How my high school sweetheart and best friend asked me to marry him
It happened in a basement…
The love of my life, Daniel Witten must have spent months preparing for his proposal to me on Sunday morning, Jan. 27, in the basement of Ambrose University.
I had no idea he was going to ask me then. Of course we had talked often about getting married, as it just made sense.
I was nervous about the idea of marriage.
One time, before the proposal, I heard myself saying, “I don’t even know how to make a peach cobbler!” This was somehow linked to the fact that I can’t bake to save my life. That then linked to the stereotype that wives should be good at baking, which I then concluded that I would be an inadequate wife. Although puzzled, Dan reassured me things would be just fine.
We have been together for almost three years, not including the year that we were 
Recently engaged best friends, Daniel Witten and Kaity Brown at their high school graduation.
Photo provided by Kaity Brownboth awkward and we acted like we were dating but when people asked we said, “It’s complicated.”
I fell for him in a place called Summerland.
We were going to a drama convention in Grade 12. Dan was sitting next to me. Actually, I made a point of sitting next to him. I noticed he had a cut on his hand so I insisted he wear a Band-Aid. He refused and played coy, pulling it off every time I put it on. Finally, I just kept my hand on his. Not only did we hold hands the rest of the trip, but we didn’t let go of each other’s hands for the rest of the week. I couldn’t wipe off my permanent, stupid-looking smile. I was also called “Band-Aid Girl” for the rest of the trip.
Last Christmas, I suggested that we make each other’s presents. When I opened my present on Christmas day, my jaw dropped. Daniel wrote a story about me.
“There are 6 chapters,” he said.
Every Sunday afterward, I waited excitedly for the next chapter. The story was about me being whisked away to a fantasy world where I had to use my journalism skills to figure out how to return home. Daniel put himself in the story and I was the only person who could save him.
Jan. 27 was the day. Dan had excused himself while I was reading. I had defeated the main villain and found myself in a room. He described the room in the story and after looking around a couple of times I realized that his description fit the room I was actually in.
The story described a laptop in front of me, presumably the laptop on which I was reading. The end of the chapter read:
“Hello Kaity. I am glad to see you made it this far. I knew you would. Maybe you never thought that you could do it but here we are. We have come through so much together. The battles we have fought have been long and difficult, but our love has always prevailed because you are strong. Unfortunately you know my situation right now. I am all alone and I need you to come rescue me from this loneliness. I have a message for you. This message is only for your ears, which is why I went to such great lengths to make sure you are the only one who gets it. To receive it you must go down to the media room. You will also need the code that I have given you. Now go there, Kaity. Yes, you, the real Kaity who is reading this. Don’t worry about the computer. You can leave it where it is.”
I sat frozen for a while.
“Is today the day?”
Then, I was running to the media room.
I pushed open the doors. It was dark except for a path of colourful Christmas lights. My first reaction was to yell.
“Daniel! Daniel? Where are you?”
Silence. I took it as a cue to follow the lighted path. I was hyperventilating and repeating words over and over. “What’s happening? Oh my gosh. Dan?”
At the end of the path, on a side table, sat a little locked box. It was lit up by a lamp. I didn’t hesitate. I put in the code from the story and it clicked open. Inside I found a note that read “Marry Me”, an anagram of the title of the story “Memyrra”, and the ring.
I put the ring on screaming like a maniac.
I turned and there he was. I ran to him. Apparently, I kicked his foot really hard (he didn’t react or tell me this until later). He gave a little smile and then got down on one knee. He gave his speech and as soon as he asked I yelled: “Yes!”
We ran from campus so we wouldn’t have to face everyone all at once. We just got in my car and drove away. I could hear his smile whenever he said anything.
The sky was perfect and blue. Cloudless. We went to a restaurant and there we talked, smiling at each other all lovey-dovey like. I dumped water on myself because I was still staring at the ring. It didn’t bug me. Nothing could bug me.
It was the happiest day of my life.