Once Upon A Time... Part 17

Monday morning. Dan and I had agreed that we would look for a ring this week and when we got the ring we would tell people. I guess when I sat down to eat breakfast, my mom could tell something was going on. She sat down and said, "You and Dan seem to really like each other. What are you going to do?" Hmmm. For about 2 seconds I thought. Then I said, "We're gonna get married." Then I couldn't stop giggling. She asked what happened and what our plans were. I said I didn't even know what happened and I only knew we would get a ring the next night and then get married. I went to work and knew this was going to be a hard secret to hold on to. And I didn't know how long it was going to take to get a ring. I could be bustin' at the seams for weeks. Months.

When I got to work and saw the two guys I worked with, I had to work hard to keep a straight face. In the short time I had been working there, 2 weeks, I had made it known that I was in this for the long haul. Well, I think that's about to change. I blurted out to the guys that I was engaged! They were so happy for me and asked if we had set a date and then they wanted to see a picture. Ummm. First of all, this just happened late last night. Second, I have only known this guy for less than a month. Were we supposed to have pictures already?? I told the guys that I didn't want to say anything to Dave, our boss, yet. They agreed to keep quiet. They understood the position I was in.

Meanwhile, Dan had no idea where to even start looking for a ring! So he, too, broke the "don't say anything yet" law. He called his sister, Deanna. "Where do I get a ring?" She went out with him that night to look around different jewelry stores for an idea. That night we talked on the phone and I said that I had told my mom and the 2 guys at work. He said that he'd told his sister and a gal at work. So we decided it would be better to just say we are engaged and show off the ring when we get it. So we started making the rounds of calls to the most important people. I called my sisters and my grandparents and some of my friends. Daniel told his brother and his family who were living in his parent's house with him. They were so excited! They had Daniel's name for Christmas just a month earlier and had given him Realm cologne. The kind with human pheramones. So he could get a girl. Apparently it worked.

Then he called his mom and dad. They were in Vietnam and were a little cautious about his announcement. They had no idea who I was or who my family were or anything. This was quite a turn from the Christmas phone call when he wasn't dating anyone. It was now January 22. They asked lots of questions and gave Dan their blessing as long as he kept them up to date on everything. They said they would talk to their Mission President about being able to come home for the wedding. This was it! He was ready and I was the one. Daniel then called all of his sisters and other brother. One sister was silent for a minute, then blurted out, "What did you do? Is she pregnant?" I know, it's a little out there. But Dan hadn't been dating anyone at all. And now he was engaged?? I'm not sure how that means I could be pregnant, but it was a quick assesment of the situation. He quickly said that I wasn't and that we had met at Christmas time and were going to get married.

So now that people knew, I needed to tell my boss, Dave. On Tuesday, I told him I needed to talk to him. When I told him, he was excited and then wanted to know when and how it would affect my job. I said we hadn't set a date, but I would keep working there for as long as I could. I'm pretty sure he started right then to make arrangements for a replacement.

Tuesday night came!! So exciting!! I drove straight from work in Provo up to Kaysville in 1 hour. Maybe I shouldn't broadcast that, but I was in a hurry. I met Stephen and Nicole and their cute kids. I had already talked to them and their oldest daughter on the phone after Dan told them. Jessiqa was so excited to meet me and had a little note for me. All she wanted for her uncle Dan was that he get married and be happy. He was!

We got in Dan's car and drove to a jewelry store near the mall. He had looked there with Deanna the night before. We looked at all the settings and I found a couple that I loved. Dan said to just pick which setting I wanted and so I did. The big gold band with a spot for a diamond and little diamonds to border the gold. I fell in love with it. Then we got to look at diamonds. Wow. I had never seen so much sparkle! We picked a size together that we thought would look terrific in the setting. Then it was just a matter of sizing and setting and picking up and making our engagement official!

All week I kept asking Dan if the ring was ready. No. Not yet. They will call me and I will call you. Okay. But I was antsy! Dan made arrangements with all his siblings and grandma to bring me around on Saturday to meet them all. Oh wow! It would involve a drive from Layton to the Ogden area to Logan to Malad, Idaho back to Layton. I was ready to meet them all. I just wished I would have my ring by then...