The Proposal

It was a Friday afternoon, I had just finished work (I was an Educational Assistant at a Christian High School) and was heading home for the weekend. At this point, Curt and I were living 2.5 hours apart, so we took turns visiting each other on the weekends...it was his turn to come to me, so I was heading home, expecting that he would arrive late that night.

I was only about two minutes from the school when I noticed a piece of paper tucked under my windshield wiper. So, I pulled into the next parking lot to see what it was. This is what it said:

Hello Mary Beth,
Hope you're ready for the Race.
Proceed to the Rain Forest Cafe at the Yorkdale Mall, and there you will receive your next clue.
You will have no money for this leg of the race.

Ask for Anna (the manager)
If you are ever lost as to the next checkpoint or didn't receive the clue at the checkpoint you may call home.

In case you're not getting it, this piece of paper was meant to be like the clues given on the show 'The Amazing Race', my favourite show!

So, my first thought was that it was some kid from school playing a joke. Instead of going along with it, I went back to the school to show a friend and get her opinion. Kati, a friend and roommate from University, who was also teaching at the school, told me that I should just go for it...that wasn't enough, so I called home and got my dad on the phone, even he said I should just go for it, so I figured it was safe at that point. I didn't know it at the time, but Kati and her husband Mark were in on the whole thing...Curt had used them to plan the whole thing, having Mark plant the first clue on the my car. I also didn't think about it much at the time, but Kati walked me to the door of the school that afternoon to say good-bye, which she never did! Then she kinda freaked out because she realized I didn't see the clue at first.

So, I got back in my car and left for the Rain Forest Cafe, where Curt and I had been on one of our first dates. Anna was at the front entrance greeting customers at the time, so I had no problem finding her. I think she could sense how nervous I was because she told me relax and have fun! :) She handed me a clue, that said:

Go to Toronto Coach Bus Terminal (exact address) and get a bag to receive your next clue.
You will have $10 for this leg of the race.
(Leave your car here)

Inside was a key with the following:

This is a key to a locker at the terminal (bottom row)
Take subway to Yonge and Dundas Station. Go West on Dundas to Bay (next street).
Just north on Bay is terminal.

Now, I was already nervous, but this next clue totally freaked me out...I had to take the subway ALONE! The whole subway thing was pretty new to me, having just started taking it when Curt and I started dating - Yorkdale Mall was a good meeting place for Curt and I, so we would meet there and take the subway into Toronto for our dates. It was easy when I was with Curt - he had worked for the TTC during a co-op, so he knew the system.

Anyway, I find my way to the subway, buy my tokens, get on the platform, and...kind of freeze! The first south bound subway came and went, but I didn't get on it. I was so nervous, I mean I was pretty sure I would be getting on the right one, but I couldn't do it?!?! I got on the second one though, yeah me!

Once at my station, I climb the stairs to street level and kind of freak out again...I felt like such a small-town girl, alone in the big city! Remember the next part of the clue, now I had to figure out what way was west in order to get to my next destination. I remember looking around at all the buildings, thinking about how embarrassing it would be if Curt was looking out one of them at me :)

I took a random guess, and started walking! Luckily my guess was right, and I found the bus terminal...and once inside, eventually located the lockers. Inside was a bag I recognized, with my skates and a change of clothes inside, as well as the next clue.

You should know where to go now.
You will have $30 for this leg of the race.

Then Curt wrote in: It might not be as obvious as I thought, with the exact address. It was good that he had included this extra detail, I knew I was supposed to get to an outdoor skating rink that we had tried to go to on our first date, but, I'm not sure I would have been able to tell a taxi driver where I wanted to go. So, I changed into some warmer clothes and made my way back outside. At this point I remember thinking about how exactly I was supposed to hail a cab...do you really just put your arm in the air and they stop for you, or is that just in the movies? Seriously, I thought about that. So, as I was standing there wondering, a cab stopped just a few feet away to let someone out, and I hopped in!

When I arrived at the rink I immediately saw Curt, casually skating around with his hands in his pockets. As soon as he made his way over to me I started giving him a hard time for putting me through all of that - telling him how stressful it had been and how I almost didn't do it. He told me he had one more clue, and I told him I didn't want it, now that I found him I was staying put. He assured me I would want this one, so I opened it up and found a RING! He got down on one knee and asked me to marry him! Of course I said yes, and as we celebrated with a kiss and hug I remember a couple skating by us and saying congratulations.

After skating for a little while, we went out for dinner and I remember we were already talking about when we wanted to have the wedding. We made our way back to the subway, and together got on the first subway back to Yorkdale and my car. Arriving home to my parents was exciting, they obviously knew, and were waiting to celebrate with us. I remember my mom giving Curt a hard time when we got to their place - he had asked my parents permission in December, and this was now late January, so my mom made sure Curt knew how hard it was for her to keep the secret!
My dad was sure to give me a hard time about questioning it, and calling him before following the first clue. I learned that my dad knew every detail - Curt had arrived at my parents that afternoon and my dad drove him to Yorkdale and dropped him off (so we would only have one car there at the end of the whole thing) and then Curt went through every step of the 'race', dropping off the clues.

Pretty special, eh?