62. October 1st, 2010 Picture.

October 1st was a Friday night, and I had plans to go out to dinner with Ratty and his mom. We made reservations at Galleria 33 and walked over to Hanover street to grab a drink. We tried a couple of different places, but many were packed full, without seats at the bar. It was pouring rain, which probably caused most bars to be busy, but I didn’t want to be standing en masse with a bunch of soaking wet people around me. Call me a snob.

We popped our heads into Tresca, a restaurant on Hanover street, and saw it was a lot calmer than most of the other bars on the strip, so we grabbed some seats at the bar and ordered some drinks.

I was pretty excited that night, not only to be out to dinner with Ratty and his mom, but because my dearest Erin Rowe was getting engaged that night. I knew, she didn’t, obvi. Her and her now fiancé had a trip to Jamacia planned, and were spending the night at a hotel near the airport since their flight was really early. The plan was, which Shaun ran by both me and our friend Mark, to go out to a nice dinner and propose. Ratty and I racked our brains for the nicest restaurant we could think of, without it being so romantic it would give the secret away.  We offered up Butchie (our ever so sweet pet name for Shaun) a few nice restaurants in the North End, on the complete opposite side of the neighborhood to assure there would be no accidental run-ins between us and the soon to be engaged couple.

While waiting for the ever so important phone call (to announce their engagement, to hear

about the ring AND be asked to be a bridesmaid, officially) I just sat back and enjoyed my

Moscow Mule, which was served traditionally in a copper mug. I started to glance around and noticed some photos of Cam Neeley, a past Bruins great who is revered in Boston. I asked Ratty why there were random pictures, and he informed me that we were sitting in Cam Neeley’s restaurant. He owned Tresca. Um, what? How did I not know that, I know EVERYTHING. You all will attest to that! I was in the middle of taking a picture of my napkin and of a framed photo on the wall, when Ratty pointed out that Cam was hanging out with a group of people directly behind us. I did my best to casually glance, to make it look like I see famous Boston icons all the time, but I am sure that I wasn’t as smooth as I’d like to believe I was. I wanted to take a picture of him, but that would have been so awkward. The place was busy, but not busy enough that I could go full out papparazi on him and he wouldn’t notice. I guess the picture of the napkin and the framed photo on the wall will just have to do!

Finally a little while later my phone rang and I jumped up and ran out side. Erin coolly said on the other end a simple ‘hiiiiiiiiiii’. She knew I knew. Butchie told her. Damn him for ruining a perfectly good secret! At least let her THINK she is telling me for the first time, I am really good at pretending to be surprised. I quickly got over it and let her gush to me about how he did it, what the ring looked like, and just how excited she was. For the record, Erin had been planning her wedding about 5 months leading up to the actual engagement, and I may or may not have called a few area hotels to see if there was availability for October 1, 2011. I also may have poured over catering packages with her, flower arrangements and bridesmaid dresses, before that ring was even on her finger. What I really love about this, is that Butchie proposed exactly 1 year before their wedding, October 1, 2010.

After standing in the rain for what felt like an hour, hearing Erin gush about everything (Erin isn’t really a gusher, I am elaborating slightly), I went back inside and shared everything with Ratty and his mom. We finished up our drinks and headed out to a nice dinner. Pretty good Friday night!