When I woke up, got dressed, and came downstairs on Friday, August 8th, 2008, I did not expect to see my boyfriend Nathan sitting on the couch in my family room.  Surprised, I asked him what he was doing there, and he told me that since it was my last day of work, he was taking me out to breakfast.  I accepted, and off we went to the Original Pancake House in Kirkland for quite a substantial and delicious meal.

Nate then offered to drive me to work, since he had invited me to go to dinner at his aunt’s house later that evening, and said he could pick me up after work.  When we reached downtown Bellevue, however, Nathan kept passing by the streets he should have been turning on to get to my office.  I began to get more and more suspicious, and I demanded to know what was going on, saying that I had to go to work.  Nate, barely suppressing his glee, kept promising to turn around, only to continue driving, until we reached Bellevue Square Mall.

Upon parking there, he told me that I would not be going to work that day, and after a brief period of time in which I insisted upon calling someone to tell them I wouldn’t be in, and he insisted that he had already called my boss, Nathan escorted me into the mall.  By this time, I had realized that this would be a much bigger day than simply going out to breakfast and my last day of work.

Nate told me that we would be shoe shopping, since we had both promised to buy each other shoes at some point, promises which had not yet been fulfilled.  After I found a cute pair of shoes that would also be good for walking, Nathan said that he wanted to see me try on a cute outfit, as is his rule whenever he goes shopping with me, and that it should be a dress.  Once we arrived at the store I selected, he told me that he wanted to buy me whichever dress I wanted, and that I should wear it to dinner.  This confirmed my suspicion that we would not, in fact, be going to his aunt’s house that evening.  After trying on ten or fifteen dresses, I settled on a classic black style.

Stating that we didn’t have time to shop for shoes for him, since we had to get to an appointment, Nate drove me home and told me what items I would need for the rest of the day.  I quickly packed, and we drove across the bridge, through the Arboretum, and arrived at Spa del Lago, where Nathan said that we would each be receiving a half-hour massage, and I would get a manicure and pedicure.  We spent a relaxing couple of hours at the spa, feeling very pampered.

I then changed into my dress, as per Nate’s instructions, and he drove me a short ways to a salon named Frenchy’s, where he said that I would be getting my makeup done.  Feeling even more pampered now, my makeup was expertly applied, both subtle and flattering.  Nathan then informed me that we had just enough time to go to the Japanese Garden in the Arboretum before our dinner reservation.

We walked out onto the bridge that traversed the pond, admiring the beauty of the garden.  Then, between kisses, Nate said, “Kate Eileen Massingill,” got down on one knee, presented the ring to me, and asked, “Will you marry me?”  With a few tears running down my face (unbeknownst to me, Nathan had asked the salon to use waterproof makeup, for just such a situation as this), I said, “Yes,” and he slid the ring onto my finger.  Of course, we kissed to seal the deal.

While I was still wiping away the tears, Nate pointed across the pond and asked, “Who’s that?”  Standing between the trees, I could see my sister, Cheryl, taking pictures of the two of us with quite a telephoto lens.  Cheryl came over and congratulated us, and proceeded to photograph us in various places throughout the garden, making for pictures with a beautiful background and the subjects all dressed up and with the biggest smiles on our faces.

After Cheryl took about four hundred photos, Nathan whisked me off to dinner at Rover’s, a very fancy French restaurant, where we ordered the Grand Menu Degustation and Wine Pairing, which consisted of eight courses of delicious foods, many of which we had never tried before, and wine that was well-matched with each course.  The entire meal lasted about three glowing hours, and the conversation between the two of us was never better.

After all, it was the best day of our lives…yet.