Episode 16 – Engagement Moon

The water is remarkable at Zipolite. It has a red tinge to it for our first couple of days we are there. One of the locals informs us (it is cuter in a Mexican accent) ‘the Ocean, she is like a laaaaady, except that a laaaaady goes red once a month, the ocean, she goes red once a year’. Then at night, under the full moon, the phosphorescence lights up the waves for 100 metre stretches. The moon is tinted pink. Nature is pulling out all of her tricks for us. It seems fortuitous as this is where Dave popped the question and so it is that I am to become the future Mrs M!

Things did not go as smoothly as intended for the proposal despite all of Dave’s behind the scenes preparation, which was difficult when we had been spending pretty much every second together. The resort was not just something we stumbled upon as I had first thought, but rather the conclusion of Dave’s research with the locals as to the ideal location for a proposal. He found the only restaurant within 100km that had Moet and put the 2 bottles they had on hold and planned his strategy with the waiters earlier in the day. One waiter spoke French, the other Spanish, there was plenty of room for some instructions to be lost in translation, damn charades had failed!

So after I busted Dave’s balls about wearing a long sleeved shirt to a beach restaurant (it was the shirt he was wearing when we first met, a night we call the ‘blue light disco’), we arrived at the resort restaurant 20 metres from our door step. Dave deters my wine choice with a cocktail and we order a seafood feast, the Nudista Platismo.

Dave looked around a few times, then called the waiter over, nothing unusual here, he promptly arrived and asked ‘Is everything OK?’ to which Dave responded ‘Yes’, huh now that was a little unusual. Dave’s subtle attempt at prompting was aided with gesticulation. By this point I started to think that my boyfriend had been possessed by odd behaviour demons. The waiter turned his tray to block my face from his and motioned if this was when he was meant to bring the champagne. ‘SI!!’

The waiters messed up the timed delivery of the champagne, but it was still perfect. Even when the waiters all wanted to stick around and listen to the proposal. After Dave’s one knee proposal, I gave him one right back, on my knee – a dual proposal. We joked that Dave had booked out the entire restaurant for us. The truth was that swine flu had scared off the tourists and we were the only ones dining here at a beautiful table lit by wooden torches, with our toes in the sand. We love having Swine Flu on holiday with us.

Back in our room, we made the obligatory and desired phone call to my Dad to ask for his blessing. The phone ran out of credit mid conversation, fortunately however this was just after the vital information had been communicated. In no way was the next event a typical response to the ceremonious, romantic occasion we had just shared, but I did spend the night reaping the benefits of too much champagne, vomiting in the toilet! Romantico...

We had declared earlier in our relationship, that I was done with ‘breaking up’ and Dave was done with ‘picking up’, so ‘forever’ was always on the cards for us. Even with the aforementioned reasons said in jest, a beautiful, loving and caring relationship made that eventuality so much more perfect and fulfilling.

Relatives spent the next 2 days trying to get in contact with us. But alas no internet, no phone credit, official news would have to wait. In the mean time we were enjoying our Engagement Honeymoon. We would spend all day in the swinging bed outside our villa discussing life and possible wedding scenarios, I would become nauseous again. This response to discussions of our future together soon dissipated, as did the food poisoning.

During our Engagement Moon, my darling fiancé furnished me with this gem ‘You are the most amazing creature to walk the Earth – even better then dinosaurs’. A wordsmith, lexicologist and intellectual – what a catch! I know I am in for a wild ride, starting with comically re enacting from Here to Eternity in the world’s roughest shore break. The reality resulted in swimmers full of sand, the idea though was a nice representation of what the future holds, a self actualizing prophecy we think ‘From here to Eternity’. So now we are leaving our island paradise with so many fond memories and a sparkling new ring! …S