It was now six years after my visit to Great Gransden. Satisfied with the discovery of this lineage, I had continued to correspond with the Georges from time to time and was once again preparing for a trip to Europe. I had just finished putting together plans for the trip of a lifetime. Chuck had never been overseas, and we weren’t getting any younger. I wrote to Sheila that Chuck and I would love to visit Great Gransden and meet up with her and her husband, Phillip. We arranged to meet them when we returned to England from our tour of London, Paris, and Rome. We arrived in London on October eighteenth and our tour began. While in Paris, I was sure Chuck would surprise me and propose at the top of the Eiffel Tower. To my disappointment, I couldn’t even get him higher than the second level. It didn’t look like love was in the air, even up there, in the city of lights, the most romantic place in the world. Oh well, c’est la vie. We flew from Paris over the Alps to Rome and it was terrifying. But my fear of flying didn’t stop me from traveling. It did however require many gin and tonics, hand holding and a paper bag to control my hyperventilation. No wonder Chuck didn’t propose to me, I was, ok, I am definitely high maintenance. After a wonderful prolonged stay in Rome and a Mediterranean cruise, we flew back to London to meet my very good friends from Nottingham, Peter and Margaret. On November 14th, Peter drove us to the parish church of St Bartholomew in Great Gransden. I was thrilled that Chuck was finally inside the church that so many of his ancestors had attended. Peter promptly found a front row seat and Margaret roamed almost aimlessly. They were both acting strange. Chuck was tugging at me and pulling me to the front of the church making me very antsy. All along, I was complaining that he wasn’t taking in the wonder of all that his relatives had viewed. They actually saw these stained-glass windows, his great grandmother Sarah Ann Liles, along with her six siblings were christened right there, in that fifteenth century baptismal font. When we reached the front of the Church, he said “Will you stand up on the ledge, because I can’t kneel. I know you wanted to do this at the Eiffel tower, but I had this planned all along and thought it was the perfect place.” I started crying, so did Chuck. Chuck finally got me to listen long enough for him to propose. Pete was smiling ear to ear and laughing too. As it turns out, Chuck had given them a heads up on his plans. Indeed, it was a total surprise and the perfect place. How he kept that ring a secret for twenty-nine days was a miracle unto itself. Oh, by the way - I said yes. Within moments, Sheila and Phillip George entered the Church. We introduced ourselves and told them
Made with FlippingBook - PDF hosting