withever
the proposal
As told by Elle:
Ever since our first time there, Tapenade in La Jolla, CA has been our restaurant—the sort of brand identification that couples do in memoriam. Lunch on Monday was no exception, and when the sommelier brought the bottle of champagne to our table, he was careful to present me with the cork, wire cage and cap as a souvenir. I swept it into my handbag, later cluttering up the nightstand with it—the near-forgotten detritus of the day.
On Wednesday morning, February 18, 2004, Jonathan noted that he had thought about giving me a ring for Valentines Day, but I had yet to pick out what I liked. With a whimsical little smile, I told him that he could have fashioned one out of twisty ties and I’d have worn it as gladly as any bright bauble from Tiffany’s.
With that, he hmm‘ed thoughtfully and turned aside. I smiled with growing delight as he pulled through the mess of receipts, alarm clock, and water glass that cluttered up his nightstand to retrieve the tangle of gold wire that was our memento from that night. A scant few minutes later, he balanced himself awkwardly on the yielding surface of the bed, one knee sunk deep into the white duvet and a rough double circlet of wire twisted into a ring held with sure, tense strength in his open hand.
In Hebrew, the letters Bet Shin Resh Tav or “besheret” is translated as “that which was meant to be,” but is more commonly used in the context of one’s intended—their soulmate. Though Jonathan views his Judaism as a cultural thing, given the circumstances of our meeting, how comfortable we were with each other, and how soon we knew we wanted to spend the rest of our lives together, to accept with those words felt appropriate.