I just had to get a few more stocking stuffers to surprise my family...little did I know I'd be in for the sweetest surprise of the season!
Setting the Stage
I remember I was at the HEB on Christmas Eve 2004. Shane's family was in town from Canada and my family was due from Laredo any minute. It was Shane's idea to have all the family celebrate Christmas 2004 at his new house in San Antonio. And here I thought it was going to be another quiet old fashioned Christmas. So anyway, I was at HEB buying last minute stocking stuffers and as I was rounding around the 1.00 aisle, my favorite aisle, Shane calls me and tells me not to rush, but when I get to his house, to call him before I do anything else. Hmmm...ok. Sounds interesting. Of course, being the girl I am, I tried to get details out of him as to what the whole thing was about, but he just told me to call him. So with that, I dilly dallied a bit more, made my final purchases and then drove to his house. Upon arriving, I greeted his Mom (I guess you should know that his parents did not know what Shane was up to either!) who was busy in the kitchen and proceeded to call Shane right away. My curiosity was getting the better of me.
The First Rose
So Shane tells me to look in the Christmas tree and find a red rose nestled in the pine leaves, and a red envelope attached to a CD in a jewel case that were hiding around the back of the tree. He also told me to pick up a wrapped present and get in the car and just pop the CD into the stereo. And with that...he hung up and told me to call him if I had any questions. I was really curious and of course as any analytical mind would do, I started pondering possible scenarios to what this whole little "adventure" was about. Of course I thought the present had something to do with it. It was a rather large box, so I assumed we were going to exchange gifts in a secluded, remote location just the two of us. I knew in typical Shane fashion, it would be very specially planned, but still didn’t think it could be "the event."
The Second Rose
I think it worthy to mention that I was driving Shane's car because my Honda had thrown a wrench in the plans by getting a flat. So I pop the CD in and am surprised to hear Shane's voice emerge from the speakers. Almost like he was there with me. He said something like, "Hi Honey. Are you ready for a little fun and adventure? Just listen to the clues in this cd and drive where they send you. Along the way, I've included some songs that are meaningful to us." I was so touched as to how clever that was. He instructed me to go to the first place where we had a drink together during our first date. It was Crabby Jacks off of 281. The songs were timed perfectly so that when I arrived at Crabby's, the songs (there were 3) ended. Was I excited? Heck yeah! Was I nervous...maybe a little, but the songs made me smile as I listened to them. Shane's voice then came on telling me to look behind a rock in front of Outback the restaurant next to Crabby's and there I would find my next clue. I imagined myself on the Amazing Race or something, except with a lot less dirt. So looking around to make sure nobody was wondering what I was doing climbing into the flower bed, I found the huge rock in front of Outback and just as Shane said, there behind it was another red rose and another card and CD. I ran to the car and read the sweet card and popped the second CD in. Shane is back and this time he asks me to remember the first movie theater we went to.
The Third Rose
Luckily, this was about 3 minutes away from the first stop, so there I drive the few miles or so, listening to another one of "our songs." I think it was "Here without You" by 3 Doors Down. I remember Shane said something like, "Doesn't it feel like I'm here without you?" Cute...cute.
I arrived at the theater and Shane told me to look for the fourth tree to the right of the entrance and look on the ground beneath it. I was sure some curious person had found and swiped this clue by this point. Later I would find out that Shane was actually watching my arrival and guarding the tree from over 100 yds. away. So after checking my directions, I finally found the tree he was talking about. Looking extremely out of place, there on the floor, was a rose and yet another card and CD under the tree. I picked it up and couldn't help laughing as I thought of the care Shane had taken planning this wild goose chase. I was at this point really going with it. It really felt like I had this big secret that only I knew about and the rest of the world didn't. I just couldn't stop laughing...So I'm sure you can imagine how this story ends. The last Cd instructed me to head a few blocks down the shopping center to the place where we first met, The Fire Hut Grill.
The Final Rose
I recall Shane asking me to take the long route to the restaurant so I could hear the song he and I always considered "the song" Ok, ok...at this point I'd be lying if I said I didn't think there might be a different scenario waiting for me than I originally thought. This was just too zany for the end result to be anything less than fabulous. I can only say that I felt nervous, exhilarated, and vulnerable all at the same time. So when I arrived at the Fire Hut Grill, I was surprised to see that my eyes were already getting misty. I'm an emotional person for the most part, but for some reason seeing Shane sitting on that bench where we met more than a year ago in the cold weather wearing the same thing he was wearing when we met, choked me up. But I pulled myself together and ran out of the car with a huge grin as if to say, "What the heck are you up to now?" He was sitting looking cool and collected with a big smile on his face. The bench was right outside the restaurant and there were these big glass windows looking into the restaurant. There were about 6 or more patrons sitting in the restaurant in full view of the outside. Shane and I hugged and he sat me down on the cold bench.
I am the most detail oriented person when I’m recalling a party, an experience, what somebody said or what they wore, but for some reason, all the things Shane said for the next minute or so are a blur, but I do recall them being very perfect words. The next thing I knew he was down on one knee, pulling a box out of his back pocket and asking me, "Jessica Jay Fulgham, will you marry me?" I'm sure most brides would agree that it seems like nobody else is around at that point and that it seems it's just down to you two. I smiled and after a few moments said, "of course I'll marry you." While I was hugging Shane, I glanced into the window of the restaurant. A couple inside smiled at us and I could tell they knew what was going on. Shane and I had to drive in separate cars all the way to his house and it was very hard. He kept making faces at me in the rearview mirror and I couldn't stop looking at my left hand and the slightly large ring swinging around and around it, catching my eye like a firefly on the wind. It seemed a dream and several retellings of the story later, we were ready to face the world and future in a whole different light, hopeful and happy. Only a promising future lied ahead. Oh and what was in the big box Shane had wrapped? Absolutely nothing. Wise guy.