The Engagement on Butterfly Beach

“What if I fall?” I whined, stretching my arms out and grabbing at the air in front of me, desperately searching for something to hold onto. 

“Don’t worry baby, I got you. You’ll be able to see in just a minute,” Mark replied as he held onto my waist to lead me in the right direction. He adjusted the blindfold made out of a black bandana that was covering my eyes.

“If this is some kind of haunted house or a prank of some sort, I will hurt you so bad and you are going to regre-”

I was interrupted mid-threat with a soft, tender kiss. I felt Mark’s hands gently get lost in my hair.

He nuzzled my nose with his and I felt him smile. 

“Trust me,” he whispered softly.

“You know I do,” I sighed, shaking my head as a big grin formed on my face. 

I could hear the crashing of waves and inhaled the smell of sea salt in the air. It was fairly obvious that we were on a beach but I had no idea where it was located.

He instructed me to sit down on a ledge or bench of some sort. I could not exactly tell what it was. He started to untie the laces of my white converse and slide off my shoes and socks. 

“Are we in Malibu? Laguna Beach? Or Santa Barbara?” I pestered as Mark placed my bare feet in the soft sand. I instantly buried my toes in. 

“My California girl,” Mark laughed, “Come on Kelly, we’re almost there.’

He reached for my hand and pulled me up, leading me to this mysterious place again.

At this point, I was getting a little anxious. I loved surprises but had never been so good with the anticipation. 

“Okay stop.” Mark put his hands on my shoulders.

“Wait right here but don’t take off the blindfold yet. Wait until I say that you can.”

“So bossy,” I teased, “Okay my love.”

I heard Mark jog away from me, his feet hitting the sand got farther away. Suddenly, I heard violins playing. The music was slow and beautiful, complimenting the crash of the waves. 

“Okay baby, go ahead!” Mark shouted.

I untied the blindfold from behind my head, letting it drape down my hands as it came off. What I saw in front of me was astonishing.

We were on Butterfly Beach in Santa Barbara. My absolute favorite place. Mark was standing a ways away from me. Tealight candles lit up a pathway down the sand with red rose petals in the middle, leading all the way down to Mark. Wooden panels held up large white curtains that flew gracefully with the ocean breeze. There were fairy light intertwined into the panels. The sun was setting and the sky was a marvelous array of oranges, reds, pinks, and purples. It was the perfect backdrop. 

My stomach instantly filled with butterflies and I felt as if I would fly away with them. I covered the high pitched squeals of excitement escaping from my mouth with my hands. I almost fell to my knees in the sand but I held myself up. Tears immediately formed in my eyes. I was dumbfounded.

If this is what I think it is, this is what I have been waiting for my entire life. 

I start making my way down the path of candlelight. My pastel pink chiffon dress flowing behind me. 

I make it to Mark. He was standing in front of a large heart shaped wall of red, pink and white roses. Two violinists stood to the side of Mark. I noticed beads of sweat on Mark’s forehead despite the cool breeze. He looked so handsome in his white dress shirt with the top two buttons undone. He was wearing those blue jeans that I loved so much. His dirty blonde hair was a mess in the breeze. 

His big, toothy smile was all over his face. He looked so happy and nervous at the same time.

He took my hand in his.

“What is happening?” I asked excitedly, hoping my intuition was right on what was taking place in front of me.

“As if you haven’t seen this coming,” he said sarcastically as he kissed my forehead.

“Kelly…” he said, bending down on one knee, his breathtaking ocean blue eyes locking with mine.

My heart felt as if it was going to beat itself right out of my chest. The tears that formed in my eyes when I took off my blindfold earlier were now running down my rosy cheeks. My entire face was hurting from smiling so big but I didn’t care in the slightest bit.  

“Oh my gosh… OH MY GOSH!” I squeezed his hand.

“Kelly, from the moment that I met you in that little coffee shop five years ago, I knew that I was going to make you my wife one day. You have filled my life with a happiness and a love that I never knew existed before I met you. Your smile is contagious, your laugh makes my day, your compassion and kindness for others fills me with so much pride. There is no one else that I would rather spend the rest of my life with than you. I want to travel with you, make babies with you, raise them into amazing people together, buy a house with you, and live life to the fullest with you by my side. I want to wake up next to you every morning for the rest of our lives. Please share this life with me, baby. I can’t imagine it without you. I love you more than any words can even express and I promise I will do everything in my power to give us and our future children a beautiful life.”

“So…” he wiped a tear from his eye and reached into his back pocket to pull out a little black box. He took a deep breath and his eyes were filled with so much love.

“Kelly Marie Anderson, will you marry me?”

 Mark opened the box and revealed a sparkling diamond ring inside.

My mouth dropped and the tears would not stop running down my face.

“Of course I will!” I said as I took his handsome face into my hands and leaned down to kiss his full lips. 

He frantically pushed himself up off the sand and hugged me tight, lifting me off of the ground and spinning me around.

We both were laughing and crying in pure happiness.

“SHE SAID YES!”

He set me down and took the engagement ring out of the box. He placed it gently onto my ring finger. I stretched my fingers out and stared in disbelief as I looked at the diamond on my finger. 

“Did I do alright?” Mark gestured to my ring.

“Alright? Baby, even if you gave me a Ring Pop, I would have said yes!” I exclaimed.

“Well, lets not start our engagement off with lies now,” he teased.

I jumped back up into his arms and wrapped my arms around his neck. He smiled down at me.

“I can not wait for you to be my wife, Kelly.”

“Neither can I.”