Engagement – Katherine’s Perspective
On July 12, 2008, I was awaken by the sound of my cell phone ringing at 6:15 in the morning. It was my sister, Libby’s, ringtone playing, so I thought that it must be important, or maybe something bad had happened. After all, who expects a Libby to be awake at 6:15 a.m. on a Saturday. I answered the phone and Libby said, “Mike just called me and I heard a dog barking in the background. Is something going on? Is something wrong?” I replied in a tired whiney voice, “I don’t know, I was sleeping, Mike’s downstairs.” I trudged downstairs in search of the boy to find out why he would call Libby so early in the morning and why a dog was barking. I discovered that there was no Mike in the house and there was no Lorelai, (my treeing walker coonhound, a/k/a giant beagle). I said to Libby, “Mike’s not here and neither is Lorelai.” Libby asked again, “What’s going on, why did he call me?” I said, “I don’t know. Do you have his phone number? Why don’t you call him back and ask him?” She said, “Yeah, I have his phone number, I’ll call him.” I hung up the phone and notice that there was a manilla envelope with my name on it duck taped to my porch door.
When I first saw the envelope from afar I thought it was just a note telling me he had taken Lorelai running (I didn’t have my contacts in or my glasses on, so I couldn’t see very clearly from across the room). Upon further investigation, however, I discovered that the manilla envelope was, in fact, the container of a ransom note!
That’s right! The evil boy had STOLEN my hounddog! I read the ransom note:
“I’ve stolen your dog. If you want it back, read this carefully, you only have a short time. There exists a grimoire, written in an ancient language, that contains a powerful magic. You will have to find and discover the key to translate it. Deliver this powerful magic to me and I will return your dog.
Your task must be completed post-haste, while the power granted by the magic is ever lasting, the magic for the spell in the book can only be cast before sunset today.
The clues to unlock the translation have eluded me so far. All I have been able to discover is that it starts with the Frozen Monkey Head.
Remember, clues are hidden out of plain sight.
2 People can help you along the way, utliize them as you see fit.
Contact #1 : 304-216-xxxx
Contact #2 : 440-225-xxxx
Rules:
Rule #1) To receive a hint, you must first reveal your location. Where you are or where you are headed to. You will also have to read your current clue to them.
Rule #2) You cannot receive the 3rd or 4th hint until you have arrived at your new location.
Rule #3) The 5th hint spoils the fun.
Rule #4) I am preparing for the magic with Ancient Rituals that cannot be disturbed. Do not contact me until you have the translation in hand.”
I easily deciphered the first clue and went to the freezer where I found a monkey head atop another manilla envelope with my name on it. (The monkey head story is a long story in and of itself and best left for another day).
I took the envelope over to the counter and read my second clue. I called Libby and said, “I know what he’s doing.” And I did. I knew he was going to propose at the end of the treasure hunt. It’s a lot of effort to put together a treasure hunt. There must be something momentous at the end, and I had told Libby about a month earlier that I wanted him to propose through a treasure hunt, cause that would be awesome. And I said to Libby, “What are these hints you can give me?” She was, afterall, one of my two contact people for the treasure hunt. I asked, “Who’s the other contact person? Do you know? Is it Scott? I bet it’s Scott.” (For those not in the know, Scott is Mike’s best friend). Libby said, “Wait, I don’t know. I have instructions. It’s much too early. I have to read my email again.” While she read her email I reread my second clue:
“To continue, you must journey to the place where you replaced the old, and began something new.”
My first inclination was that maybe he was thinking about the car dealership where I got my new Mazda. I said to Libby, “I really hope I don’t have to go all the way to Pittsburgh, cause that would suck.” Then I said to Libby, “I’m going to go take a shower now. It’s much too early to be up.” And I hung up the phone.
I did not hurry in my preparation to leave. If the boy was going to start something so frickin’ early in the morning, he deserved to have to wait a bit. I reconsidered my clue and decided that it did not refer to Pittsburgh and instead referred to my new office in Fairmont.
While I showered and fed my Spencer dog, Libby text messaged me the following, “ur clue is within the morgantown area.” With the knowledge that the next clue was in Morgantown, the light bulb went on and I knew that I needed to go to Best Buy. Mike and I met face-to-face for the first time at the Best Buy in Morgantown. I was there replacing my VHS tapes with DVDs and I asked if he wanted to meet me there. He said yes and the rest is, as they say, history.
So, I got in my car with my Spencer dog (I figured that since Mike had taken Lorelai, we must be ending up somewhere dog friendly, probably Cooper’s Rock, the State Park where we had our first date, and it wouldn’t be fair to Spencer to leave him behind), and headed out; but not before texting Mike, against his explicit instructions, the following: “You could have at least fed the hounddog before you kidnapped it. Its going to be very hungry & cranky soon. Youll be lucky if she doesnt eat you. Not that you dont deserve it, thieving a hounddog. Who thieves a hounddog?” This was at about 7:00 a.m.
