by Tara

Song of Songs 1:16 (ESV)

The first ‘date’ Bryan and I went on was to go see the movie The Lake House. Although it wasn’t the most conventional of dates: Bryan was in Colorado Springs in the Mountain Time Zone and I was in Toronto in the Eastern Time Zone. So we picked movie theaters that were playing the movie at the same time, and watched it together. It instantly became my favourite movie—the romance, the poignancy, the haunting similarities to our story all won me over. And watching it “with” Bryan but not actually with him made it all the more achingly sweet. If you haven’t seen the movie (and I warn you I will spoil it for you during this story, so stop reading if you want to be surprised!), it is about two people that fall in love—who live two years apart from one another. Instead of being caught apart in time, though, Bryan and I were caught apart in distance.

Bryan and I have been dating seriously for a while now, and I moved down from Toronto to Colorado Springs to be in closer proximity so that we could more fully discern how God is writing our stories—are we meant to be together or apart?—and learn to care for and honour one another in person instead of just over the phone, over Skype, over emails and over four or five-day trips to see one another.

For Valentine’s Day, Bryan told me to set aside two days, both the Thursday and the Friday, because he has something planned. He doesn’t tell me what, and I managed (for the most part) not to ask, until the week of the date. The day before Valentine’s, Bryan tells me that I need to pack a bag with a change of casual clothes, toiletries, and a nice dress—but still doesn’t tell me where we’re going or what we’re doing.

On the big day, he picked me up at 7 am, looking absolutely handsome, and before he whisked me away in his car he read me a verse from the Song of Songs: “Arise, my love, my beautiful one, and come with me.”

So, we started traveling, heading north. Before we got too far, though, Bryan realized that I would need my passport, which we had forgotten, so we headed back to my apartment to pick it up. Apparently, this was shaving things quite close for what Bryan had planned, so he let me know that we were actually headed to Denver International Airport for a flight…although he still didn’t tell me where we were heading. Unfortunately, it was also snowing quite heavily that morning, and the traffic on the highway was bad. We were on the phone with a friend, hoping to have him help us check in via the Web when Bryan’s Jeep inexplicably started to slide, as if it had hit a patch of black ice. We were in rush hour traffic, sliding at 50+ mph, with little to no control of the car, but Bryan managed to get us maneuvered so that we wouldn’t roll when we hit the ditch at the side of the highway. We slid across two lanes and ended up in the ditch facing the wrong direction. By God’s grace and protection, no one hit us, neither of us were hurt (although we were shaken), and the Jeep was fine—so Bryan just put it into 4-wheel drive, drove out of the ditch, and we continued on our way!

Honestly, at this point, the day was total gift to me. Bryan had adeptly and calmly saved us from danger, we had the protection of God’s hand and we were both fine—I figured that anything else that happened that day was a complete bonus (and, oh, what a bonus it was!)

The snow had snarled the highways, though, so we arrived at DIA only 20 minutes before our plane was scheduled to leave—for Chicago, I discovered. We attempted to run to catch the plane, but realized that the two bags that we were originally intending check had liquids in them, so we had to resign ourselves to missing the flight. We returned to the ticket counter to try to explain the circumstances, and they told us they couldn’t get us on another flight until 4 pm, getting us into Chicago at 7 pm. At this point, Bryan tapped me gently on the shoulder and asked me to step away from the podium so that he could talk with the ticket agents.

Bryan tells me he then leaned over the ticket counter, looked the agents in the eyes and said, “I have a ring in my pocket. I am proposing today, I need to get to Chicago—in the daylight.” The agents’ eyes widened and they set to work finding an earlier flight, which we did get booked on.

This is where God’s sense of humour kicked in, I think, because when we boarded the airplane, we discovered that we were in row 14—on February the 14th. The seats were first class seats, and we drank wine and enjoyed each other’s company for the flight. Keep in mind that I am still completely oblivious to both the reason for flying to Chicago and the fact that Bryan is intending on proposing. I was just enjoying this wonderful adventure with my boyfriend!

Once we arrived in Chicago and collected our baggage, we headed over to the rental car counter to pick up our vehicle—which was, of course, located in spot 14 (and sapphire blue, at that)!

At this point, Bryan handed me some directions and asked me to help navigate him away from Chicago and out of the city. I am completely clueless as to why he’s asking me to do this, but I’m really having fun (although I can tell Bryan is getting stressed because of the late start to the day), and just enjoying whatever adventure he has planned for us,

We drive and drive, through rush hour traffic on the highways and snowy roads lined with dark and lovely trees. Eventually, Bryan pulls off the road in front of a sign for a municipal park—in the middle of nowhere. Smiling, he gets out of the car and tells me that we need to walk from this point forward.

So, with the sun setting and turning the sky orange, I take Bryan’s hand and begin to trudge through about six inches of snow broken only by the tracks of deer. We walk—swiftly, because the light is fading—about a quarter of a mile before we turn a corner, and my heart begins to beat faster.

I can see a lake.

A lake that I have seen before in a movie.

A movie I watched for the first time in a movie theater in Toronto, while Bryan was in a movie theater in Colorado Springs.

In my mind, I’m repeating to myself, “No, not really, no. It can’t be. No, not really, no, no.” I can feel Bryan’s hand in mine begin to shake as we head down the slight incline toward the water.

“This is where The Lake House is, isn’t it?” I asked him.

He smiled. “Yes, although the house was a set. There’s only a pier here now, but this is where it was.”

