The Proposal by David Tran

On Wednesday October 21st, 2009 we were preparing to head to the airport for a small vacation in Chicago, Illinois. I had the ring in my pocket wondering and worrying if the ring went off during the airport security checkout line, would I have to propose next to the TSA guy? We land in Chicago on a beautiful, cool, sunny day. As soon as we checked into our hotel room we went for a walk to Millennia Park. I almost proposed to Kristine right in front of the Millennium Bean but I said to myself, "No, not here. The plan is for the Sears Tower." So I decided to wait until then.

The next morning we opened up the curtains in our hotel room and it just looked terrible outside. It was raining, cold, and the clouds were grey and black. We turned on the news and saw that for the remaining duration of our trip, the weather wasn’t going to get any better. Around 1pm we took the L Train and headed to the Sears Tower. Before walking inside I was sweating profusely. I had a hoodie and a jacket on and decided to take them off before entering the building. Now remember, it is about 47 degrees and raining outside. We walked inside the building and I quickly ran to the restroom. I took the ring out of its box and stuck it in my pocket. Once I walked out of the restroom we started to walk towards the ticket line. Once we turned a corner I saw three security officers standing next to a set of metal detectors. I started to panic and quickly drew Kristine’s attention to the television monitors. I then threw the ring in my book bag and continued to walk towards the metal detectors.

At this point I looked like a terrorist. I couldn’t stop sweating and I had this worried look on my face. My book bag went through the x-ray machine and then it stopped. The security officer looked down, then looked at me, smiled and then said “proceed.” All I could do was nod at the guy. We get in the elevator and once the doors opened up it looked like we were in heaven because all that surrounded the building were white bright clouds. There was zero visibility outside because it had been raining all day. We started to walk around the floor and then we stopped. I started to hold her and she started to get a little worried. I couldn’t stop holding her face because I just became speechless. She started to pull back and I started to lean in. I told her how much I love her and how much she means to me followed by how happy she makes me feel. I got down on one knee and said, "Will you marry me?” She said yes and I give her a big kiss. On Thursday, October 22nd 2009 we officially became engaged. Even though my plan wasn’t exactly how I pictured it, I couldn’t be any happier on how things turned out.