I wish my cell phone hadn't just died!

Because I'd call to tell you that Cliff and I got engaged last night!

I've been up in Portland on another of my monthly trips for work, and when I got in on Wednesday I had a very fun game night at Adam/Natalie's place, catching up with my high school friends and their p-town news and playing Boomtown. On Tuesday, Patrick had IM'd to say that he and Jen had an extra ticket to this 6-course charity dinner at DOC in Portland on Thursday, and if I was in town maybe I'd like to go??? And of course my answer was "HECK YES I LUV FREE FANCY DINNER!" So I'd packed a slinky shirt, but then Portland was super freezing because it's December and Oregon has real weather, and Thursday I just ended up wearing jeans and a nice work shirt+sweater combo, with some jewelry to make it look like I was trying, because I know those law-type-charity dinner things have got to be fancy! Patrick picked me up after work around 6:30, and then we grabbed Jen from downtown and headed to the restaurant. We get there, it all looks super quiet, and we walk into the tiny restaurant and are standing in the middle of their kitchen, and one of the guys ask Patrick and Jen if they have a reservation. And they kind of stand there, and I look around, and I see Cliff in a suit walking up to me and I say "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE???"

At which point he says "I'm proposing to you!" and gets down on one knee and asks me to marry him.

At this point, my head is really just blinking in loud red letters "DOES NOT COMPUTE". I'm double-taking at Cliff, because he's supposed to be in SF, not in Portland, not right next to me looking all fine, not smiling at me from one knee on the floor, looking at Patrick and Jen, and at the guys in the kitchen like hopefully one of them will tell me soon what's going on, and just all around feeling like I wanted to cry and hyperventilate quietly somewhere, because I totally was floored.

5 minutes later, I think I said "Of course I'll marry you" and took the ring and put it on. It might have been 20 minutes later. And hugs were exchanged all around and P&J left with the super-spy-smiles they totally deserve, and Cliff and I sat down to the nicest 6-course meal I've ever had.