[Editorial aside: Google Maps actually took its satellite picture of the area during the filming of the movie, so you can see not only the set of The Lake House but the production trailers and equipment here (click ‘satellite’ view and zoom in). This image is part of how Bryan was able to find, and verify the location of The Lake House, something he did on a separate, secret trip to Chicago.]

I was out of breath, but smiled, enjoying the romance of his heart for this moment—because the very last scene of the movie, the most dramatic moment of the film occurs on a very specific date: February 14, 2008. That very day. The day the main character utters the lines, “If you still care for me, wait for me… wait with me.”

[To view that scene, which matters very much to Bryan and me, click on this link. I warn you, it’s the final scene of the movie, so it contains spoilers.]

In my exuberance and excitement, I rushed to find the place where the mailbox—which figures so prominently in the movie, and at the very end—would have been. Bryan was telling me to catch my breath, and I was spinning in a circle enjoying that place… when I turned one more rotation, orange sky around me…

And saw Bryan down on one knee.

A box containing a ring in his outstretched hand.

And I began saying “Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh,” covering my mouth with my hands, beginning to cry.

“Tara, will you be my wife?” Bryan asked.

I fell to my knees in the snow in front of him, kissed him and told him how honoured I would be. And he whispered quietly to me, “Tara, you waited.” We held each other for a long time in the snow, and then he gently took a ring I had been wearing on my left hand, a ring that bore the single word, “HOPE,” on it, off…and slid a beautiful white gold engagement ring with a diamond and two deep sapphires on to my finger. We kissed and held each other some more, and he helped me to my feet.

We walked down to the dock—which still looked a great deal like the house in The Lake House—and he swung me in joyful circles together in his arms.

After some time enjoying the moment, Bryan revealed that there was more to the plan—and we had reservations to attend to.

While this may not sound particularly enchanting to anyone, the Park Grill has been voted one of Chicago’s finest restaurants—and it takes four months to get a reservation there (both in the movie and in real life). The Park Grill also figures prominently in The Lake House (although it goes by the name Il Mare), where the main character, Kate, spends a long, lonely evening waiting for this man she has fallen in love with to arrive. As she waits, she watches out the main windows of the venue, which face onto a beautiful skating rink.

Well, Bryan had made reservations for us—four months ago. When we stepped up to the concierge the woman smiled a big smile and said excitedly, “Owens! Congrat-”, and then she stopped, suddenly unsure that I had said ‘yes’! Bryan nodded emphatically, and she smiled and finished her warm wishes. Bryan had asked very specifically for the booth from the movie, and that was where we were seated, complete with a beautiful view of the ice skaters and twinkling white lights.

We had an incredible dinner together, enjoying each other, and the promise of a new life together. In my joy I couldn’t help but tell just about everyone that we were engaged!

However, the romance of that time in the part was not over. When we returned to the car, Bryan put in a CD, opened the windows of the car and played “This Never Happened Before” by Paul McCartney, which is the theme song of the movie…and we danced together in the snow as darkness fell around us.

Back in the car, on the highway once more, Bryan revealed where we were headed: The Park Grill.

[Editorial note: Here’s a mix of scenes from the movie. There are a few shots of the restaurant at about 2:10 or so. Again, spoilers.]

We stayed the night in Chicago, and the next day visited a few more places from the movie. First, we drove by Daley Plaza, and then we went out to the site of The Lake House again to take pictures. Bryan had truly hoped that he would be able to propose in the daylight, so that the ring would sparkle (and we would have time to casually explore other places, and he could surprise me with the Park Grill reservations), but I think that proposing at dusk with an orange sky around him was truly the most transcendent moment possible. (Admittedly, the ring sparkles a lot in the daylight!)

One of God’s beautiful gifts to both of us was that no one else had done the research to make the moment that is so significant in the movie—February 14, 2008—a reality in person, other than my incredible fiancé. Our footprints from the night before were still there in the snow, although mine had been joined and overprinted for quite some distance—by a single deer. This deer seemed to only want to follow my footprints, not Bryan’s, and she walked with me for at least two hundred yards, following in my foot steps. Bryan and I delighted in the moment and took pictures of the place where he had proposed, the dock, the footprints. On the way back up the incline, we noticed prints that were much larger than a dog’s, but definitely canine—a wolf had also followed our footprints, although this follower only trod in Bryan’s footprints.

On our way to the airport, we also stopped at the Riverside train station, where Kate forgets a book, and took a few more pictures—with a book, of course!

When we dropped off the rental car and got on the shuttle to head to the airport, I excitedly told the bus driver, an older African American man, that I was engaged. He didn’t respond, didn’t even seem to hear me. However, after we got on our way, he called back to the back of the bus and asked, “So who’s the one about to get married?”

I clarified that we had just gotten engaged, and he said, “Well, I have a song for you.”

We expected him to reach for the stack of CDs by his stereo system, but instead, he broke out into song. In a deep, soulful R&B-style voice, he sang a full version of Stevie Wonder’s “You and I” for us! It was a beautiful—his voice was incredible.

The entire bus broke out in applause when he was done. He laughed and said, “And here’s one for when you walk down the aisle…” and began singing “One in A Million.”

He finished his rendition just as we were pulling up to the terminal, called our airline—and we headed back to Denver (after giving him a good tip, of course.)

* * *

And that’s our story... probably the most romantic thing I’ve ever, ever heard of--and I lived it!

God is gracious and good.

And Bryan is an amazing man who I am so, so honoured to be marrying.

Feel free to contact us with comments or responses at ourcouchisgreen@gmail.com.

(If you still don’t understand our couch being green, click on the verse at the top.)