French Twist Dare: The Proposal (Part II)

We have now arrived at our discussion of the fictitious elements of the illustrious proposal scene in French Twist. But before we get to the actual proposal, I must confess that one of my favorite scenes, just prior to the proposal, was a complete figment of my imagination.  Sydney was trying to sneak out of the apartment the morning after Louis brings up going to Las Vegas for the weekend to get married...

He stroked my back.  “I am not making fun of you.  I am just trying to lighten the mood, which is what I think you need right now.  You are just taking things far too seriously.  Whether or not you realize it, I have gotten to know you pretty well, mon coeur.  In fact, I am sure that I know you better than you think that I do.” 

“Really?  And what is it that you think that you know?”  I looked at him quizzically.

He sat up and faced me.  “You are hungry ALL OF THE TIME.  You need to be fed every two hours or there will be serious consequences.  You always want to choose the movie that we watch and then you always fall asleep and snore through it.  Romantic comedies are your favorite, but you are also addicted to murder mysteries, though you are always wrong about the identity of the murderer.  You love Italian and Mexican food, but your absolute favorite is Greek.  You love red wine and margaritas and hate white wine and all other hard liquor.  All your desserts must contain some kind of chocolate or there is no point in having dessert.  You buy yourself a new outfit every year on your birthday to make yourself feel better about getting older.  You are completely self-conscious when you are wearing anything tight or short (or are naked), though you shouldn’t be because you are absolutely gorgeous.  You put everyone else in your life first and often forget that you need things too.  The first opinion you want on anything important is Kate, followed by a close second with Maya. I have absolutely no idea where my opinion factors in, but that is not what is important right now.”  He stopped to draw breath.  “Shall I go on?” 

Wow.  I wasn’t expecting that.  I guess that he has been paying attention.

“Am I to assume from your stunned silence that you realize that I am right?  That I do know you pretty well?”  He shook me gently by the shoulders.  “I LOVE you.  I am very sorry if I scared you with my ridiculous idea to go to Vegas.”  He sighed. “But I really want you to hear me when I say this.  Nothing that you can say or do will scare me or will change how I feel about you.”

I just continued to stare at him.  For the life of me, I couldn’t think of what to say.

“Mon coeur, I have never felt this way for anyone.  It amazes and overwhelms me.  I...sometimes get carried away.  I just knew that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you and it came out.  I am sorry.”

I laughed.  “You’re sorry that you want to spend the rest of your life with me?”

He looked relieved.  “There she is.”  He grinned and gave me a soft tap on the nose.   “I knew that you were in there somewhere.”  

(Excerpt from French Twist by Glynis Astie, Copyright 2013.)

I am a total sucker for dramatic speeches and while my husband has indeed said these things to me before, he did not deliver his comments altogether and in such a confessional way.  The speech still gives me the shivers when I read it!

Now, back to the proposal....

The actual proposal was not as glamorous as in the scene that I wrote.  I met my husband at a bookstore after work, with the costume engagement ring tucked away in my jeans pocket.  When he sat down next to me in the open air cafe, I asked him how his day had been and after he answered, I leaned over to him and whispered in his ear, "Will you marry me?"

There was a horrible moment when I thought that his whole suggestion of going to Las Vegas to get married had been a joke, because he took WAY too long to answer my question.  But once he gave me an emphatic, "Yes!" my heart rate began to slow down.  We then perused the streets and selected a lovely Italian restaurant in which to celebrate our engagement.

It was a wonderful evening, but proposal scenes in books need a little more polish!  I hope that you enjoyed it.  I certainly had fun writing it.