The Story

We arrived in Lima, Peru early Sunday morning, Dec 30, and spent the day shopping for a guitar for Shawn and shoes for me. He wanted a nice, hand made guitar because they´re really cheap here in Peru, and I wanted some pretty shoes to go with my dress (I had it made in Pucallpa) for the special dinner we were going to have that night, to celebrate the end of a lovely vacation together.
He found a glossy, elegant white wooded guitar, I found come sparkly silver heels, and we headed back to our hostel to get ready for dinner.
At six o'clock a nice, clean, new taxi (very rare in Peru) pulled up and our great host, Erick, snapped a few pictures as we headed out the door (He also gave Shawn his camera because he discovered the battery on mine was low – how sweet).
About 45 minutes later, after driving through most of beautiful, oceanside Miraflores, trying to find our restaurant, we finally pulled up in front of a not-overly-fancy, but very nice MEXICAN restaurant. This was a wonderful surprise for me, because I had been craving mexican food the entire trip. (That is one thing that is very hard to find in Peru, and when you find it you usually wish you hadn´t, because it tastes nothing like real mexican).
The meal was delightful, and after struggling to finish my Chimichanga and sipping the last of my Strawberry Margarita (virgin :)), Shawn realized he had left Erick´s camera in the taxi. After the initial panic, we decided to go to an internet cafe and look up the taxi company and Erick´s phone number and figure things out.
After getting the numbers and trying to call with no luck, Shawn decided to give it up until the next day, and we headed to the next surprise of the evening, of which the only thing I knew was that I wouldn´t get cold (I had been a little worried about this, since the evening was quite cool, and I thought we might be walking on the ocean).
After winding along the beach through some very nice hotels and high rises, we pulled up in front of Miraflores Park Hotel, a five star hotel that boasted every inch of its estrellas, from the gracefully winding staircase in the lobby to the door service to the lighting to the elegant decor, and I felt like royalty.
As we stepped out of the taxi, I was wondering what we were doing there. I thought maybe we were there for dessert, or an entertainment event. The whole place just dazzled my senses.
As we walked into the hotel, Shawn informed me that we were spending the night! Wow. My mind was swirling.
We checked in and the receptionist led us into the elevator and up to our room. As I opened the door, I was immediately surrounded by the perfume of fresh flowers. The wonderful scents were thick in the air, and I turned to tell Shawn just how good this hotel made their rooms smell, when me eyes caught the source of the aroma. There, in the center of the floor, were huge bouquets of beautiful roses, lilies, and all kinds of tropical flowers, colorfully lighting up the room.
When I finally came to my senses enough to speak, Shawn told me they were for me, and I read the sweet note attached to one of the bouquets, still amazed we were actually staying in such a place. Our room was on the seventh floor, and overlooked the ocean. (Erick had brought over what I needed for the night and Shawn´s guitar as well as the flowers. What a nice guy).
Somewhere in the midst of everything, I realized I had lost my purse, which created a bit of chaos, with me charging around the room looking for it, because I was positive it was there. Finally convinced it wasn´t, we went downstairs, and the second the receptionists saw us, they were asking if I had forgotten something...apparently I had. :)
As we headed up stairs again, we decided to check out the pool and spa on the eleventh floor. As we stepped outside I was once again amazed by the beauty. The pool was illuminated, and glowed in the night air, covered only by the starry sky. Looking past the sparkling water we could see the ocean waves lapping at the beach, far below. I had to go swimming! How romantic was this?
Only one problem…I had left my swim suit in Arequipa. So, we headed back down to the lobby where they assured me there were still stores open where I could find a suit. Jumping into the Mercedes taxi they had waiting outside (we thought it was free…found out later it most definitely was not), we drove five minutes to a huge department store.
After trying on about five different suits and having no luck with any of them, I grabbed a pretty aqua-colored one that was the cheapest suit in the store, prayed it would look good, and left.
We finally hit the pool, had it all to ourselves, and swam beneath the stars.
Afterwards, I hopped in the shower, got ready for bed, and informed Shawn that I wanted him to sing me “my song,” the one he had written for me before we started dating. So, while I curled up in bed, he obliged, and sang me the beautiful words. As I listened, I couldn´t help but wish there were more verses to it, verses that told where our relationship had come since “the early days.” So, when he was finished, I told Shawn he needed to write more verses. He just smiled at me, and pulled out his little note book that he always writes everything in (it keeps him organized with building the house and all), and told me he had actually written me another song. I´m sure he could see the surprise and happiness in my eyes, and I asked him when he had written it. He just smiled, and said I would have to listen to the song. So, I leaned into my down pillows and relaxed as he started to sing…
As he sang about how much he loved me, and recounted some of the precious memories we had made together, tears stung my eyes. I was so in love with him, and just dreading the day he would have to leave Peru. As the song came to a close, I knew, from the look in his eyes and the tender words he had sung, that this song was very special, and very deep.
After he finished singing, we talked about the different memories and special moments he highlighted in the song, smiling and talking a little about each one. As the special moment came to a close, Shawn looked at me, and with an intensity I had never heard before in his voice, he explained that he had written the song exactly one year after we started dating (April 2006). As I smiled, he continued, and with more intensity and love, told me he had wanted to give me the song a few times throughout our relationship since then, but had decided not to until he asked me to marry him.
And that´s when the fireworks started going off in my mind, and my eyes got huge. Suddenly it all became crystal clear – the flowers, the pool, the hotel, the beautiful song, the ocean - it was all a part of the plan!
Then he got on one knee, as I sat cross-legged on the edge of my bed, in complete shock, and asked me to marry him! And of course I said yes, and neither one of us could hardly sleep a wink that night! We were so excited!

And that´s our sweet little story...the end.