Ritz just celebrated her twenty-***** birthday, which called for special festivities. Since I had a special present waiting for her, I didn't actually give it to her on her birthday, because that was too hectic. Instead, I waited until Friday when we could get some time to ourselves, and when Ritika could promise me that she wouldn't stress out so much about papers, research, moving out, cleaning the house, etc., etc.
The truth was, I had been saving up for some time for this gift, because it's a once in a lifetime kind of deal. A famous pop icon recently stated, "If you want it then you should've put a ring on it," so, I decided to do just that. I didn't give her too many clues about it, seeing as I've given away surprises in the past. Ritika usually knows when I'm lying, so I can't get away with much. Better just to say nothing at all. I did mention that the gift was fairly large in size, and that it started with the letter "V". I thought I was the slickest guy in the world, but then at dinner at Radio Maria, the server asked us if we would like dessert. I responded, "Sorry, but we have a previously scheduled engagement to get to." Geez Josh. Don't think she expected too much though. Earlier, I tried to make it seem like I would propose after her trip to Germany. Maybe in a couple months or so.
After dinner, we headed out for the surprise. This is me, very stressed out and trying to be chill. A very expensive piece of jewelry is sitting in some garden, and I'm not there with my own two eyes keeping watch on it.
Ritika, on the other hand, had actually taken my advice and was super relaxed. As usual, she took quite a few pictures of us driving in the car.
When we arrived at the garden, I found the "guard" had hidden the present pretty well. So well, in fact, that I couldn't initially find it. So after a frantic phone call and some wandering around, we finally found the surprise.
"V" stands for Very Big Box. The creation of the packaging itself was actually a huge endeavor. My sister informed me that since this was the only time I would be doing this, the box needed to be huge as possible. Initially, I was going to stack 8 boxes from Walmart together, but then I decided it wasn't good enough. The guys from Best Buy came through for me and found something truly massive, but the issue was that it barely fit in my car. So I had to bend it in all sorts of different ways to fit it in the trunk. At my place, I spent about 2 hours wrapping it, which included two trips to the store for wrapping paper. The bow was also a challenge. No arts and crafts store in town sold anything large enough, so I had to research the bows on display so I could scale one up. That took some trial and error. Then, to my dismay, I discovered that I could not fold the box in the same manner as before to fit it back in my trunk. The wrapping paper simply would have torn off. My henchman initially thought he could grab his roommate's SUV, but that plan fell through, so we were stuck with the same problem. Desperate times call for desperate measures, so I just went for it -- took a box cutter and sliced it right down the middle. I gave my friend a huge roll of packing tape, some candles, and a lighter, and told him "good luck". And "thanks..."
Ritika divulged later that initially she thought the present was a widescreen, high definition television, since I had complained so much about carrying her old heavy tv around all week. For the record, I have never contemplated wrapping large electronics in a box, planting them in a garden, adding a few candles, and trying to pull it off as a gift to my significant other. Nor have I suggested such an idea worthy of being classified as "romantic".
Ritika started peeling off a little corner of the wrapping, then moved to another corner. Partially because I was so excited and also because I knew that her particular approach would take quite some time, I lifted the box off the ground with her assistance to reveal a much smaller package with several items of interest. Firstly, she pulled out a pink, liquid solution, much to her confusion, which I told her would be explained later. Then, she pulled out some nail polish. Again, just a side item. Finally, she pulled out a small box, and I told her that she should let me unwrap this one. I got on one knee and said something that I can't quite remember. I do remember mentioning that I had her father's permission, however. A crucial requirement, to be sure. Ritika said, "Oh my god...Oh my god...Oh my god..." several times. To which I replied, "Is that an 'Oh my god, YES' or an 'Oh my god...er...um". Fortunately, it was the former. So we hugged, we kissed, and then I had my assistant, Amit, come out of his hiding spot in the bushes to congratulate both of us. The pink solution, if you're wondering, was jewelry cleaner that is sure to come in handy.
Here is Ritika with her new bling, looking very happy. And gorgeous.
And here is the ring somewhat closer. I got it from a great friend of mine up in Chicago: www.dimendscaasi.com. If you're also having thoughts of proposing, you should definitely check them out. I never thought I would be able to afford such a gorgeous looking ring, but they made sure I had something special. AWESOME service, and they went above and beyond to get it to me when I needed it. I paid for it in cash, and let me tell you, I have never been more petrified than walking downtown Chicago with that many dollars in my pocket. The envelope was drenched with sweat when I arrived back at the store.
After I popped the question, Amit had to leave quickly to meet up with friends, so Ritika had to help me chop the box back into two and drag it back to the car. This whole time she was wearing heels and walking in the dark, mind you. Under normal circumstances, I don't think she would have been that happy to assist, but that's the great thing about diamond rings...
We then took some pics at the place it all started...the lab.
Thanks to Arnab for the excellent photo. He's a little camera shy this late at night, though.
Also thank you to Dr. Mohan for graciously entrusting me with your daughter's hand and for putting a great deal of love and care into her upbringing. (The flowers are from him for Ritika's birthday).
And then, the only thing left to do was celebrate...
...with some champagne, in Champaign. Ritika posted her status as "engaged" online shortly afterward. Then we spend about four hours responding to text messages, phone calles, and facebook chats until the wee hours of the morning. An exhausting day, but probably the best one I've ever had.
I LOVE YOU RITIKA. Can't wait to spend the rest of my life with you. Thanks to all you well-wishers, friends and family. More info coming soon...
