As I kneeled on one knee in front of Drew, I saw him staring down at me in a mixture of embarrassment and curious excitement.

"Eric," he whispered. "What are you doing?"

I simply stared into his eyes in silence. I thought of grabbing his feet and placating his wonder with a sudden foot massage, but I realized there was nothing that could take me away from this moment. I wanted it to be 100% intimate-in front of our friends-a declaration of our love and strength.

Silence quickly fell across the table and I could feel everyone's eyes on me.

"Eric?" pleaded Drew, his voice conveying the curious possibility and knowledge of what I was about to do.

I reached into my pocket and pulled out the small jewelry box. Drew's eyes were suddenly as large as saucers. He couldn't look at me, the "ahhs" echoing around us. I opened the box, presenting a simple gold band to Drew.

"What are you...?" mumbled Drew, his face clearly realizing the truth, but unable to admit what I was doing.

"Will you marry me?" I calmly asked, my intent stated with simple openness.

I could see his hands were shaking as he held them to his face, stunned, his beautiful blue eyes peering through his fingers.

"You have to ask?" he laughed outloud. The tension in the room relaxed, but I held firm.

"Yes, Drew. I have to ask." I stated once again. Our eyes locked, and I could tell he got it. In that moment we were two people joined together in ourselves-our own sense of self and as a couple. "Will you marry me?"

He reached out and touched my face, almost as if confirming if this moment was real. "Yes, Eric. I will marry you."

The clapping around us sounded like water as he reached forward and kissed me. This man was my soul mate, my life partner, my best friend-and he just confirmed our vows-after everything that we'd been through, that we would remain together until the day came when one of us would die.

And even then, would that stop us? I wasn't about to get esoteric, but I like to believe that time on planet earth is just that-time-and in the end, it's only marginally important. It's the life lived, not the time involved. Why not take every minute you can?

Yes, Drew and I had been to hell and back several times-filled with disappointments, regrets, and sorrows. But it's no mistake that our lives were still intertwined-still together.

"I love you," I said.

"I love you, too," responded Drew, planting another kiss across my lips, his arms not moving from around my shoulders.

I took the ring and placed it across Drew's left hand, sliding it down his ring finger. A perfect fit. When I glanced up, I could see Steve barely holding on-hiding his emotion. Everyone else stared at us in fascination, quiet fascination.

It was at that moment I knew I had finally done something right.