Will and I first met sometime my freshman year at Rhodes College, in Memphis. I was friends with his sister Olivia and she introduced us very briefly on campus. I saw him a few times in the next couple of years, when I went over to Olivia's parents' house, about 20 minutes from campus. We didn't talk much; he was pretty standoffish most of the time, and I took this to mean that he wasn't interested in his younger sister's friends. However, April of my senior year, I had just ended a longterm relationship and needed comforting, so I went over to Olivia's house. She and Will and I sat around and watched the Office and I remember how friendly he was then, talking to me about the show and other things, and generally being very charming and keeping my mind off of sad things.
A few weeks later, I graduated and moved back to St. Louis. We talked online a few times over the summer, but at the end of August, after I had moved to Iowa, we started talking online every day, sometimes for six hours or more. He was so smart and funny, I couldn't get enough. Within a week, we had expressed interest in one another. He was due to start the Ph.D. program in Classics at University of Chicago in September, so we made plans to spend some time together there after he moved up, much to the surprise of his family.
I was very nervous as I drove to Chicago that morning. We both admit that we're fairly awkward people, especially in new social situations, so our date had the potential to turn out really badly. Fortunately, I had nothing to worry about. After I arrived, we sat around on the little porch outside his apartment and talked. He looked extremely handsome. We took a walk to the lakefront, where we had our first kiss, and then we went to dinner at the Medici on 57th. All evening, we were talking and laughing, and I was struck by how natural and un-awkward everything felt with Will. It felt right, and I knew I wanted to see more of him.
Over the next several months, there was a lot of driving and training back and forth between Iowa and Chicago and St. Louis. During this time, I got to know him better and better, and the more time we spent together, the better I liked him and the more time I wanted with him. In December, the two of us took a 12-hour car trip on our way down to Mexico, where Olivia and his parents were vacationing for the New Year. Even at the end of that long, grueling day, I was happy to be with him.
On the first day of February, he asked me to marry him, and I said yes.
Becky's Version: The Proposal
Will proposed to me the morning of Friday, February 1. It was about 8:00 in the morning and there was a knock on the door, which Will answered as I continued to doze. He came back to bed and we started having a brief conversation about FDIC
and the improbability of bank runs in the U.S., until there was a pause, and he said, "Becky, I have something I want to talk to you about."
I asked what it was, and he presented me with a small box, which I opened...
I looked at him, and he said, "Will you marry me?" I think I smiled at him and put the ring (originally his Gram's and then his mom's) on my finger and said yes and kissed him about one million times. We lay there in our PJs, all cozy and happy, and snuggled and enjoyed the moment for a few minutes, but then it was time to get up and start calling family to tell them the good news. Everyone was very happy for us, and then I went to teach my class at 10:30.
Coming soon.