Ouvre-lui

That must have been what my heart was telling me from the moment I met him. It must, because that is exactly what I did, and I have never looked back. And now, one tumultuous and happy weekend later, we are engaged to be married. I don't know when exactly, but in time.

Because we are currently living 6,000 miles apart, we consider this engagement as a promise as well as a wish, a wish to share our daily lives. When it happens. I am not worried because we each have things to finish beforehand.

Saturday was simultaneousy exhausting and energizing. I sprang out of bed at 7am to dance in the park as usual, and came thundering back to blare music and serenade him in the light of the rising sun. Of course, he was a little miffed at not being able to sleep in, but he really didn't mind.

We set out in the morning to recoup the ring. In the meantime, we could see the July 14th parade along the Champs-Elysées. Or rather, we could see the military airplanes soar overhead. It was impressive to watch the lines of planes in formation, and the streaks of blue, white and red painted across the sky.

I wore my red dress to mark the day.

The evening began early; we dressed in our finest to be able to traipse around the gardens of Versailles at dusk. Dinner at le Valmont was spectacular. The decor was quaint and influenced by Louis 15 style furniture. The walls were painted a jovial yellow and the chairs were covered in blue and yellow damask. Service was prompt, but the waiter was clearly stressed.

I ordered a flan de foie gras accompanied by a salad with truffle oil for an entrée. My main dish was pavé de veau avec petits pois et crème truffée. He ordered lieu (pollock) couvert de graines de sésame avec une sauce orange, accompagné par céléri. I don't like celery, so that worked out well.

And finally, dessert. It was lovely. I ordered a symphonie de 5 desserts: glace pain d'épices, crème brûlée, soupe aux griottes, crème d'ananas et carré de chocolat noir. Delicious. I could not finish.

He ordered a parfait de chocolat avec crème chantilly.

We finished just in time for Versailles. The sun was setting as we arrived, and since Versailles is constructed in alignment with the sun (the sun rises directly in front of the palace, and sets directly behind it), the entire gardens were illuminated by the soft orange glow of the setting sun. The fountains closest to the palace were on. The palace was lovely as usual.

The evening consisted of a promenade throughout the gardens, each of which was illuminated and animated by either voices reciting Molière's plays, baroque music, electronic music, video, or some sort of combination of it all. The promenade began in the Salle de Bals, which began pouring water when we entered the grove. It was magnificant to see the water spilling over the stony terrasses, between enormous golden luminaries to the soft tone sof baroque guitar. It has been a dream of mine to see the Salle de Bals, and there I was, there when it was just beginning, at dusk.

We had about two hours to roam the gardens. Other tourists in the gardens looked at us and whispered amongst themselves that it was a wedding. I certainly felt splendid, in my long, sequined ao dai that stretched to the floor in one long sweep of satin. He looked brilliant in his dark brown striped suit, lightly striped white shirt and rich gold cufflinks that had previously belonged to his grandfather. They hadn't been worn in fifty years, but after a washing, turned out magnifique.

It was such a sensory experience: the sound of water rushing amongst the baroque statues. Running through the gardens to find the next great treasure, following the sounds of animation.

The evening finished on the Grande Perspective, under a spectacular fireworks display--spectacular for its sophistication, not for its size. These were well-conceived, choreographed fireworks. It was subtle.

Of course, I wasn't watching the fireworks the entire time because he took the ring from his pocket just then to offer it to me. So that was that. We were "officially" engaged on July 14, 2007 in the gardens of Versailles.

It is only the outward manifestation of what we have both felt for a long time.

Oh beauty.