in the week what time
would be best for “Cyrus” to stop by. She realized that she had not asked her parents in the
first place if it was all right for him to stop by. I rang the doorbell and her father walked up
from the side of the house. He welcomed me as if he was expecting me and not my cousin.
He took me around to the front of the house and showed me the new roof that had been put
up recently. Then, her mother opened the front door and was about to tell Jeff that Cyrus
was going to come over because she had forgotten to tell him earlier. She was surprised to
see me though. I arrived at 5:30 in the evening and wrapped up around 10pm. The
conversation was on many topics. I received his approval about one hour into the visit. I left
the beer at their front door and was on my way.
I flew back on Saturday morning. I was not able to fall asleep until midnight and my flight was
at 6:10 am. So, I had to get up for 4:15 am to get ready, return the car and make the flight.
Having the extra time that morning, I drove from Dulles to DC to visit the National Gallery of
Art. I wanted to find the right room to propose to her. Our first date had been there, so I
wanted to use it as a special place. I found the East Gallery Room on the Main floor. I then
drove to Dan’s home and dropped off the digital camera. We had a quick tutorial on its use. I
told him that I would email him the maps and times of the evening. He needed to be in the
room at 4:30 pm at a particular bench off to the side of the room.
During all this time, I kept up with Andrew Zaruba. He was the one responsible for the
creation of the ring. There had been delays in receiving back from the casting company and
he had promised to have it ready by the engagement day. I had taken off the Thursday
before to take care of some miscellaneous errands. Andrew called me at 4 pm on that
Thursday and said that it was ready. I drove over and found out that the casting company
had sent it Federal Express and he received it that morning. He worked on it all day and had
it ready when he called.
On October 8th, the day started off without any issues. I dropped Emma off at the kennel for
the weekend. Sarah stopped by and we were off by 1 pm. As we drove to the end of I-270,
we came upon a lot of traffic. The radio reports told of a pickup truck overturned on the
American Legion Bridge with its trailer. Traffic was backed up on all major highway
segments. We decided on Wisconsin Ave to get to DC. This was almost backed up and
moving slowly. It was now 2 pm. As we finally arrived in Georgetown, it was almost 3:30 pm. I
wanted to park at the Residence Inn so that I would not have to park twice that evening. I
used the story that I knew someone who worked there and offered free parking for me. We
arrived at the hotel and made it to the Metro around 4 pm. Sarah offered a few times that we
did not have to go to the National Gallery since it closed at 5 pm. I told her that I really
wanted to see a photo exhibit, however brief. We arrived at 4:15. I had hidden the ring under
a lens cap in the camera bag. After making it through security and a brief bathroom break,
we made our way down to the gallery room. As we entered, I quickly glanced and saw Dan in
his position. His sign would be that I would use the camera’s flash to let him know to come
over. I positioned Sarah by the fountain and took the picture. I told Sarah that I wanted to
change the lens and take another picture. I then put down the camera and approached her.
She was not sure what was happening. I got down on one knee and asked for her hand in
marriage. She looked stunned. I took it as that she was not sure how to respond because
her father had not been consulted. I told her that I did not visit my father the previous
weekend, but flew up to Michigan to ask her father’s permission. With this, she started to
sway and said she felt like she was going to faint. During this time, Dan was to the side
recording the whole thing. Needless to say, she said yes. Dan then left the Gallery. He was
going to meet us at Kinkead’s restaurant for a dinner celebration at 6 pm. Sarah and I took
in the moment and left the Gallery as it closed. We walked along the National Mall and took
the Metro to the restaurant.
At the restaurant, we were standing at the hostess stand as Grace walked in. She came up
to Sarah and asked how she was doing. She said that she almost fainted at the National
Gallery. Grace looked puzzled. Sarah looked to me and I said that Grace was not aware of
what had happened. They were both excited now.
Dinner was great and the rest of the evening fun. Dan headed home and the ladies and I
went to the Residence Inn to enjoy the evening. They stayed up late and chatted. I fell
asleep.
Erik and Sarah- An Engagement Story, Part II