This is probably the soppiest post that I have ever written… But the occasion demands it so today you are warned that if it is a bit too 'lovey-dovey’, then sick buckets may be advised.
On the 28th January, just over 2 years after our first date, I travelled down to Berwick for what I thought was a weekend that was going to herald something special. I had a few days off and I knew Luke had been planning to propose for a little while, and thought that this weekend would probably have that special question tucked within it. But little did I know just how special the weekend would be!
Having worked on Friday afternoon I arrived in Berwick just after 4pm, and sat in Luke’s flat attempting to play Fifa. I had requested that we had fish and chips for tea, and also asked several times who I was staying with… each of the questions of where I was staying was dismissed with either the comment “somewhere new” or “wait and see”.
When we left to go to this mystery house I was quite excited, so was not paying a great deal of attention when we stopped in at B and M and bought quite a lot of fizzy drinks. However as the 6th bottle went into the basket I thought it was a little excessive, and when the 8th one went in I made some comment along the lines of “how much are we going to be drinking!”
Luke didn’t respond and after a brief wait at the shop (whilst he went home to go and get the key which he had forgotten) we walked round to the house which was just round the corner…
The house was beautiful, and belonged to a corps member as a holiday let… and having explored the house I settled into the corner of the living room with a good book.
About half an hour later there was a knock on the door and the room was filled with friends from Yorkshire who I assumed were up on holiday for the weekend.
The evening went on as we caught up with each other, shared a fish supper and then played some board games together before bedding down, some of us earlier than others!
Saturday started as a bit of a coffee crawl, we went to a cafe and had some very strong coffee with some sandwiches to alleviate the affects of the coffee for breakfast, then walked around Berwick for a bit, which involved a trip to a wonderful second hand bookshop, before heading back to the holiday let.
We headed back out again later in the afternoon, once the wind had died down a little bit, and went for another coffee stop, this time bringing it back to the house and having cake there. The group then discussed and decided that we should go to a nearby beach.
However whilst sitting in one of the friend’s car, a phone call came in said that there was a change of plan and that we were heading to Holy Island.
At this moment I got quite excited thinking was the question going to be on after all (Luke and I had talked about the proposal and I said about how special it would be to do it on Holy Island).
And so, we went for an intrepid drive to the island which involved crossing the supposedly clear causeway which was still sea covered! However it was uneventful and we rolled into the car park to where Luke and one of our friends Ed were waiting for us.
And so our little group set off for a gentle walk around a windswept but immensely beautiful Holy Island which was bathed in the golden hour sunlight.
After a couple of picture stops, our meandering walk came to an end just behind the castle on Lindisfarne, where we climbed a small mound.
However, whilst I was in the process of climbing the mound, Luke came and took my hand and walked a little way away from the group and the mound. I noticed on the walk he had a blue book in his hands but didn’t really pay that much attention to it… so when Luke instructed me to close my eyes and put my hands out, I was surprised when I felt something cold and quite hard and flat.
I opened my eyes when asked to and saw the most exquisite book, the cover had pictures from throughout our relationship all arranged in a heart, and was titled “Rachel, and Luke, the story so far”. At this point I started tearing up, and as I opened the book and saw a screenshot of one of our first messages, pictures from our first dates and the story beginning to form the tears began to fall as we both relived our story. There were pictures from our holidays together, time with friends and time with family. There were pictures from very recently and then on the final page there was a letter.
Luke and I have written each other many letters over the years, and this one followed the form we have, talking about what has been happening recently. But it also talked about the story that had led us to this point. Luke asked me to read it out loud, and when I got to the final paragraph I became more choked as I read the beautiful words about our plans for the future. And then I came to the last line which was “I have one more question to ask you”…
And then, my amazing boyfriend completed his last act under that title as he dropped to one knee and asked would I marry him. The answer was yes, yes of course, yes!!!
We then had a very long hug where I tried to match the level of romantic words I had read whilst embracing him more and more tightly. It was whilst we were embracing that I heard the cheers from our friends who I had completely forgotten were there. They were all in on it as Luke revealed and so, after the embrace we went over to share the good news with them.
When I was a teenager, I used to pray for a romantic boyfriend, one that put effort in and cared, but I don’t think I could ever have imagined how wonderful it would be. Luke has always poured so much of himself into our letters, our messages, our dates and our exchanged gifts, and his thoughtfulness has often challenged me to be more thoughtful in what I do.
Well Luke, you excelled yourself on the 29th January, and just now, whilst you aren’t feeling well, I hope that the memories of that afternoon can help clear up any poorly feelings. You are wonderful, and I love you withe everything I am. I can’t believe how lucky I am to get to do life with my best friend!
(To anyone who made it this far without reaching for a bucket, well done!)
