a bride's diary - getting engaged
flannel pj's can add shock, to any proposal
by Laura Pazzaglia
(return to the Bride's Diary)

It had almost been a year since we'd met. We were already sharing an apartment and discussing marriage. We even went to jewelry shops in San Francisco to find the best combination of stones and metals. Roberto wanted to give me a sapphire with diamond accents, an idea I gradually warmed up to. One thing, I was sure of -- I wanted the band to be 18kt yellow gold -- this is the Italian standard; whereas in the US the standard is 14kt. That Christmas, Roberto went to Italy, where he hoped to make the purchase.

But when I collected Roberto from the airport, he regretfully told me that he couldn't find the ring we wanted. He'd spent three weeks scouring the jewelry shops of Northern Italy to no avail. White gold and platinum rings were very much in vouge in Italy and the settings are also more modern than what you find in the United States!

I hopped into bed, readjusted my arm to snuggle and...

That evening, I asked him to look under his pillow for a present I'd placed there for him. Roberto looked horrified, which I just attributed to confusion and travel exhaustion. "C'mon, Amore, look.. look!". He held his breath and reached under his pillow. As he clasped the soft package and slowly slid it out from under the pillow, he burst into uncontrollable laugher. Why were neatly folded green plaid flannel PJ's so funny, I wondered?

I hopped into bed, readjusted my arm to snuggle and.... hey? what was this? There was something under my pillow! I pulled out a beautifully wrapped box.

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"Is it the ring?" I shrilled.

"Ma nooo, maybe it's a bracelet" Roberto downplayed. It was hard for me to believe that a bracelet would be contained in the 2" square velvet box and within the box... a stunning ring!

As luck would have it, Roberto had placed the ring under my pillow as soon as he'd arrived home -- which explains why he was stunned when I asked him to look under his!