Spency and I drove to Best Buy. I looked around the front door of the building, but I found no manilla envelope. I reread my instructions and paid particular attention to the part that said that the clues would be hidden OUT of plain site. I looked under the Geek Squad cars parked out front. I looked on the base of all the light poles. I drove around the store and examined every inch of the building, but alas, there was no envelope. And then I saw a green electric box on the grass behind the store. I flashed back to my childhood when we use to play hide-and-seek at my dad’s house and I use to hide behind the green electric box in the front yard.
I went up to the electric box and looked at the back and found my next manilla enevelope and clue duck-taped to the back.
I read the third clue:
“To continue, you have to remember that sometimes things don’t go the best they can, it’s good to have a backup plan.”
I immediately knew that this clue referred to the restaurant Eat N’ Park (also lovingly referred to as Eat N’ Puke) a 24-hour diner-type restaurant. The food’s not horrible, but it’s not great. Better than Denny’s, not as good as Applebee’s. Mike had told me, probably sometime after our 1 year anniversary, that he had two restaurant choices picked out for our first date – Hibachi’s and Eat N’ Park. If things were not going well, and he never wanted to see me again, he intended to bring me to Eat N’ Park for dinner. We ended up going to Hibachi’s for dinner. Anyway, Spencer and I arrived at Eat N’ Park and I began looking for my next manilla envelope clue. This time it was not so difficult to locate – it was taped to the base of a light-post.
My next clue required me to stop and think for a minute. It said:
“To continue, you have to travel to the Far East, endure fire, and escape the natives spinning knives and splitting eggs. A far better location than where you just were.”
My immediate thought was that my next clue must be in Cumberland or Keyser. Afterall, both Cumberland and Keyser are 1 to 1 1/2 hours to the east of Morgantown, and I had lived there for over a year of our relationship during which time Mike drove there to see me nearly every weekend. But I reread the clue and certain words, such as knives and fire, made me reconsider. Put together with the line about a “far better location,” I decided that the clue really referred to Hibachi’s, the restaurant we had gone to on our first date.
My knowledge of how to get around Morgantown and where things are located in Morgantown is quite limited. It is getting better, but very slowly. I was very proud of myself for getting from Best Buy to Eat N’ Park without getting lost. However, I have only been to Hibachi’s once, on Mike’s and my first date. I needed someone to give me directions to Hibachi’s. I had two contacts I could use during my hunt to find the translation and rescue my hounddog. Libby would be no help – she can barely get around towns she’s lived in. I decided to call the other number. I was still unsure who would answer the phone at the other number. I was almost positive it would be Scott, but I didn’t know for sure. I dialed, and Scott answered the phone. This was probably around 7:45 a.m. or 7:50 a.m.
Scott sounded very groggy on the phone. I asked him if he had been sleeping. He said yes. I said, “That’s because it’s ridiculously early in the morning.” I told him I needed directions to Hibachi’s from Eat N’ Park. He provided them, I thanked him, and I hung up the phone. Spencer and I followed Scott’s directions and pulled into Hibachi’s parking lot. I got out of the car and began searching for my next clue. I looked on every inch of the building – twice. I looked up in the awning and on top of the awning. I looked on the loading dock and behind the wood platform things standing on the loading dock. I even looked in Hibachi’s mailbox. But I found no envelope, no clue. Then I looked at the landscaping. Hibachi’s has small bushes planted around the outside of the building. I looked at the bushes and thought to myself, I hope he didn’t tape it to one of the bushes. That thought came simultaneously with the thought, I bet he taped it to one of the bushes. I began looking through the bushes and, lo and behold, I found my next manilla envelope and clue.
The clue read:
“To continue, drive your kart on over for some laughs. Don’t forget to bring your evil plans or forget how to build your castle.”
This clue was quite easy to decipher, for the most part. I knew it referred to Mike’s house because on our first date we had played Mario Kart at his house and discussed how to be an Evil Villian. I had brought my Evil Villian Guide books with me. They are quite amusing. The only part I couldn’t figure out was the part about the castles, but I figured I’d go to Mike’s and look for the next clue and if I couldn’t find it, I’d call Libby or Scott for a hint.
I arrived at Mike’s house and I walked around the trailer toward Mike’s window. I tried to be quite so I would not wake up Natelle if she was still sleeping. When I came to the back door, I saw the last and final manilla clue envelope taped to the door.
I returned to the car with the envelope and opened it to reveal the location of my stolen hounddog. It said:
“The Grimoire’s location is all that is left. Buried deep in the forest, it could prove to be the hardest place to find. Bring the translations and find the spell. Your dog will be waiting.”
