Tamara opened the box, and a million expressions crossed her face in a second. She looked up at me with wonder in her eyes. I decided it was best to go formal and dropped to one knee. Milena thought it a game and gave me a garbled laugh.

"Marry me?" I asked as well as I could in Armenian. I would have gladly died for the smile that appeared on Tamara's face. I knew her answer before she spoke.

"Yes," Tamara said in heavily accented English. She dropped down to my level, Milena getting more excited, and kissed me like it was our last day on earth. It was the...