Tom was my penpal for a year before we met up in London for the day. We were both 15. At the end of the day, he asked me out. At first I hesitated as he lived miles away in Hampshire, whilst I lived in north-west London, but he convinced me that the distance wouldn’t be a big thing! Of course, young love is usually a short-lived thing and three months later, I called it a day.We kept in touch by mail and were best friends. He knew all about my boyfriends, exam stress and going to uni. I knew all about his girlfriends, exams and his uni! We met up a few times as friends, but one day something magical happened and I realised that I’d fallen in love with my best friend! Fortunately, he felt the same way too!We had even bigger distances between us than when we were teenagers. I had to spend a year in Germany as part of my degree, whilst he lived with his parents in Devon. Then, as I was completing my degree in Aberystwyth, he lived with friends in London. After two and a half years of long letters and huge phone bills, I finished my degree and we moved in together. We’ve now been living together for almost four very happy years and recently Tom has brought up the subject of marriage. I thought I might have a Millennium proposal, but soon after Big Ben had chimed in the year 2000, he fell asleep! I abandoned all hopes of ever being asked! A month later, he gave me tickets to see La Bohème for my birthday. After two weeks, we set out for a day in town, looking forward to an evening of culture. The day was great and the opera was fantastic! Afterwards we went to the pub “for a pint”. Three pints later, we went for a walk to Trafalgar Square, where, not only did he ask me to marry him whilst on one knee, but he produced the most beautiful sapphire and diamond engagement ring I ever seen!Somehow, he’d also managed to sneak a bottle of Bollinger into the fridge, so we were able to celebrate in style!It’s taken us 12 years to get here and to think, it all started with a letter!
