It was August 10th, 2002.  The sun was up and we were in for another 95 degree afternoon.  Today was Rita's birthday.  Sierra and I had worked out most of the details the night before.  The plan: Keep her guessing, don't give her any opportunity to figure it out.

Rita left to teach Cardio-Kickboxing at 9:30am.  Sierra and I jumped into gear.  Birthday decorations needed to be setup on the patio and the cake needed to be baked.

Phase I complete.  The patio is ready and Sierra's working on the cake.

Now comes my part.  The goal is to get Rita to the arboretum south of town.  One of the most beautiful settings around here and the perfect spot to ask Rita to share her life with me.  I need to get her there without raising suspicion ... but I have a problem with lying to Rita.  She can see right through it.  The only way I could pull this surprise off is to avoid looking directly at her eyes.

Sierra and I practiced the night before.  The plan is to swing by Rita's class just as she is walking out the door (what a coincidence).  I said, "Rita, I just got a call from Ryan and he's had a small car accident by the mall.  No one hurt but I need to swing by and check it out."  I can already feel the sweat building on my forehead.  God, I really suck at lying.  Don't look at her gaze, Ed.  Just keep fidgeting.  Rita said, "Let me ride over with you."  That's my babe.  Always there for support.

Now for the tough part.  Keep looking forward while driving, Ed.  Don't talk, don't mess up!  She notices my nervousness, but assumes it is concern for Ryan.  We're driving down the road towards Ryan's "fictitious" accident when suddenly I turned into the arboretum entrance.  I looked at her and said, "Ryan didn't have an accident.  It was just my job to get you here without you knowing where we were headed."  Her first response was, "You lied to me!" followed by a quick blow to the head.  I was still smiling inside since she now thought this was related to some surprise birthday event.

She looked at the small parking lot and said, "Where is Dad's car?  Where did Sierra and Dad park?"  Choke!  Now I'm really struggling trying to think of some response.  I really do suck at this lying thing.  "There must be another parking lot on the other side", I said.  Choke!  That was so lame!  The sun beats down on us.  It must be 115 degrees by now.  I can feel the sweat break out on my forehead as I struggle to get her to walk the last 300 feet to the stream I had picked out.  "So where are they?", she asks as we walk.  Just another 100 feet I say to myself.  After what felt like an hour we reach the spot.  I fumble trying to remember what I was going to say.  So much for rehearsal.  Somehow I manage to mumble some words and ask Rita to marry me.  She didn't hesitate and said, "Yes."  I am ecstatic!  Magically a couple walked past us right afterward and was kind enough to snap a quick picture for us.  This is going to be a great day ... this is going to be a great life.

  The happy couple !   

                                                          Showing off for the camera.

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     Last Updated: Sunday, February 15, 2009 - 8:30 p.m. EST