"I don’t understand babe. What does this mean" Carmen asked as she looked down at the place where Shane had placed the ring.

"I want the ring that I bought the woman that I love to be on her finger every day. I’m not saying that it means we should get married tomorrow, or a month from now. But right now, it stands for the commitment that I want to give to you. Come here and sit down…" Shane gently urged as Carmen left the dish in the sink and made her way to the dining room table.

Shane knelt in front of her. "I was watching you tonight, and I realized something. I don’t ever want this to change. It surprises me to even say this, but after tonight, I know that I need you in my life just like this. You are everything that I want and need in a woman. No one is more beautiful, sexy, fun, talented etc etc etc…" Shane laughed as Carmen looked on with slightly watery eyes.

Shane grew solemn again. "I want the world to know it. Wearing these rings means that no one else can have you or me.. wearing them means that we love each other, wearing them means that unless we die, there will be no one else. Tell me that you want it too Carmen."

As Shane looked on, Carmen was absolutely speechless. She was thrown off guard by this impromptu speech and, with all that had been going on in their lives, she was already extremely emotional. The tears were freely falling now as she responded..

"I don’t know what to say Shane. You’ve got to give a girl some warning when you want to lay the heavy stuff on me!" Carmen halfway joked.

"Heavy stuff huh? Well, how about this for heavy… when I proposed to you before, I did it in all the wrong way… I knew what I was asking, but didn’t put a lot of thought into how I would do it. So this time, I’m gonna do it the right way." With that, Shane propped herself on one knee and took Carmen’s hand.

"Carmen de la Pica Morales, will you one day do me the pleasure and the honor of being my wife?" Shane said with the most sincere expression that Carmen had ever seen on her.