I’ve Got Some News…
Perhaps this is too personal an entry to warrant a spot on a blog? But perhaps, it means so much to me that I can’t be assed with how other people feel about it? So, without further ado…
The weather: Chilly, like it has been all week. It’s chilly because it’s overcast, but a few times in the morning, the sun has peeked through the clouds to kiss me on the face and remind me it’s there. A light drizzle also joins the party throughout the day, to remind me I’m definitely in London. It is a two jacket, chunky scarf, gloves and beanie kind of day.
Evan, my partner, and I start the morning by walking a few blocks from our Airbnb. We aren’t very hungry, but coffee is a must as jet lag is on the cusp of leaving Ev in a sluggish state all day. I’m just a caffeine addict. We stop by a tiny bakery. The clerk tells us they’re renovating, hence the tiny selection of pastries. We’re unquestioningly happy with the selection they have and we sit down at the window bar to enjoy a quick bacon and egg sandwich and a chocolate and cream filled muffin while the unexpected but welcome tunes of 90s Keith Urban play above us.
We skip off to the underground, having just missed the morning commute rush and being in no hurry ourselves to get to Piccadilly Circus. We get there and discuss the Mandalorian pop-up in the area - it has a line down the block just to get in. Now thoroughly engulfed in talks of Mando Season 3, coming to a TV near you, we continue with our nerd rants until our tour guide shows up. If your finely tuned senses have picked up on “Picadilly Circus” and “tour” and began to wonder, yes, this is the same tour I missed a few weeks back, now rescheduled. Ev and I walk with the guide and a small, fun group throughout SOHO for the rest of the morning. Rock n’ Roll and history mingle in our heads as information is beautifully translated into tales grounded in our surroundings for our entertainment.
The tour ends in ChinaTown, which, luckily for us, consists mostly of restaurants. Ev and I make it through three menus before we quickly b-line for Leong’s Chinese Restaurant. I mean, who were we kidding? Leong’s menu caught our eye the moment we saw it, no other restaurant stood a chance. Ev and I are hastily seated and have barely made our decision before we are quickly served with juicy pork belly over rice and beautiful seafood bao. The hot milk tea is also a welcome guest which revives my hands and heart from the chilly outside air. After a quick discussion of the gleeful day so far, we plan what’s to come. We decide on Westminster Abbey, a stroll around Big Ben and a conclusion on the London eye. Ev is the one who has been adamant to visit the large iconic Ferris Wheel, since before he got to London, but I don’t mind the thought at all. We buy tickets for the eye, reserved for 2 hours from now, and begin our stroll towards Westminster.
The Abbey is gorgeous as we approach and only partially packed with tourists and business people. Ev points to a square next to the Abbey, for a better view of both Big Ben and the Abbey itself. We giddily make our way there and I’m so proud to find that Ev has truly gotten into the spirit of exploring London! He has picked out the perfect vantage point for attractions and seems lost in the beauty of it. I dive deep into a few historical facts and tales about Big Ben, regurgitating stories I picked up from tour guides, and I definitely butcher them slightly in my retelling. After my nerdy outburst, I’m ready to walk around the Abbey but Ev quickly pulls my arm and says he has one more question for me.
He pulls out the ring and slowly lowers to one knee. It’s all a bit of a blur - as cliche as that is to say. I know my hands don’t come to cover my mouth, but my jaw drops. I reach for the ring, and him, pulling him into a hug and a kiss without saying a word - the smile on my face says more. Later, I recall asking Evan, “Did I actually say, ‘yes’?!”. He assures me that I did utter the simple but important word through my tears and smiles. In the moment, after pulling him up, in pure, awkward, unaware E fashion, I say “Well, you have to do it all the way!” And hand him the ring to slide on my finger. He’s beaming. I’m shaking and properly ugly crying at this point.
We spend the next few hours in a happy delirium. We decide to keep the news to ourselves, just for a little while longer, so we can be in the moment. We mosey around the Abbey, through to 10 Downing Street and the Horse Guards Parade. We eventually make it to the London eye in time for our sighting of the city, but our minds are elsewhere. We’re talking about the future and the wedding. Neither of us are in a hurry to get married, not while I’m in Europe and he’s in the US, but both ready for the questions our families will inevitably ask. We take pictures and hold each other at the top of the city view and continue to be disgustingly in love in a pod on the Eye.
And then we go home, back to the Airbnb, to begin the phone calls and texts to tell our loved ones. It’s unreal, but beginning to feel real. That my love is now my fiancé.
Hubble Bubble Ev.