The Spot

I'm back in Halifax after a fun and eventful vacation in Sydney.
It was pretty crazy here, for a while. I was writing the paper in the midst of exams, and it was becoming so big in my mind and remaining so small on paper that I thought I was losing my mind. I pretty much wrote my family law exam as an afterthought: the paper was due the next day and Family was open book.
I will never be able to thank Dan enough [and to a lesser extent, my parents] for basically keeping me alive with meals, groceries and the occasional shoulder to agonize on.
In the middle of this crucible, a memorable date: the day I passed in my Constitutional take home. 4 pm, and Dan had just finished Contracts. We met in the lobby and walked back together. I had a craving for hamburgers, and so we stopped at DQ.
I swear, in my whole life I've never tasted a cheeseburger as good as that one.
Still on our way home, we got tickets to see Narnia, which led to some hilarity. When I got home I realized that Mom and Dad had ordered out for us: Chinese from the Great Wall [now rated the best restaurant in Halifax by the Herald. Bonus]. It did take a while to be delivered... long enough that we were getting hungry enough, but then so long that we ended up going to the later show for Narnia. But the food was fabulous and the night was full of snow, our first real storm of the season.
Finally, hours later we went for the show. Wow. I don't know if it was just the movie or my media-starved mind, but that was an awesome movie. With an injection of Nova Scotianess: the storm outside cut the power in the theatre 3 times, all at crucial moments in the movie. The scene where the Snow Queen is about to stab Aslan? The power cut in just in time for the audio to proclaim "And now, die!", but the picture took a good five seconds to catch up.
Have you ever been in a darkened room with one hundred and fifty plus people? It was like high school...
But then school took over again. It was hard, but I'm still in one piece, and I now appreciate my free time more than ever.
Emilie came home early, to surprise the folks. So I spent Friday catching up: sleep, dishes, notes before everyone came back to pick up Michael and I. And Saturday, the miracle of the season: everyone's gift, perfect for them, all in one day. I'm still amazed. Done thanks to Dad and the car, and bouncing through every mall in Halifax. Twice.
On Sunday morning we left earlier than ever: Dan's flight to Boston left before 7, and we wanted to drop him off on the way to Sydney. We bade a sleepy goodbye and that's all I remember before 11, when we pulled into our driveway on Cottage Road.
[When I came back on Monday it felt like I hadn't really been in Halifax for months. The apartment looked like home [thanks in large part to Angie. Thank you so much!]. Clean, spacious, comfortable.]
In Sydney the house was in full holiday swing. Cedar and pine garlands all over the place. The best coffee on the face of the earth, at all hours of the day with all manner of variations. Mmmmm.
I wore my new boots all Christmas day, whether in my PJs or a skirt. We played Risk Godstorm over and over [thank you Mike!] and everyone sampled the Vinyl Cafe which I had consumed ravenously.
Then, on the 27th, what will hopefully become a new holiday tradition: cross country at Inverness. The cabin was fun. Not really rustic at all, what with satellite TV :) And the skiing was a great time: I still can't believe how much snow they had up there.
Then, finally, Dan! Emilie and Mom had a lot of fun with me "are you excited?" over and over again. *sigh* YES! Now leave me alone or the time will never pass!
But it did pass, and Dan did arrive. Despite the roads, despite a shuttle driver who stops by the DMV before dropping all his passengers off... finally here.
It was so good to see him again. All the usual comfort and joy, heightened because of the time apart.
Emilie and Mike had gone out for supper, so it was just the two of us with Mom and Dad. And, after supper, tea, dessert, they headed off to bed. We stayed downstairs, snuggled on the big comfy couch in the living room. Sharing slow quiet words. Happy to be together, alone at last.
It was dark, quiet. One of those perfect moments. I remember thinking it seemed the kind of night for something momentous.
Then Dan asked me to marry him. And I said yes.
Little did I know that the tide of exhilaration that swept me through that moment would not abate. It just keeps getting better...
The next afternoon Dan stayed behind while Emilie and Mike and I went to visit my grandparents. I waited impatiently and dragged Emilie through her normally snail-paced preparations to leave, visit and come back while Dan quietly told Mom and Dad he had something to talk to them about.
When we got back Dad poured the champagne, Mom called for a toast, Dan looked at me and I told Emilie we were getting married.
It's the first time I've seen her struck speechless for so long.
Everyone's surprised, and I guess I can see why: we're young, and there's so much left to decide: the States or Canada? How? When?
But at the same time, no one's surprised at all: Mom and Dad are happy for us, Emilie's planning her dress, friends seem to anticipate my news before I say a word and I... I feel like everything is perfectly right.
Ridiculously happy.
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