Cari's version:

Erik's version:

The Plan Cari's favorite actress by far is Audrey Hepburn; Cari owns a few of Audrey's movies, and also owns a recent book about the actress. One of the most classic Audrey Hepburn movies (which Cari owns on video) is Breakfast At Tiffany's. Armed with this knowledge, I thought it would be rather appropriate to have the engagement somehow related to the movie. Of course, Cari's not exactly the carelessly eccentric, partying-type, so rather than stick with the storyline of the movie, I planned to have brunch with her on Valentine's Day at the Stanford mall in front of Tiffany's. I'd then propose to her there, and we'd be able to size her ring immediately to minimize any delays.

What Really Happened according to Erik

1. Cari oversleeps. Usually the only thing that gets Cari out of bed is work. (It's also the only thing that keeps Cari from going to bed at a reasonable hour. In fact, she's checking her meeting maker right now as I write this.) Anyhow, for some reason, she decides that Valentine's Day is a perfect day to catch a few extra snoozes since she her first morning meeting isn't until 10AM. Despite our previous agreement to have a nice, romantic breakfast (location wasn't really discussed), at 8:30 she mumbles something about waffles - Eggo waffles. This is not an option. Eventually, I convince Miss Grumpy to go and have breakfast at Noah's Bagels instead.
2. Bagels. Bagels have always been a brunch favorite of ours, since there's a Noah's and a Jamba Juice only about a mile away from our house; thus, choosing Noah's (one near the Stanford campus) didn't brew any suspicions from Cari. However, things got a little dicey when, at around 9:30, on the way to Noah's, Cari opens up her planner and discovers that her meeting isn't at her office as she once believed - it's in East Palo Alto! A bit panicked, Cari asks to postpone breakfast and now wants to be dropped off by her office (where her car is). I convince her that bagels don't take all that long (do they?) and race over to the Menlo Park Noah's. We get the bagels to go, and in a flash of speed (and brilliance, might I add), I grab the bagel bags, run around the corner, and drop the ring (in the blue box) into her bagel bag. (Incidentally, there was a 50% chance at the time that I might've gotten the wrong bag.)
3. Work. Now Cari is quite nervous; not helping the situation was a six-car pileup on the way leaving Noah's. We arrive at her office parking lot, at which time Cari pleads to let her be so that she can leave for her meeting and eat on her own. I manage to convince her to have just one bite in her office. We run upstairs, and finally she opens her bagel bag. Forgetting for a moment about the meeting (rare), she pauses a for 3 whole seconds, staring into the bag. She pulls out the blue-and-white box, and asks nervously, "What is this?" (Incidentally, I later learned that one of the inherent abilities of a woman is to recognize the color of Tiffany Blue.) Not wanting to alarm her, I simply said "Oh, it's just chocolate." Calmed by this, she proceeds to open it up - at which time, she discovers the real contents of the box. The next things out of her mouth: "I'm not exactly sure what happened here, but, I gotta go!" And yes, she made her meeting, only 10 minutes late.
4. Aftermath.To her credit, Cari did manage to make it back to my office after her meeting, and with her bagel bag still full, she had breakfast with me after all. I re-asked her to marry me, and she agreed; we then called her parents to break the news. We even managed to simulate a Breakfast at Tiffany's by cooking dinner that night at home and eating it while watching the movie.

Postscript by Cari Lest I sound like a totally unromantic workaholic, I do want to mention that getting engaged is more fun, romantic, and exciting than I ever imagined. Erik did everything perfectly - he called my parents ahead of time and the entire proposal had a sentimental touch to it that will make it a moment I will never forget. I am a bit embarassed to admit that I was a little distracted because I had a meeting with the school district and was worried about being late to meet my co-worker there. But, in the end, I think Erik and I were both incredibly happy about the way everything turned out. In fact, I remember telling Erik how cool it felt to watch Breakfast at Tiffany's with him and and to know that 50 years later we will be watching the same movie as an old married couple. Hopefully we'll be as happy then as we are now. Note: For those of you unfamiliar with Breakfast at Tiffany's, I'm a bit sad to point out that a classic Audrey Hepburn movie has some pretty horrendous Asian-American stereotypes included in it (Mickey Rooney plays Mr. Yunioshi, the landlord). While not a typical romance (it is based on a Truman Capote novel), it reflects a fun and interesting relationship that develops between two neighbors. The movie made the song, "Moon River," famous, and opens with a scene of Audrey Hepburn (as Holly Golightly) window-shopping at Tiffany's early in the morning.