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Chapter 2, The Planning  I called my parents right away after Mike's return because I wanted to know how the visit went. I said, "Just tell me if you said yes or no. That's all I want to know. I don't want to know if you know anything about the proposal. I want that to be a surprise." My parents said, "Don't worry, we gave him our blessing."I was dying to know what was going on in Mike's mind and how he was going to propose. But, I put it in the back burner of my mind thinking that it wouldn't be for a while. Surely, he wouldn't propose during our trip to Europe because it would be very risky to travel with a diamond engagement ring.  A few days later, I went back to Shane and Company and picked up the ring. It was perfect. I was on cloud nine. I couldn't wait until Europe and Paris! But one thing... how was I going to propose?I spent the next two weeks racking my brain out, trying to figure out where in Paris I should do it. Eiffel Tower? A romantic dinner? On a river cruise? After checking out a bazillion websites on and about Paris, I figured the best idea would be an evening cruise down the River Seine. But most of the websites I looked at only offered really expensive (as in $200 per person) cruises. It was only a week and a half before I was to head out to Europe, and I still needed to get a hold of Lani's co-worker, Debbie, to lay out the plan (the three of us were going to be traveling together while in Paris). After a few more days of searching, I finally found it: Bateaux-Mouches. They offered an evening cruise that goes up and down the Seine showing us all the sites lit up by Paris's night sky, but it didn't force us to have dinner so that we could have more flexibility. On the same day I decided on Bateaux-Mouches, Peter (my client while I was on Equip in South Africa) randomly IMed me. He said that he was actually IMing me from London! I told him, "Hey, I'm actually going to Europe next week! I'll be heading to the UK, Ireland and Paris." He responded, "Oh! My wife and I were just in Paris – it's very romantic." I then said, "Actually..." and then I proceeded to tell him about my engagement plans. He was very excited for me, offered me congratulations, and then asked, "But Mike, do you mind if I make a suggestion? When we went to Paris, we did a boat cruise, as well. And right after the halfway point when we turned around to come back, the tour guide said, ‘We're about to approach the oldest, and most romantic bridge in Paris. When we go under the bridge, if you close your eyes and make a romantic wish, your wish will come true.' I'm not sure if you can do anything with that, but I thought I might throw that suggestion out there for you." I got excited. "Peter... do you remember the name of the boat cruise you went on? Was it Bateaux-Mouches?" He responded, "Yep, that's the one!" It was perfect. It was less then a week before I was to leave for Europe to meet up with Lani and Pam who were already in London. And I was all set to go. |
