I was enjoying my "Seattle Moment" when it became very clear that the front right tire had blown. For those who aren't familiar with the 520, it's the traffic-ridden, floating bridge that connects Seattle to the East-side; it is not a place you want to blow a tire! As luck would have it, though, the tire blew less than 15 seconds before the only turn-in area. Scott pulled over and started to change the tire. Let's be honest, I was not pleased. At that point I had been up for 28 hours, had gotten seriously air sick when landing in Chicago, and was still a little irritated that Scott suggested I change clothes before the drive (hello!?).
After what seemed like forever, Scott got back in the car with the blackest hands you've ever seen. I was ready to go back to the house, and I couldn't understand what Scott didn't understand about that. But we just kept passing the exits...he was on a mission.
We finally stopped at Volunteer Park, high above the city. I spotted a bench in the middle of a gorgeous grassy area and as we sat down Scott looked around and mentioned that he thought that this was the exact place that his father proposed to his mother 45 years ago. He reached for his pocket and I screamed "don't touch your pants," because his hands where still covered in tire grease. I was still clueless, but when he pulled his hand out of his pocket, he was not holding his Burt's Bee's chapstick! The next few moments are a wonderful blur, but I can tell you that there was no hesitation before I said "YES!"
We arrived back at The Bowman's house and were greeted by Scott's mom, Susie. She lead us out to the deck and...there were my parents! Scott had arranged for them to come up from Portland to share the moment with us; I was so grateful they were there, it was perfect. We all laughed and hugged and toasted to the future. And before dinner, I finally changed my clothes!
