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We fast forward three weeks later, where Lani and Mike are in Paris... Chapter 3, The Proposal  Everything was all set with Debbie. She already told Lani that Wednesday evening, she was going to meet up with her Parisian friends, so that Lani and I would be on our own. "Hmm..." Debbie suggested, "maybe you guys should go check out one of those boat tours -- I heard they're really fun." Lani responded, "That's a great idea! What do you think, Mike?" Lani was completely clued out to what was going on... the plan was working perfectly. On Tuesday evening, we went to the Eiffel tour, which happens to be right by where Bateaux-Mouches's port is. As we were in line to get tickets to go up, I told them that I wanted to run over to Bateaux-Mouches's ticket office to try and a pair of tickets for Wednesday night. When I got there though, they said that they only sell tickets day of. Hmph. This worried me a little bit because there were a ton of tourists (incidentally, probably all from the US =) that were in line, and so I was worried that if we had to buy the tickets then and there on Wednesday night, we risked the chance of not getting on the boat at all. But, there wasn't really anything that I could do about it at that point. I thought to myself, "Well, I'll just make sure we make it to the port early." The next day, we decided to spend our early evening at the Centre Georges Pompidou (Paris's Museum of Modern Art). Lani just strolled around through all the exhibits, fascinated by all the modern art works. I was more preoccupied by the time. It was already getting late, and I was worried that we wouldn't be able to get a ticket to go on the tour.  Before going on the boat ride, we stopped by the Museum of Modern Art, where I was taking my time looking at the exhibits. Mike seemed like he was in a rush, but I didn't know why. So I finally gave into his pleas to leave, and we headed out to the river.We ended up missing the 9:30 boat, but we were in the front of the line for the 10:00 one, which allowed to pick out the best seat possible... in the back (which was uncovered) along the very side, which would give us the most privacy. I had her sitting on the left of me. But only after we sat down did I realize this was going to be an issue... because the ring was in my left pocket!I was too nervous to take pictures during the cruise, so I handed my camera to Lani, and as she started taking pictures, I managed to "subtly" move the ring from my left pocket to my right. Too bad there were some tourists sitting next to me (who incidentally were also from the Bay Area) who looked at me a little funny when they saw me doing some funny business with my hands and my pockets. I was happily clicking away, capturing blurry images of the Paris night sky, oblivious to Mike's fidgeting. The boat finally hit its halfway point and turned around, we approached yet another bridge, and this time, I heard the tour guide announce, "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 immediately asked Lani, "Hey are you going to do this?" And she enthusiastically said, "Sure!" And then I said, "Ok, me too!"As we went under the bridge, we both closed our eyes, and when we opened them, I said, "So... what did you wish for?" She responded, "I can't tell you. If I do, it won't come true!" Then I coyly asked, "Well, can I tell you what I wished for?" And she responded, "No! Because it won't come true!" Then I responded, "Well, let's see about that..." as I slid the ring onto her finger. "Lani Giffin, will you marry me?" I was shocked. I did not see this coming at all! My first response was "No way!!!" which I repeated a couple of times. A million questions raced into my mind, and I began asking them when Mike interrupted me and said, "Hey, before I answer all your questions, can you first answer my question?"Of course, my response was "YES!" =P |
