He Plucked a Star from the July Sky

Steve gave me my engagement ring 25 years ago this week.  Since I had given such a stellar response to his initial proposal a couple of weeks before (See: I mean, yes!...), Steve didn't take any chances with this presentation.  When he picked me up from my chaperoning assignment of the weekend's Stake Youth Conference at what was then Radford College, he asked me to walk with him into the Dogwood lined "Quad".  We stopped under one of the beautiful trees with it's gnarly limbs, onto which Steve casually reached a lean and secretly settled the ring box on a branch. Meanwhile, he handed me a breathtaking handwritten proposal.  Once I had tearfully read his prose and he had secured a satisfyingly simple positive response, he handed me the ring box with the explanation that he had vigilantly searched for two weeks throughout Virginia for the most perfect diamond that he could find.  He went on to explain that "it isn't very big, but it is virtually perfect.  There is only one tiny, hidden flaw that an expert would have to search for; other than that it was ranked in the highest category in color, clarity and cut.  Steve reiterated that he was giving me the diamond, and that I could have it re-set in any setting that I chose.  He apologized for not listening more carefully to my response to his inquiries for preferences, to have a specific color of gold (yellow vs. white; as I had just had my "colors" done and was told that I was an "autumn" and therefore would look best in gold toned jewelry).  Steve went on to explain that he remembered that I had a preference; but that he couldn't remember what it was, so he just chose his preference: white gold.  I was so caught up in the romance of the moment that all I could see before me was the star that Steve had plucked from the 3 July night sky and had just placed on my finger in a setting that he chose.  I remember contemplating the sentimentality of having an antique color setting, one like the those of my elderly Comyn Hall friends.  I remember hearing Steve continue to explain that the jeweler had said that, while white gold was not a contemporary choice (at that time platinum and white gold settings were yet to be the fashionable choice... Steve is such a trend-setter!), that it was the best color for showing off the clarity and color of this diamond.  For me the moment was about Steve's effort to find something pure and special to represent his commitment to our future...and I was dazzled by the star he chose for me.  I didn't change a thing.