JET:
The Proposal- Special Edition (Jesus
Ernie & Turi)
By
Ernest Wamboye
T was
intransigent! She wanted nothing but pure gold. To hear that you got the love
of your life the cheapest ring would be a cheap move for any man who desires to
demonstrate testicular fortitude. Our ladies deserve the best, now don’t they? They
are the reason to smile, the beauty divine, the helpmates beside and the queens
of our lives! And besides, my ego was too fragile to see a coated ring chip
away after four months of use.
There’s a thin
line between insanity and sobriety. I was hoping the same thin line would exist
between the cheapest band of gold and the most expensive. I walked into The
Junction Mall with Michael, my cousin. After a quick browse of the shops, we
found the jewellers we were looking for. Here I would find the ring I wanted to
buy her-the ring that would convince my family, her family, friends, fiends,
peers, juniors, haters and lovers that my romance was lethal affection. Here
was my goldmine-literally! Here was the point where my effort proved my love
and my pockets suffered loss. Here my wallet would malnourish and my future would
be fattened. It was here that JET’s future would be forged. We walked into the
meticulous store and saw the treasure at once. It was perfect! Solid gold!
Sparkling stone! Just like T had desired! I asked the question and I received
my answer.
72,000 KES!!
I had prepared
my kidney for this day! I would have to sell it and my phone to raise the 72
grand! Love isn’t blind. It just isn’t looking when the excitement checks in.
So the excitement waned and my sight was restored. I could see the death very clearly
facing me! I had been saving since September for this metallic band. The money
I had saved I supposed was enough. If it weren’t for the encouragement dear
Michael gave, I would have been in part C of my elopement plan; sail to
Seychelles. I learned 3 lessons in all this. Lesson one; live within your
means. Lesson two; girls who dig gold are flexible on the silver. Lesson three:
if she loves you for you ability to quickly swipe a VISA card for 72 grand,
ditch the greedy girl.
I am proud to
say that I do not owe my bank, my parents, my friends, any sect, gang, miltia
or the mafia any cash for the ring. I’m also proud to say that the amount I
saved was more than sufficient to get a pure silver band that T can’t seem to
get off her mind up to today. Also proud to say that 72,000 KES (or the lack of
it) proved the love Turi had for me. Girls need to be financially secure, not
financially greedy! Your things versus people and vice versa priority will
reveal the Jekyll and Hyde character in both of you. J set the test and by his
grace and only his grace we passed!
J had also set
the venue; Mombasa. Turi and I were attending the annual December Youth Camp
with our church- NPC Valley Road. This time it was at the Kenya coast. You
thank God you live in these countries where others only see pictures of them on
airplane magazines or on Google Images. The beach, the sun, the weather was
idyllic! I had done the math. Friends for one year! Dated for 2 years 7 months
24days! Married for? Well that was it. I had to answer that question by asking
her the question “Will you marry me?”
Every New Year,
we write notes to each other at the NPC Valley Road youth camp. We call them
sugar cubes. Sugar, because many write sweet nothings. Cubes, for the strangest
idea that those rectangular brown envelopes look like cubes. They aren’t even
3-D! Cubes! Anyway, as usual, Turi wrote me her New Year’s message, but I
didn’t. I had a trick up my sleeve; a very romantic trick. I rushed to my room
in the hotel and got the silver ring out of the proposal box. I stuck it on the
sugar cube card and instead of a New Year message, I wrote on the inside in
bold.
30/12/2011
Will you
marry me?
It was a romantic
time bomb! At the proper time, it would detonate with such excitement! We had
breakfast on the morning of 30 Dec and proceeded to get into the bus destined
for Nairobi. For you see, it was the last day of the camp. Turi had her sugar
cube bulging with messages. Among all those there was a silver ring. She hardly
imagined it despite the several times Pastor Jacqui almost blew my cover. She
knew of the engagement plan prior of my proposing and couldn’t help but exude
excitement each time she bumped into Turi and I at the camp. Michael’s
neighbour, Mr. Meredith, would later joke about it saying, “How would she know
it was yours among all the other sugar cube notes from boys at the camp?” After
breakfast, I urged her to read her sugar cube notes. She resisted but later
gave in after much nudging that I had written her a romantic beautiful piece.
She pulled out my card (It was the only white card with my art on it, if you’re
reading this, Mr. Meredith. That’s how she knew.)
She read the
message. She screamed in delight! Her hoarse voice from all the shouting during
the camp did not hinder her joy inexpressible!
“Oh my God! Oh My God! Yes! Yes! Yes Ernie
Yes!”
Petite girls can
give bear hugs when excited. The rest is history. This beautiful story
concludes in September 2012 as we open yet another exciting chapter of our
lives; The JET Marriage!