My very first surprise proposal! When Devyn reached out and told me he wanted to surprise Zina under the cherry blossoms at the Portland Japanese Garden I was so excited I immediately called my mom to tell her. From there we carefully executed a plan. Devyn and I showed up early and I set up on a little bench by the water surrounded by camellias. Zina thought she was just coming for a walk in the gardens with her parents and sister, and didn’t even think to look for me. I felt a bit like some kind of secret agent.
Despite the clouds and cool weather, the garden was full of families watching the koi and couples admiring the cherry blossoms that had just started to bloom. Since I’d never met Zina my heart raced every time someone who I thought could be her stepped onto the bridge. Finally she arrived, and her dad instructed her to stand on the bridge so he could take her photo. Her surprise and joy was instantly palpable when Devyn bounded out from behind a tree and jogged to her. He was down on one knee almost immediately. Strangers watching cheered and it was a whirlwind of giggles and excited chatter and a woman on the other side of the bridge running over to send the video she’d taken of the whole thing as if she’d known them her whole life.
There is a kind of glow that comes over people who get to witness a moment of love like this. Everyone near that bridge seemed to feel like they were a part of it, and they all wanted to share in Devyn and Zina’s joy. A sudden community of happy strangers. I know for a fact that I was grinning from ear to ear myself, caught up in it all. I can’t wait for the next time I get to be part of a surprise proposal like this, it was a huge highlight of my spring.
