The sun was right above our heads, it was so hot and humid that not even the sweet breezes coming from the ocean could ease the heat on our faces. It was a typical hot summer day in Fortaleza, Brazil. While waiting for the boat to arrive, Josh, his mother, two friends and I sat on a bench under a kiosk hiding from that torrid heat.
We were at Mucuripe, my favorite beach in town, which is a piece of paradise on earth, with warm, white, soft sand, darker at the water's edge and fading as one goes further inland, urrounded by coral reef spikes that prevent the formation of bigger waves in the bay. The water is turquoise where it's shallow and so clear that you can see the bottom of the ocean, royal blue in the deep, where fishermen sail their jangadas into the open ocean hoping to bring home a delicious catch for dinner. The air is scented by fresh sea food due to the proximity to the fish market and a few elegant restaurants along the beach.
I had everything planned for the next couple hours; we were going to sail away along the coast, outlining the city to watch the sunset from the ocean. I thought that this romantic scenery might give Josh the courage to propose to me during the boat trip, like we had discussed six months ago over the internet when he told me he would fly down to Brazil, crossing the ocean just to meet me in person. However, the boat was crowded with very loud people, tourists from every part of the world, talking in several different languages. Loud and energetic music was playing on the boat’s radio with people dancing and laughing making all of my hopes for a very romantic gateway impossible. Josh didn’t feel any romantic inspiration on the trip nor did the thought cross his mind that I was hoping for a romantic gesture. After two hours, my heart was overwhelmed with a sad thought that Josh changed his mind of asking me to marry him, but I didn’t want to lose all of my hopes so I invited him and his mother to come over to my mother’s apartment for dinner.
My mother cooked my favorite dinner dish, a chicken Brazilian stroganoff recipe that consists of replacing the sour cream by creme de leite, a sophisticated French version of heavy whipped
cream, making the cream sauce more assertive by the addition of tomatoes, mushrooms and South American spices, served with a side dish of white rice and a popular Brazilian green salad made with an exotic and tropical combination of aromatic arugula leaves with sweet mangos.
After this delightful dinner, Josh and I went to the balcony to watch the full moon rising in the sky and the dark water with the sparkling reflections of the silver moonlig
ht. It felt like only a few seconds passed and we were mesmerized by the enchanting moonlight serenade when I felt Josh reaching for my left hand, kneeling on one knee right in front of me, placing a diamond heart shaped ring on my finger, and asking the most important question of our lives. “Would you marry me?” he said, with a smile on his face that won my heart, making me know that I finally found my soul mate. For a moment I didn’t know if the earth was purified and took us above into a celestial sky, or if heavens came down. My heart was pounding in my throat, my hands got cold, I had water in my eyes, blurring my vision and I almost couldn’t find the strength to pronounce the answer of my passionate heart, “ Yes!”
My mother cooked my favorite dinner dish, a chicken Brazilian stroganoff recipe that consists of replacing the sour cream by creme de leite, a sophisticated French version of heavy whipped
cream, making the cream sauce more assertive by the addition of tomatoes, mushrooms and South American spices, served with a side dish of white rice and a popular Brazilian green salad made with an exotic and tropical combination of aromatic arugula leaves with sweet mangos.
After this delightful dinner, Josh and I went to the balcony to watch the full moon rising in the sky and the dark water with the sparkling reflections of the silver moonlig
ht. It felt like only a few seconds passed and we were mesmerized by the enchanting moonlight serenade when I felt Josh reaching for my left hand, kneeling on one knee right in front of me, placing a diamond heart shaped ring on my finger, and asking the most important question of our lives. “Would you marry me?” he said, with a smile on his face that won my heart, making me know that I finally found my soul mate. For a moment I didn’t know if the earth was purified and took us above into a celestial sky, or if heavens came down. My heart was pounding in my throat, my hands got cold, I had water in my eyes, blurring my vision and I almost couldn’t find the strength to pronounce the answer of my passionate heart, “ Yes!”
