It all began two years ago when a friend invited me to the Annual Pipers Ball at Manhattan College. As a girl from New Hampshire who had recently moved to Manhattan, I had never heard of a Pipers Ball, nor did I know anything about men in kilts!

The auditorium was filled with students, graduates and family members. The bagpipers’ sound was invigorating, and the accompanying drums kept rhythm like a strong, steady heart. I watched and listened in awe. But the music seemed to stop when a strikingly handsome piper caught my eye from across the room. He too had noticed me, and we spent the rest of the night exchanging interested glances.

As the evening came to an end, I approached the unknown piper and said, "Hello, my name is Nicole." He replied, "Hi, I’m Pat." We left together and danced all night at a local club. When I called my mother the next day I said, "Mom, I met someone and he wears a kilt!"

She said, curiously, "I always wondered if they wear anything under those kilts." I answered, "I wonder too."

The Healing Arts
My mother was a Catholic nun and my father a Catholic priest. They fell in love, left their commitments to celibacy for each other and now have been married almost 28 years.

We lived in the house my father built nearby a lake, which was my home until I left for the University of New Hampshire. While I was there I continued to coach a Special Olympics swim team, which I had been doing since my freshman year of high school.

After earning a degree in Occupational Therapy I interned at Yale New Haven Hospital and eventually moved to New York, where I took a job supervising an in-patient occupational therapy unit for schizophrenic residents. Two years later, I am still challenged every day.

Music and Computers
Patrick grew up in a small, Irish-American community in Queens. Because of an accident just before high school, he wasn’t allowed to participate in sports, so he turned to his next interest. He picked up a flute and joined the school band.

He went to Manhattan College and, in his senior year, learned the bagpipes and marched in his first St. Patrick’s Day parade. Three years later, he was named Pipe Major, in charge of directing the musical repertoire of the band.

Now he sells and supports specialized software applications.

Mystery, Intrigue, and ... A Certain Hesitancy
Patrick was intriguing to me, and I admired his passion for music. He was an excellent listener and a wonderful storyteller. Our first date was a romantic dinner and a long walk in Central Park in the unusually warm December air. We talked for hours.

At first we saw each other only a few times a month. He would spend Thursday and Friday nights "out with the boys," while I went to yoga and aerobics class. But every moment we spent together was magic and we loved surprising each other. One day, I came home from work to find my bedroom showered with long-stemmed roses.

The day Pat told me he loved me, I was overjoyed. He had captured my heart in a way I had never felt before, and I knew he was the man I wanted to marry. He had the qualities of a devoted and loving husband, and in my eyes our relationship was permanent.

But there was a fear in him that I could not understand. He had told me early in our dating that he would not want to get married for many years.

But living together felt right and we signed a lease for a new apartment. Moving in together was wonderful, yet it was difficult for me.

I was very much in love with Pat, yet distraught over the idea it could be a very long time before he was willing to commit to me at the altar. But I felt a trust in him I had never known before. I knew in my heart everything would work out right.

For a while, Pat and I did a lot of soul searching. We talked about dreams of the future and grew together.

Overcoming His Fear ... With Trust
Talking about marriage became less frightening to Pat. I continued to trust in him when at times I felt scared because he had not yet proposed. When I would express my fear to him, he would say, ‘I promise it will happen. Believe in my commitment to you.’

It seems like as soon as I was able to believe in him and trust in his love for me, everything changed.

My parents have always encouraged me to make decisions that feel right for me. I have developed a sense of trust that I can go for what I want, knowing that things will work out as they should.

Then he completely surprised me, by making the most beautiful demonstration of his love.

We were back at the Pipers Ball, two years since we had first met. Pat finished his solo, ‘Amazing Grace,’ and the band joined in for a final song. When the music stopped, the crowd cheered.

Pat walked over to me. He gently took me by the hand into the center of the floor. As 40 pipers and over 600 people watched intensely, Pat lowered himself to his knee.

He was holding the most beautiful ring I had ever seen. I said, "Yes!" and we kissed as we had never kissed before. The pipers started playing — leaving us in the center of the floor embracing.

Pat’s confident and romantic gesture will remain in my heart forever. We will be married in May, and I am not going to tell what is under those kilts!