As I had suspected all along, I had to go to Cooper’s Rock State Park. I said to Spencer, “Don’t worry, Spency. Now we’re going to the fun puppy place, the place you will like.” On the way to Cooper’s Rock I stopped and purchased some bottled water for myself, Spencer, and Lorelai (I suppose I would have shared with Mike too if I had to). On our first date, Mike and I walked around Cooper’s Rock and didn’t take anything to drink. By the time we got back to the car, I was completely parched.
Around 8:30 a.m. or 8:40 a.m. Spency and I entered Cooper’s Rock. The clue did not give any indication of where, within Cooper’s Rock, I would find the evil thieving boy and my hounddog. My plan was to drive along the road until I found Mike’s car and then park there. That part of the plan worked fine. I parked my car, took my bag of water, and got my Spencer on a leash. There were three different paths by that parking area. I let Spencer decide which one to take and we started off.
Spencer and I walked along the path. Spency was very happy. He likes to walk in the forest. I tried calling Lorelai, but I got no response (not that I would have gotten a response normally, but you never know). I was looking at the ground to see if I could find some trace of where to go. I found what I convinced myself were Lorelai prints and told Spency he was a good dog for picking the right direction. We came to several forks in the road, and Spencer would pick a direction. Eventually, I again saw something and fooled myself into thinking we were going in the right direction. We came to a fork in the path where Spencer did not want to choose a direction; however, there were sticks on the ground forming an arrow pointing down one of the paths. I figured that Mike had put them there to let me know which way to go. I really thought I was going the right way then. Spencer and I kept walking. And walking. And walking. I cut my leg on pricker bushes and branches, but we kept walking.
After about 45 minutes, Spencer wanted to turn around and start back to the car. I was extremely frustrated. I kept Spencer going for a few more minutes but by then I realized that it was no use, we were not anywhere near where Mike was. It was at the point where I was so angry that I was about to call Mike and ask him where the f*** he was. I mean really, who says, you will find your dog “deep in the forest” and gives absolutely no directional indication at all. Cooper’s Rock is over 12,000 acres and has almost 50 miles of hiking trails. Spency and I could have looked forever and not found Mike and Lorelai.
Just as I had decided to go back to the car and call Mike and tell him that I was at the car and I was NOT moving and that he had better bring me my Lorelai hounddog, I received a phone call from Scott. He asked where I was. I said I was in the middle of the forest. He said that Mike called and that I should “look closer at the cars.” Spency and I followed the road back toward the cars and on the way I kept thinking, “look closer at the cars, what the hell does that me? Is there a clue on the cars?” (Turns out, Mike had told Scott to tell me to look closer TO the cars, but because of bad reception, Scott got the message wrong).
Just as the parking lot came into site, I noticed some movement in the woods off to my left. I turned and saw a sinister being standing there in a black robe in front of a sacrificial table.
The sinister being had my Lorelai chained up next to the table. Spencer and I headed through the woods toward the sinister being and I demanded, “Hey you, give me back my hounddog!” The only reply from the sinister being (who was, of course, Mike) was “did you bring the translation?”
I said yes and looked in my bag of water for the papers. But alas, the translation sheets were not there! I had left them in the car. I looked at the sinister being and said, “well it’s a good thing I remember the translation code.” (The code was just a straight number to letter configuration 65=A and on down until you reached 90=Z). I opened the final manilla envelope and found the magic that had to be translated in order for me to retrieve my hounddog at last.
I wrote out the translation code and said, with a smirk on my face, “I wonder what this could say?” The magic translated into “Will you marry me?”
As I finished the translation and looked up at Mike he presented my engagement ring in its black jewelry box, open and facing me. I looked at him, took the ring, and while putting it on my finger said, “Well, I suppose so, even though you did steal my hounddog.” Mike smiled. Then I said, more seriously, “Yes, of course I’ll marry you,” and I kissed him.
We gathered all of our stuff up and took it back to the cars (which were about ten feet away). Mike said he saw me drive in and go the wrong way but figured I’d turn around sooner. Lorelai did not seem to mind having been kidnapped. It turned out that Mike had fed her and even brought water for her to drink while waiting in the woods. Mike and I decided that since it was now about 9:30 a.m. or almost 10:00 a.m. and we were both hungry, that we should go get food. We decided to go to IHOP. We had to drive separately, of course, because we both had our cars there.
On the way to IHOP I called and told my dad that Mike and I just got engaged. Toward the end of the conversation, my dad asked what we were going to do to celebrate. I said, “Well, at the moment, we’re going to get food at IHOP.” My dad laughed and laughed like that was the funniest thing he’d heard in quite a while – celebrating an engagement by going to IHOP. Before hanging up the phone my dad said, “Have a good time at IHOP” and laughed again.
All in all it was the perfect proposal for Mike and me. I think that Mike’s decision to make it a treasure hunt shows that he knows me very well and loves me enough to do crazy complex things for me. I love my ring.
It’s perfect too.