“The Proposal”

As I sit here on the porch, overlooking the water and blue sky, drinking my Dunkin’ Donuts coffee, I cannot help but wonder if this resembles at all, the way in which Ernest Hemmingway spent his hours writing.  Krista and I were lucky enough to spend the week between Christmas and New Years in Key West this year.  I figured a sunset cruise out on the water would be a fun venue for asking her to marry me.  Believe it or not, we actually won a “two for one” sunset cruise at the Hyatt, where we were staying.

It was a beautiful but breezy, Tuesday evening when we boarded the big catamaran.  We remembered that there was no charge for the margarita’s and champagne so, we both decided to have one and since they were free, we decided to have another…..And of course, another.  It ended up being an absolutely beautiful sunset however, it was rough on the water and we had to hold on to the railing with one arm and our margarita’s with the other. I decided that it was not the best time to ask her.  I had visions of the ring falling overboard.  It was however, a wonderful experience enjoying the views from the water and the homes on Sunset Key as well as the sun setting on the water.

We decided to have dinner at Fogarty’s on Duval Street for a little people watching.  Krista generally wears a ring so, I asked her if I could look at it for a moment.  I reached in my pocket and replaced her ring with the new one.  Our dinner showed up just at that moment so, I handed it back to her and she just slid it on her finger without thinking twice.  She did not even notice.  While we were eating, I asked what color her nails were and she replied saying that they were natural.  She did not even look at them.  About 20 minutes had gone by and finally, I asked her what she liked about the ring that she wears.  She looked at her hand and began to explain although, I could tell that she was trying to process something…Nothing came out, she did not say anything.  After a moment, she looked at me and smiled and hugged me.  I was pretty sure that she had finally realized that she was wearing something different on her hand.

It was at Fogarty’s in Key West that I asked Krista Martin to be my wife.  She did say “Yes” and we tried to finish our meal although, she was more interested in her hand than what was on our table.  We enjoyed a few congratulatory remarks from neighbors and the servers, paid our tab and continued our stroll down Duval Street just as I am certain, Hemmingway had done many times.