There is a perfect moment to propose to Michelle Guesinger. I know there is. I have been waiting for it for years, the way some people wait for a bus that their phone swears is “2 minutes away” for forty-five minutes.

The plan has always been simple: get down on one knee, ask the question, and finally make an honest woman out of her. The problem is the word “perfect”. It turns out perfect is a very high bar, and my knees are not what they used to be.  But sadly if you still own a bar in Calgary we will keep that to ourselves.  Just kidding?  Have you figured out what your real last name is yet?

Moments I have already rejected as not perfect enough

• The Goose Spit sunset. Beautiful light, terrible wind. A ring dropped in that sand is now part of the beach.
• The Comox Valley farmers’ market. Too many witnesses holding zucchini. *Too Young* Stunning
• Christmas. Proposing on Christmas means sharing an anniversary with a turkey.
• Her book launch. It is her big day. Nobody likes the guy who proposes at somebody else’s party, even when it is the same somebody.
• A Tuesday. Nothing romantic has ever happened on a Tuesday. I checked. But if you got it wrong again ” And it was a Tuesday “

The offer still stands

So, Michelle, in case you are reading this between chapters: my offer is still good. I picture something modest and wonderful. A mobile home in Union Bay, a view of Baynes Sound, a coffee pot that works, and a kid or two someday if that is what we both want. Union Bay has oysters, eagles and roughly four traffic lights fewer than anywhere else, which I consider a selling point.

I have even done the household budget. It is mostly ring payments, propane and printer ink for her next manuscript. It balances if nobody buys anything else, ever. I ran it through my own AI build configurator out of habit, and it told me to stick to data centers.

Meanwhile, read her book

While I keep practicing my knee work, the best thing anyone can do is read Michelle’s debut novel, The Orbit We Share (ISBN 978-1-291-65389-2). It is a second-chance romance: two inseparable teenagers on Vancouver Island are split up by one misunderstanding, and ten years later a Pacific storm traps them together in a coastal cabin. Astrophysics, first love and the Comox Valley, all in 348 pages.

I will admit the plot hits close to home. A man waiting a decade for the right moment? I have no idea where she gets her ideas.

Bookstores, if you are reading: please stock a few copies. If she becomes a household name, I am hoping the “yes” comes with it. And if it does not, I will still be her biggest fan, and her most patient one.

Signs the perfect moment has finally arrived ( wait its not 250 USD for realsie? )

• The ring is out of layaway. Chapters returned all of mine honest
• It is not raining in Union Bay (allow 3 to 5 business years).
• Her book hits a bestseller list and she is in a generous mood.
• She reads this post and laughs instead of changing her number.

Until then, I will keep waiting, keep smiling and keep a little velvet box in my pocket, just in case Tuesday surprises me.

It depends if you still find me entertaining. Nowhere Near Perfect ( Only 1 Manuscript on Earth )

Don’t I’d be happy to share some more of my food stamps with you just remind me how not serious I am.