Man Proposes in Ordinary Way

(Hermantown)

Woman, Waitstaff Sorely Disappointed

At Hermantown's Tejas Bar and Grill, the stage was perfectly set today when John Price, 31, proposed to his girlfriend of 4 years, Lisa Wadhwani. Just as Wadhwani was about to take her first bite of her steaming enchiladas verdes, Price bent down beside her on one knee and softly said, "Lisa, will you marry me?"

The proposal came as something of a surprise to Wadhwani, although Price had asked her to go 'jewelry shopping' just two days prior. "I thought he was narcissistic or something. He kept asking which rings I thought would look good on him. I never meant for him to buy me this ugly wide-band gold ring with a 3-carat piece of bixbite."

Bixbite, a common gem found in Utah, is of a reddish hue and is generally used in lasers. "I really thought it was her favorite stone," a sheepish Price admitted later, explaining, "I would've bought the return policy if I had known. It was $10,000!"

Prior to the proposal, Gordo Houston, general manager at Tejas, approached Price with an offer to make the evening special. "We've done all kinds of things here. Two guys in the kitchen play violin - we've done that before. They don't mind. We put things in food all the time - she almost never swallows it. One time, we even brought in a donkey. It held the ring in its mouth. That was one well-trained donkey!"

Price doesn't regret his approach. "If there's one thing Lisa hates, it's excitement. She just can't stand things that are out of the ordinary." For her part, Wadhwani did just get back from a mountain climbing expedition where she reached the summit of Mount Everest, a feat now performed by thousands of regular people each year. She believes, however, that it was fate. "John and I met in the most regular way - at a bar, where I was dancing on his table while he did shots. So even though he could've proposed when we went hang gliding in the Poconos last month, I'm glad he saved it. It was less memorable this way."

Wadhwani did not offer Price an immediate response to his proposal, and it was with some trepidation that they both retired to their shared Duluth apartment.