12 Days of Christmas Catch-Up: Our Anniversary Date

The plan was to have a little anniversary dinner at The Garden (sufficiently fancy, sufficiently affordable) and enjoy the lights on temple square.  The problem was that parking downtown was nearly impossible (it was the week before Christmas, folks). We should have been there around 4pm, but we couldn't leave Provo until after Wes's treatment and it was nearly 8pm when we strolled into the JSMB. 

It was a merry bustle inside the building.  In fact, we ran into the Haywards and the Reneers, two of our favorite Provo families who had just been to see the Joseph Smith film (December 23).

Were we there to see the film too, they asked?
I shook my head and said something about our anniversary and our dinner plans upstairs.
"At The Roof?"  President Reneer inquired.
"At The Garden,"  I corrected.

After hugs and pleasantries, we parted company.
"Salt of the earth," I said to Wes as we walked away.  He nodded and we climbed into our elevator.

"It'll be an hour,"  the hostess at The Garden told us.
"Thanks anyway," we said before heading back to the elevators. 
"That's ok," I told Wes, "They have that new Nauvoo Cafe downstairs." 
We waved one more time to Tia Hayward and Julie Reneer (who had come up to see the view) and we headed downstairs.

The twinkling cafe seemed pleasant enough.  I sent Wes to save a table and waited in line to order a couple of sandwiches.  As our cheese melted under the broiler, Wes approached me with his phone.  I raised my eyebrows at him.  It wasn't exactly a convenient time for a telephone conversation. 

"It's Tia Hayward," He said with a shrug of his shoulders. 

I took the phone and visited for just a second before the impatient customer behind me indicated that it was my turn to order sides.  "Hold on, Tia,"  I said.  "Um, horseradish, lettuce and tomato," I told the server.
"They're ordering their food!"  Tia whispered to someone on her end of the phone line.  Then she called to me, "Can you send your food back? Julie and I just got you a table at the Roof!"
The people behind me drummed their fingers.  The server looked at me expectantly.  Tia waited for my response.  After just a second of surprised immobility I laughed.  "Um, we've changed our plans,"  I stammered to the server.  "We're not going to eat here." 

I dashed out of line to avoid the embarrassment, tried to thank Tia and Julie over the phone for their sneaky, wonderful generosity, and quickly grabbed Wes out of his chair.  "Where are we going?"  He asked.
"To the Roof,"  I smiled.

Dinner was divine.  And the whole experience pretty much set the precedent for the remainder of our perfect evening together. 

We walked and talked through temple square.  Wes laughed at my mostly failed attempts at correct camera exposure. 

But we couldn't stay forever.  Had to find a water bottle so Wes could take his medicine. We made it to our car and started driving.  "Isn't that the little bed and breakfast we stayed at on our wedding night?"  I asked as we drove by The Inn on Capitol Hill. 
"Yeah, I think it is,"  Wes said. 
"Let's see if they'll give us a glass of water,"  I said, turning in.
"Lori!  No way!"  Wes said to me, mortified.
I parked. 
He protested. 

It actually took me a while to convince him we had a reservation and I that I wasn't just going in to beg for water.

    

So in the end, he was surprised. (I didn't think he would be. I'm horrible at surprises.)  And I was surprised by how familiar the old mansion felt.  Like we'd just been there yesterday. 

Wes didn't carry me up the stairs this time, but everything looked just how I had remembered: 

     

Cozy and romantic.

The next morning was Christmas Eve.
Before we left, Wes had a big seizure. 
I didn't freak out and call the paramedics. 
But I did pray and pray and pray and weep and weep and weep while I waited for him to pull through.
He did pull through. 

We had to reschedule breakfast.

But we had to do that eight years ago, too. 
So it seemed fitting.

  

When we got home (to Bountiful) our little ones were making pizzas for lunch with G and G and Aunt Julie. 

And we were grateful to be home with them.  Grateful to be together.  Lucy asked me to tell her everything, so I told her in detail about the beautiful restaurant with the fancy food and the Salt Lake temple right out the window, and about snuggling with Daddy by a warm fireplace in a cozy room with the Salt Lake temple still right out the window. 

She thought it all sounded perfect.
It all was.