Luke Rogers

December 7, 2008 – Today is the day. Well, the first “the day” of this week. Today I am going to ask Christie’s parents permission to ask Christie to marry me.

I am a little nervous about actually saying anything to her parents as I have a fear of public speaking (anyone besides myself counts as public speaking) so I try to focus on my trip to and from Silverthorne. The front tires on my car have been bald for a few months so I get a little concerned. Will I get stuck, get in an accident, hydroplane and fly off a cliff? I’m starting to freak out but I hit the trail anyway.

I am on target to get there at noon which I think is perfect. They should be finishing up a nice sandwich with a salad, maybe a glass of wine, and I will get to attack them when they are no longer hungry and much more likely to agree to anything since I am in the way of their nap. My estimation was great and I got there right at noon. After a few failed attempts to get up their driveway due to my bald tires I parked my car at the end of their street and walked the rest of the way. Too bad they weren’t there.

I called Chirstie’s dad (I stole his phone number from Christie’s phone earlier) and left him a vague message saying I was in the neighborhood and wanted to stop by. He couldn’t crack that code, right? I hiked back to my car and started a vigorous game of Brickbreaker on my Blackberry. After 15 minutes I figured that they probably went to lunch and he probably didn’t want to answer his phone while eating so I decided to send him a text message thinking he might glance at it. Here is what I sent: “I think my attempt at a surprise is dead now but I would like to ask you a question in person. Can you give me a call? Luke.”

At this point I am getting hungry since I forgot to eat breakfast due to my nerves.  At 12:45 I started to head back to Silverthorne to grab some food to wait it out. I went to Wendy’s and indulged in a Spicy Chicken Sandwich combo then went back to their house at 1:15. I managed to get my car most of the way up their driveway and parked there and continued my quest at Brickbreaker.

At 1:45 I decided to head home to make sure I didn’t get stuck in traffic or die due to ice so I started back down to Silverthorne. As I pulled out of the driveway they pulled in. I raised my arms in victory and followed them back to their house. I managed to get my car up the driveway again avoiding any embarrassment (at least on that front) and helped them carry some groceries into the house. After a few minutes of regular chit-chat I said “So I know you guys aren’t stupid…” then her dad told me to take a seat on the couch and to relax. Apparently I was visibly nervous and can’t wait to hear their side of the story. I probably had sweat marks and a voice like a 12 year old boy going through puberty.

We have another light exchange then I dive into it. As I am telling them how in love I am with their daughter and how special she is to me I see her mother start to tear up. Man, I hope those are happy tears! After I stumble over myself I manage to pull a Luke and make a joke before they can answer: “Feel free to play 20 questions with me before you answer.”

This part is a little fuzzy to me know. I think I have so much adrenaline that once I finished talking I was exhausted and blood started flowing to the rest of my body again. I am pretty sure they said yes in there somewhere. I hugged her mom and shook her dad’s hand then we worked out the dowry. I owe them a cow, 2 chickens, a 30-pack of Keystone Light and some Broncos tickets. Just kidding. Since everything was out on the table I showed them the ring I picked up the day before. Some things happened that I promised I wouldn’t speak of and they both seemed excited.

I stuck around for another 30-45 minutes just talking and telling them more about me and my family. We also spoke about Christie and this part kind of felt like dealing with a real estate agent going over full disclosure of what I am about get into. They were saying that sometimes Christie can be a handful and my response was “I haven’t seen that at all. Is this going to change once she gets the ring?” I have said that to Christie before too so I feel safe writing it here. Honestly I am not worried about it at all. We have spent enough time with each other that we know who the other person really is. I am myself around Christie, idiot and all, and she is okay with it.

It’s around 2:15 and her father looks outside and comments on the traffic. Either he is trying to get rid of me or looking out for me. I’m going with the latter. I do need to hit the road so I don’t get stuck in traffic and I also need to beat Christie home so she doesn’t think anything is up. Another round of hugs and handshakes and I’m out the door with an enthusiastic “Welcome to the family” from her father. What a great day.