Disclaimer: Don't own and never will.
Have you ever met someone once and they're just a child and then you turn around and they've grown up? Ever realized that somehow they've gone from a little girl into something more and you didn't notice?
Yeah, that's happened to me.
More specifically, it happened to me recently.
I had just graduated from college with my degree in English Literature (hey, I'm not just a basketball player you know!) and I was with our family at a barbeque. A very special barbeque to celebrate my little sister Taranee getting a scholarship at both MIT AND Harvard. Yep you heard me correctly. MIT AND Harvard. Yeah, I'm proud of her. We all are, even if I couldn't understand half the stuff she's studying. Yeah, she inherited the brains in our family.
Anyway, we were having a barbeque on the beach. I know what you're thinking. Most people have a party, but Taranee likes it better than parties and so we opted to have a beach barbeque party on the local beach. It was a beautiful summer's afternoon, with the sun shining down on us and the gentle sea breeze keeping us cool. The beach was nice and clear. It was just us and our little party.
Taranee's friends were there as well as family. There's quiet a few of them and they're all as different from one another as can be. As the water was nice and warm, some of us were taking advantage to swim while the food was getting ready.
It was in the water that she spoke to me. "Race you to the shore Peter!" she called out to me as she kicked off and began swimming away at a decent turn of speed. I laughed and followed with a solid swimming stroke as I chased her through the water.
Now if she had been Will, I never would have caught up with her. I'm a good swimmer, all those years surfing has really helped, but Will was already looking at a professional racing career. There was no way I would have caught up with Will, but fortunately she wasn't Will. Instead I caught up and overtook her just before we reached the shoreline and we left the water together. And that's when I noticed.
If she hadn't been wearing that lime-green bikini, with the water dripping off of her at just the right places, I don't think I would have noticed. But she was and I did and suddenly, instead of this little girl who was friends with my sister, I was looking at a really stunning young woman.
Yeah, I know, looks aren't everything. And if it had just been that then I wouldn't be fiddling with the ring box sitting in my hand. Yeah, I'm going to propose to her at dinner tonight and I'd like to think she's going to say yes. At least, I really hope she does.
But it started on that beach, on that day. And you know what? I wouldn't have missed anything that happened between us from that moment onwards for the world.
I'm really hoping she'll say yes to becoming Mrs Alchemy Cook. I really do.
Well, here goes nothing. Wish me luck