Page 84

"David walked in.  He had a bag over his shoulder, two tickets to Rome in his hand.  Shall we? he said.  He was sweating, plotting, a turtleneck under his jacket, anxious about my answer."


This is at the very top of page 84 in The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach.  Do I wish this would happen to me?  Yes, I wish it very much actually!


So here is my fantasy that stems from page 84:  I am in my apartment in Cedar City lazily packing for spring break.  I'm leaving for Kaysville the next morning and am excited to go home and visit my family for a while.  I finish packing and turn to go spend the rest of the night with my roommates.  *Cue gorgeous man who I am currently seriously dating*


He sweeps into my room with a look of confidence on his face.  I notice he has a bag slung over his shoulder and an envelope in his hand.  "Hey beautiful," he says in his wonderfully perfect voice, "Have you finished packing?"
I nod.  Then curious I ask,"What's with the duffel?"
In reply he hands me the envelope and flashes me that beautiful eye crinkling smile he uses when he's genuinely and ecstatically happy about something.  I take the envelope in my hands and begin to open it.  Before I have time to find out what's inside he pulls me close and kisses me quickly: almost like he can't seem to contain his excitement.  I laugh and he just smiles goofily at me while I finish opening the envelope.  I pull out two airline tickets.  At first I don't notice the destination I just stare blankly at them wondering what their meaning is.  I again look into the envelope to see if I've missed something.  When it turns out to be empty I look back at my man questioningly.  His smile falters for a moment; I can tell he's nervous about my reaction.  I look back at the tickets and finally realize that they are two plane tickets to Rome departing that very night.


My eyes widen in shock and my mouth drops open.  "Rome?" I ask in a mixture of disbelief and excitement.  For I've always wanted to go to Rome.  He's heard me talk of it a million times.  How I dream to see the Pantheon, how I know that if I ever do get to walk through that building I'd probably just cry from joy.  How I want to see all the beautiful things in the Roman Forum, how I want to visit the catacombs, and walk through St. Peters.  I look up into his beautiful eyes that are shining with excitement.
"Yes," he laughs at my bafflement, "You and me for spring break.  It's all set up."
I continue to stare at him in disbelief.
"Don't worry, I've already talked to your parents." he tells me, somehow knowing exactly what was going on in my head.
"Really?" I ask still trying to connect everything in my head.
"Yes!" he laughs again, now more at ease.  "Now grab that bag of yours, add whatever you think you'll need for Rome, and lets get going."  As he says all this he pulls out a manila folder and hands it to me.  I look inside to see my passport and visa along with a letter from my parents.  "I had your mom mail them to me a week ago."  He answers my unasked question.


Still in shock I read the letter.  
We love you so much Amanda!  Sad that your not coming home over the break, but we hope you have a blast in Rome!  Call us when you're on your way to the airport.  
Love your Mom and Dad
After reading the letter that is clearly in my mom's handwriting I finally realize that this is actually happening.  I screech in excitement and jump onto my boyfriend hugging him as tightly as I possibly can to try and say all the things that my brain is too muddled to say.  He's not prepared for this and we both tumble to the floor in a heap of limbs, bags, papers, and laughter.  I jump up and instantly start throwing things out of my bag and adding other things.  My mouth has finally caught up with my brain and I'm rambling on and on about how incredible this is, how amazing he is, how unbelievable this whole situation is.


I finish packing, sling the bag over my shoulder and look over and the most incredible and handsome boyfriend in the world.  "Shall we?" he asks with a suave smile as he offers me his elbow.
"Thank you good sir." I reply as I take his arm.
We then proceed to run out the door in the childlike manner we behave that our hearts will never get rid of.  And shove everything into his car.  While driving to the airport I call my parents like I've been instructed to.  They say all the things that parents do: Be careful, keep us updated, and my personal favorite remember who you are and what you stand for.  I assure them that everything will be just fine and when I get off the phone my man fills me in on what we'll be doing in Rome.


He tells me he's booked us each a separate room in a very nice hotel (because of course both of us being LDS we couldn't possibly share one.)  He goes on and on about all the things he's planned for our trip as I sit in the passenger seat trying to contain my sheer giddiness.  We arrive at the airport and board our flight.  We sleep most of the time, and when we're not asleep we spend the flight talking in our usual ease mixed with a sense of something new and exciting.


When we arrive in Rome we take a taxi to our hotel.  He obtains our room keys and proceeds to carry both his and my stuff to our rooms.  After leaving me with my suitcase to settle in I hear a light knock at the door.  I open it to find a beautiful dress with a note attached to it.
You have one hour to shower, put this on, and get ready for our dinner date at Armando al Pantheon.
Love (insert name of my amazingly attractive boyfriend)
My stomach comes alive with butterflies as I close the door and start to get ready.  When my hour is up I open the door to find my boyfriend in a  suit and tie.


"Wow, you clean up nice." he teases, referring to my normal dress of sweats and a t-shirt.
I simply smile and stand up on tiptoe to kiss him.  My butterflies are still bouncing around my stomach and I can't seem to control them.  We head to the restaurant which is across from the Pantheon.  As soon as we are out of the taxi I instantly make a beeline for the one building I so badly want to visit.  He cuts me off though, and with a gentle smile he leads me into the restaurant. 
"As soon as we're finished eating, I promise." he says to keep me from pouting.


Dinner is superb.  Either it was the food, or the fact that I am in Rome with the most amazing man I could ever dream of.  After dinner we obviously splurge on dessert which is also magnificently delicious.  After the bill is paid, he takes my hand and we slowly walk to my favorite building on the whole planet.  I can barely contain my joy as we walk up the small staircase and past the corinthian columns and under the pediment.  When we walk into the building I look up into the vast dome and tears spring to my eyes and a huge smile cracks onto my face.
"I'm finally seeing it!  I'm actually here!" I say to no one in particular.


My boyfriend lets me take my time walking around and taking it all in.  I look at everything, all of it so beautiful and majestic.  When I've finally gotten over the shock of actually being there I run up to him and hug him tightly.  "Thank you so much."  I whisper to him, for there is nothing else to say that can express how I feel in that moment.


He pulls away from me with a brilliant smile on his face, takes my hands in one of his then reaches into his pocket with the other.  After he's extracted something from that pocket he looks into my eyes and says: "Amanda, I have a very important question to ask you."
Then he proceeds to get onto one knee.  My heart starts to race, my mind begins to whir, and those butterflies that have been with me all day start fluttering faster than ever.  My mind is screaming the one word that I am dying to say right in that moment.  YES!  I think in my head, but I wait until he asks.
"Will you marry me?" he says producing the most beautiful ring I've ever seen.  But I'm not even looking at the ring.  I'm looking at the man that I love.
"Yes!" I say as the silent happy tears begin to stream down my face, "Of course I will!"
I pull him up by his tie and kiss him long and hard.  He pulls me into his arms, lifts me up, and twirls me around.  We begin to laugh together and notice people applauding around us.  Apparently we've drawn a crowd.  He lets me down and we proceed to bow and curtsy to the audience that has formed around us.  People we don't know are congratulating us and I'm dizzy with the sheer magnitude of it all.  Being in Rome, seeing the Pantheon, saying yes to the most important question the man I love could ever ask.  This is true fairytale happiness.  I think to myself.