With teary eyes and a beautiful smile, you tell me that you didn’t see this coming.
I think you are bluffing, how could you not notice the mistakes I made, which almost revealed my ruse?
Lets go back a little, to 1 month earlier:
After the completion of the book intended to be used for the occasion, I stopped myself to go for mass production of it and to print only one copy of it.
I purposely named it “the only one edition”, because there will only be one such copy in this world, and it’s yours.
Self-designed cover, self-arranged and edited, binding and printing of the highest quality I could find at a printing shop next to my hospital- simply put, perfection will be my mark on this book of yours.
And it was kept in my empty luggage at my hostel, together with that ring.
So with that ready, i set my plan in motion, behind your back:
1. Book a good restaurant that offers your favorite Japanese barbeque, and told you to make it to KL for our anniversary no matter what. I’m glad that your family agreed to bring you to kl for a vacation, so no issues there.
2. Following that, I approached your mother to join in the dinner, when you are out working. She was ambivalent initially, but i think it was your sister that coerced her to join.
3. Plan it with my brother, and my friends to hold the ring and book while we are out dating for the weekend. And to join the dinner and have fun.
It was a breeze, until…
I anxiously called you asking the size of your ring.
The restaurant calling me while we were driving to confirm our reservation for 11. I told you it was for 7 because I wanted to make it a surprise- that your family will be joining.
You saw your mother waiting outside the restaurant, anxiously smiling at us.
All and all, the night started wonderfully. Everyone was having a great time. Good food, nice environment, good singer on stage, and great service from the staff. (Thumbs up to all the staffs who worked on 12th September 2020, in Rocku Yakiniku One Utama!)
When I was done with the food, I prepared for the final act. NQ was still messing with the beef on the grill, everyone was still stuffing themselves with what the restaurant can offer, I made my way to the staff tending to us, and requested for Lee Hom’s Forever Love.
When the song was sung by the singer on stage, with his smooth gentle voice and guitar strings, I made my move.
My brother V8 pulled out the book and red paper bag which contained the ring. I revealed to you that everything- the whole trip, us meeting with your family, my brothers being here, was not a coincidence. Everything has been planned and executed with each member doing their part. Then, I gave the book to you, explaining what it is, what you can do with it, and what I hope it can do for us.
There will only be one from me, to you, and you will decide whether to share it with the world.
Now, after the book, there’s the elephant in the room- the ring. Call me fussy, but I still think the rock is too small. I hope I can give you one that will blind everyone in the restaurant, but I suppose that we should always make room for improvement right?
You nodded quickly when I asked you the title of the book as I looked up to you, kneeling. The memories of our pasts rushed in both our minds. It was messy, and we were speechless. Tears of joy fell down our cheeks, knowing that finally, we have reached the next stage of our relationship, and we intend to take it further, way way further, hopefully until the very end.
You wiped my tears away, ignoring yours. I knew they were filing, but I pay no attention to what they were doing. I just wanted to savor our most important moment.
After it’s done, we sat together, holding hands. You kept asking me how did I manage all these. I’m surprised that you did not notice the mistakes I made along the way. Still, I can never have done it without them- who are also my loved ones. I have to say, I am somewhat affected by my own parents not being here, but considering what has transpired, and the risks of inviting them, I would rather do it this way, and deal with their onslaught later.
We utilized the opportunity to have fun- just so happens that my brother V8’s birthday is 10 days away, the restaurant offers us a birthday cake free of charge! So after the happiest moment of the night, we quickly continued the joy by changing from an engagement party to a birthday party. For that, we were greeted by what I would still regard as the most important invention in the world of culinary art- the Tempura Ice Cream Cake!
Don’t be intimidated by its appearance, Crunchy on the outside, fluffy in the middle, and the burst of smooth vanilla ice cream beneath! Good stuff. I’m really worried we don’t get the chance to eat it in the future.
Now, for the fun part. After everything has settled, V8’s girl, who was sitting at the end of the table, showed me and my newly gained fiancée this:
That’s my not-blood-related-brother WJ, showing his classic “no-shit-is-given” attitude during my proposal. You laughed so hard we kept talking about it until the next day.
Thank you, to everyone who present that night, may it be my close ones, or the staffs, the singer, or even those on another table that very night, for making the night possible.
Thank you my Bii, and congrats, we are now engaged.
Dr Vie Cheong Thong M.D. 