Mr Darcy

Dean puzzled me with his inability to see clearly, his ability to ride his push bike. I asked him one day how did he know where he was going and how did he know when traffic or pedestrian were near. He assured me that he could see well enough to ride and that he followed the white line on the side of the road which is pretty much all he could see on the road. The rest was left up to his other senses. Dean rode his bike to university every day, my high school was on the downhill side of the university so he would ride past my car. He left notes under my windscreen wiper of the #Toyota Hiace that would let me know he was thinking about me. Not necessarily love notes but notes written in thick black marker on ripped out university note book pages usually asking me for a lift here or there after school or telling me we should catch up. Deano was pretty black and white, no fluff kind of guy. I think Dean saw this as his way of making time for me and somewhat dating. I just saw it as Dean, being a really nice guy,one who was pleasant enough to hang out with' still not realizing that this was Dean’s approach to dating me seriously.

One day my parents went away for the weekend. With nothing to serious on the boil between myself and any other prospective date they thought it safe enough to leave me their 17 year old daughter home while they visited my Grandmother. Little did they know (or did I know) Dean had other intentions. On the Sunday morning he called me up and asked me to come and visit him at his house…knowing that my parents would not approve of my visit to a single young man’s abode I invited a couple of friends to come on the journey to Lismore with me.

We waltzed into his home with not much of a thought of what to expect in fact I was kind a little dirty at Dean as he had just cancelled on a date that he had promised me previously so I was going to let him have it and perhaps that why I wanted my back up crew there to help back me up when I let him know that you just don’t ask a girl out on a proper date and cancel….it’s just not on!

To my surprise Dean was sitting in the lounge room quietly and I let him know that I was really let down…but as I was saying this to him those crystal blue eyes started to water and the young man before me started to sob. Had I really been that mean…was I the worst person in the world…how come he was crying…it was Dean who cancelled the date not me….I didn’t get it but none the less it was a little embarrassing to have my back up crew their watching Deano in his dismay. I asked my loyal friends to retreat outside while I took time with my heartbroken friend. After they left Dean said to me that I had been on his mind for a while now and that he thought he had lost me….I was a little lost myself with this conversation as I didn't really know I was in the running for any potential love interest just a casual date or two and perhaps a hang out in the arvo after school. I really didn’t know how he actually felt….I stood there with my eyes widening and asked the sad faced young man before me what he meant.

Right there and then Dean said that he had been praying about a woman to marry for time and all eternity and he had a dream that it was me but didn't know how I felt. His dream consisted of me in church speaking from the stand and him sitting with our children in the congregation. (I am a sucker for dreams as I am a real dreamer and many of mine have given me warnings and prompting throughout my life.) So I asked him what he was going to do about it…that’s when it hit me….What would my parents think. They left me and trusted me not to gallivant with boys while they were away and here I am with a young man…not a boy…and he has all but proposed to me…before Dean could answer the first question I shot another question at him…”What will I tell my parents? They will kill me” Deano had dried his eyes by now and his answer was calm and direct…”I will tell them you are going to marry me”

So there you have it the no fluff guy had a no fluff proposal and I kind of liked it…a bit cave man….he did not ask me he just told me and sometimes that’s just what a girl like me needs…to be told…cause I do enough telling other people what to do and with Dean being such a gentle sole when he says something with direction and purpose you know he means it.  Sometimes I think I would have liked to be whisked away on a hot air balloon ride after being woken up early in the morning with a bedroom trail of petals to the front door and taken to a field of green with love notes scattered across the field but alas that is not the Mills and Boon kind of guy this man is made of. He is just your regular country boy who would jump in front of a barking dog to save his girl from being attacked (this actually happened) Deano reminded me of Mr Darcy from #PrideandPrejudice

When my parents got home that evening and Dean asked my father for my hand in marriage. My mum cried cause she adored Dean. My Father said he was only too happy to give me away .  I was the daughter that gave him lip. He then wished Dean good luck…I remember thinking…Good on ya Dad! So there you have it, the date that never happened, and the proposal that really wasn’t a proposal, but it’s all the truth, and despite Deano trying to convince all our mates (with a wink in my direction) that I was the one who told him we were getting married, he knows the truth. Besides it’s in black and white you must believe everything you read! Or is the saying don’t believe everything you read! You decide for yourself ;)