There is a restaurant that sits on the waters edge on the Causeway between Mobile and Daphne Alabama. It is called Ed’s Seafood Shed and it has a large deck that provides the very best view of Mobile Bay. As the sun goes down the view of the city of Mobile on the distant shore is breathtaking. This is where I was enjoying dinner and the beauty in every direction with friends and family as my son Eric Erdman played music.
She walked to my side and knelt by my chair and I smiled an awkward smile, not certain what was about to happen. It was a waitress but not the one who was serving my table. She talked so softly I had to strain to hear her over the conversations and the live music. She whispered that she knew I was Eric’s mom and she wanted me to help her with a situation. I said “Sure if I can.”
She pointed to a table nearby where two couples sat talking and eating; then she said, “There is going to be a marriage proposal taking place there momentarily.” She quickly added, “Its a surprise, she has no idea what’s about to happen.” This waitress was pure giddy with excitement.She then asked me to step up to my son who was on the stage singing and tell him about it and that the signal for the proposal will be when she (the waitress) delivers a dessert to the young lady. She requested that my son acknowledge on the mic what is happening as soon as it happens and then sing a romantic song in their honor.
I stepped up to my son and explained it all to him. He selected the song Tupelo Honey and we kept our eyes trained on that table. We anxiously awaited the dessert delivery.
Moments later the waitress came out just beaming with excitement carrying a large piece of chocolate cake with a decadent looking frosting. She slipped it in front of the young lady, signaling the beginning of the excitement in these two people’s lives! When the waitress let go of the plate and stepped back, the man stood up and dropped to one knee and he struggled with a ring box as he descended. He nervously held the ring up and asked, “Will you marry me?” Everyone was breathless as we waited along with him for her response. I could not hear her but I am pretty sure she said yes, and she gave him a little peck on the cheek, then she turned to that cake and began to eat it like she had not eaten for a month. That piece of cake definitely held a greater thrill for her than what had just happened. I looked over at the waitress who had been more excited than any new bride might ever be; and her face told the story. She looked like she had melted inside and the disappointment was dripping from her. I and those at my table felt a little bit like a balloon that has lost most of its air and is unsure where to find its next breath.
Later my son said, “That was the weirdest thing, that proposal response.” I nodded, still feeling the let down of it. I am not sure what thoughts may have been bouncing around in that young lady’s head and I do not assume anything. It was just one of those things that you have laid out in your mind and anticipation fills you up with the happiness that you are about to be a part of, then all of that just falls to the floor with a thud.
On my drive home I thought about it all. I especially thought about the prospective bride and groom from tonight on the deck at Ed’s. It was a spectacular view in every direction and a man who appeared to be proud and excited who received a lackluster, thrill-killing response, yet he still seemed happy. Who am I to judge? I know nothing of them or their personalities or the way they normally interact with one another.
Just last year we witnessed an impromptu wedding that took place in front of that very stage between a waitress who had been waiting tables moments before and now she was a bride who stood there still in her Ed’s tee shirt and khaki shorts with her groom at her side. The look they had for each other touched my heart when I saw how deep their feelings appeared to be and I thought their marriage has just as much chance of success as the couple that had a $50,000 wedding.
I hope tonight’s proposal was just some awkward situation that we did not understand and they will marry and live happily ever after.
It is not how much the wedding cost, it is not how big the diamond is, it is what is going on inside the bride and groom's heads and hearts that makes all the difference. Life is not always easy and we cannot judge things as we imagine they should be.
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