IM ENGAGED!

This story dates back almost a year when I first heard of a ring Justina had found at an antique store, in the town she went to college in. Her and her friends were shopping one day and she saw the ring of her dreams and of course she had to try it on. A very brave move for a girl to make. She could love it, and have to bear the thought of never wearing it again, giving the fact that it was in an antique at that, say, an easy hundred people walk through and see everyday. Well she put it on, fell in love with it, but now had to face a reality that she may never see it again. It went back in the case. But... little did she know one of her dear friends was working for her to get this ring. Justina's friend Rachel called me shortly after the rings' discovery and left me a message saying "Jake I don't know when you are planning on asking Justina to marry you but when you do I know the ring she wants." So, this message obviously peaked my interest. I call her friend back and we talk and I devise a way to save the ring from any other buyer. I got some money to our friend to hold the ring and there it sat, more mine than any ring had ever been, now I wait. We end up taking a trip to see Rachel and her husband for the weekend and my chance came to claim my prize. Justina had a birthday party to attend and I was left to hangout with our friends for a night and a day. We went to the store and I bought the ring. It was finally mine. This was in February. Yeah... Fast forward to November and it was time, time to place that ring on the finger it would call home for the rest of our lives. November sixth was the day. I have a lot of awesome friends that I live with so they tirelessy helped me come up with a plan to take her out for a day while I stayed back and set up a dream boat to ask her to marry me on. Our friend Mel took Justina out to "work" on a book they are creating together and me and the boys set to the water. Where we live there is a two acre pond and on this pond we have a floating dock, right out in the middle of it. We turned this simple dock into a bright floating island, full of the warm light from tea candles in hanging mason jars. We worked all afternoon transforming the dock and then the time came. My plan was to have all of our friends down there when I asked and we she said yes they would all run out and light a huge bon fire and yell for joy in celebration of Justina's incredible patience. She has been very patient. So I take Justina on a drive to catch up on each other's day (to give every one time to get down the hill)  and we pulled into where we live and I said "lets just drive around the lake real quick before dinner." So we did and she soon discovered my intention for driving around the lake and she was in shock! She just kept saying "oh, oh." I reassured her that it was really happening. We got out of the truck and I looked deep into her eyes and said "I am sorry this took so long" then we both cried and then laughed. We got into a canoe and I rowed us out to the dock, confessing my undying love for her and we arrived to our destination a mess of tears and joy. We're on the dock taking it all in and I asked her if she was ready, she said yes, so I got down on my knee, took out the ring I had had for almost a years'time and asked her to marry me. SHE SAID YES! I hollered and to my suprise the fire my friends were gonna light was a dud, no one yelled back and there we were laughing and crying as i was explaining how the rest of the plan should have went. But eventually they shot off some fireworks and got that darn fire lit and yelled and celebrated back at us. It was so incredible. I rowed her back and we went and greeted our friends and had a toast of wine. That is how it happened.