Valentine’s Day

On Valentine's Day, I planned to take Kyra to dinner and a movie, with a few surprises afterwards...

I took Kyra out to dinner and a movie at Sundance Theaters. I had a portabella panini and she had a roast beef sandwich. We watched the movie Juno, which was hilarious and ironically fitting to our situation, although not entirely. It's about a sixteen-year-old girl who gets pregnant and decides to give the baby to another couple through adoption. The soundtrack was quirky, funny, and interesting, and I thought the characters were well-rounded. Overall the movie was hilarious and touching.

After the movie, I took Kyra on a surprise visit to Fresco, a rooftop restaurant, for dessert. (Fresco is located in Madison, WI above the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art [MMoCA] next to the Overture Center [Wikipedia entry]). The entrance to Fresco starts at the bottom of a triangular section of the Overture Center/MMoCA building. The walls are glass (photo), and a stairway rises up to the restaurant. It is gorgeous at night, looking out upon State Street and the rest of the city.

We arrived in the bitter cold, and I had the staff place three pink flowers at the table before we arrived. (Kyra's favorite color is pink, so I decided on pink instead of the traditional red.) Fresco had a chocolate tasting that night, but Kyra opted to order a peach bruellé. I ordered a white and dark brownie topped with ice cream and a glass of dessert wine. After dessert, I "went to the bathroom" to check on something I had been planning for about a week.

The day before, I brought supplies and talked to the staff about setting up some decorations at the top of the stairs. We arranged three red heart-shaped balloons, white tea candles, two little heart-shaped pillows (a pink one says "Be Mine" and a blue one says "For Ever"), maroon rose petals, and a small card with name hand-written in calligraphy (setup photo). I also had them put out a CD player with two tracks Kyra likes ("Come What May" from Moulin Rouge and "Chasing Cars" by Snow Patrol). After checking on the arrangement, I went back to get Kyra.

As we went to leave, we started down the stairway. Earlier, while waiting for our table, we saw a janitor mop the stairway, so Kyra was being extra-cautious, and didn't see the card with her name on it. I had to stop her and point out the card. I stooped down to start the CD player, but the music didn't start because the speaker wasn't connected all the way. Nonetheless, I bent down on one knee and proposed to Kyra. What did I say? It's a secret... : )

She said yes! (Thanks to Cinda and Robin for their good wishes!) After hugging, I showed her the ring and put it on her finger. We had discussed not getting an engagement ring, but I wanted something for the event, so I got her a small ring with a garnet in it. (She looks good in red, so I figured it would match one of her dresses.) After a flurry of hugs and kisses, I figured out what was wrong with the CD player, and we listened to Chasing Cars and looked out the window at the city covered in fresh snow and the half moon above. Kyra said she thought I would propose that night, but was losing hope because it was late in the evening and there wasn't much time left in the day. (Thanks to the Fresco staff for advising that delaying the proposal would build anticipation! It worked!)

Both of us were beaming as we went to get our coats. The security guard said "Congratulations!", and I, suspicious, said, "How did you know?" He replied, "I'm the security guard, I know everything. I was watching for smiles!" We packed up the balloons, pillows, and flowers, and headed out into the cold. It was a long evening, and we were tired from the excitement and cold, but we were both happy. It was one of the best Valentine's Day I've ever had.

It's not over yet, though! Kyra is taking me out to eat on Saturday, which was our original V. Day plan. She's been carrying around a manila envelope, the contents of which she won't let me see, and I'm suspicious of something thoughtful. I await in anticipation!