Harry Finocchiaro

The sound of Sara’s keys in the front door broke the silence. I had been pacing around the house for the last hour rehearsing what I was going to say.

I met her halfway down the stairs and gave her a hug and kiss like we normally did. She grabbed my hands and let out a cry of disgust. “What’s wrong with your hands? Did you just wash them or something?” I pretended like I had no idea and responded, “I don’t know, it’s just hot upstairs.”

I told her that I had a surprise for her upstairs, but she needed to close her eyes first. I led her into the bedroom and sat her in front of me on the bed where I began to tell her the old Japanese saying: He who folds one thousand paper cranes will be granted one wish.

As she opened her eyes and saw the colorful array of cranes laid about the bed and hanging from the ceiling, she started uttering words of disbelief.

Is this real? Harry, is this real? Oh, my God! Is this real!?

I somehow managed to get her attention for a brief moment, and that is when (on one knee) I told her that I’ve folded my thousand paper cranes and I only had one wish – that she marry me. Somehow, I overestimated the power of the ring I bought, because she was still enamored with the paper cranes and like she was in a trance kept saying no way, this isn’t real…

In what seemed like a million years, she eventually looked at me with tears in her eyes and said yes. And this is the story of how I got engaged to the girl of my dreams.

for the ladies…