It's always been you

On my first day of seventh grade at Station Camp Middle School, I got the locker next to Chris Payne. I heard he was the class clown and that he had a crush on me. Funny, confident, and impossible to ignore, he made me laugh like no one else, but I didn't want a boyfriend yet. In eighth grade, he asked me out, and we “dated” for a few months before I very maturely broke up with him on the way to history class. Years later, we both ended up in Knoxville for college. What started as a casual friendship slowly became so much more, and I realized he wasn’t just my old middle school boyfriend. He was my person. Spring semester of our freshman year, Chris dropped me off at my dorm and asked me to be his girlfriend. Before I got out of his old Armada, I had to ask if he was sure. He laughed and said yes. Little did we know it was the start of our forever.

Chris told me he wanted to do a fall activity and had planned a pumpkin carving picnic, followed by drinks downtown with friends. I didn’t think anything of it and was just excited for a fun night! Thursday, I was getting ready and stressed because I couldn’t figure out what to wear. My hair was greasy, my nails were cheetah print, and I wasn’t loving my outfit. I remember thinking, “At least I’m not taking pictures.” Chris picked me up and drove us to our picnic spot. He brought a basket, wine, and a charcuterie board, and I kept telling him how excited I was and that he was getting extra back scratches for planning it. I even took my shoes off despite his warning about bugs because I just wanted to be comfy. We started carving pumpkins, and I was really getting into it when Chris mentioned a small white pumpkin someone had given him that day. He went to get it from his truck, and of course, I couldn’t wait to see it. Meanwhile, I’m standing up, trying to shake out the pumpkin guts, when Chris tells me to put it down and that he will do it. I even said I wasn’t carving another pumpkin because I only had one in me. He hands me a small pumpkin. I sit down criss-cross applesauce, open it, and see a small black box inside. I look up, and Chris is already down on one knee. I am completely shocked, and he has to tell me to stand up. He asked me to marry him, and I immediately started crying, almost forgetting to say yes because I was so surprised. A photographer came out of a deer tent and started taking pictures while I was wiping my tears. It was the sweetest, most thoughtful surprise, and the fact that he planned every detail without me suspecting a thing made it so special.