My first afternoon was spent doing interviews, which were a breeze because I pretty much knew who I wanted to hire. There were two very surprised single mothers whose income had just tripled overnight by the end of the day.
Saturday morning I had an appointment with the jeweler I’d trusted to make her ring. I was more nervous now that the shit was done than I was when I ordered it. That little velvet box held a lot of promise and responsibility in it.
Once I give her this shit I have to stay true to what it represents. It’s not that I’m not ready, I think I’ve been ready to make her mine two minutes after we met.
But my girl comes with a lot of baggage and I’m the man who’s gonna have to spend the rest of my life making sure I don’t fuck up and hurt her.
I don’t talk about this shit with her, but it’s never far from my mind. And after that little run-in with her dad I’m even more determined.
If she were anyone else I wouldn’t even consider the shit that I’m about to do. But because she means everything and because her heart has already been broken, I have to give her this.
I Facetimed her at nine that night and found her in the media room with a bowl of popcorn, already in one of my jerseys like she was ready for bed. “I thought you were going out, where’s Sherrie?”
I heard mom in the background and saw Travis in his usual chair. “Her sitter fell through, and since you took Trevor to Miami she couldn’t find anyone last minute. Her mom had something else planned.”
I hid my smile and didn’t even feel guilty about where I was headed. “I’ll take you dancing when I come home baby. So you’re staying in?”
“Looks like.” She didn’t seem too torn up about it as she stuffed her face with popcorn and argued with her brother about what movie they were going to watch.
Mom, who knew what I was up to, came on the screen and smiled at me before taking her seat next to my girl. “I’ll see you in the morning honey, I have to go fight Travis for the remote. Love you bye!”
I stood frozen in place for the next three minutes after the screen went dark. Did she know what she said? It was so casual, so effortless. My heart did its dancing shit and I had the biggest fucking grin on my face when Tony came to the door.
“What’s gotten into you? You kill somebody?”
“Shut up asshole, my girl just told me she loves me.” He rolled his eyes like a teenage girl and followed me out the door.
For the rest of the night I didn’t hear or see anything. Although I was the one who’d planned the evening it no longer held any real meaning for me. My mind and heart were back in New York with her.
She’d said those words so easily. Coming from her I know what that shit meant. I feel even more strongly now about the choice I’d made.
I didn’t really hear the music around me, or see the room full of friends that I’d asked to come here tonight. I just wanted the night to be over so I could get back to her tomorrow.
I was fucking floating on air and the loss of my freedom didn’t hurt nearly half as much as I
thought it would. In fact it didn’t hurt at all, because I knew that what I was getting was so much better.
In the morning I was like a kid about to go on a field trip. I’d barely slept the night before, too excited to get back to her.
“Did you remember the ring?” I patted my jacket pocket where I’d put it as I climbed into the backseat of the car for the ride home. It had been a long flight back, the longest, and Tony hadn’t made it any easier.
That ass ragged me all the way from Miami to New York with his shit. I made the mistake of telling him what she’d said again and he acted like it was no big deal. That’s when I stopped talking to his dumb ass.
“Hurry up I want to get home before she wakes up.” I took out her ring and looked at it again. Four carats of brilliant diamonds that shone almost as bright as she does.
“You think she’s going to like it? It’s not too big is it? What about the shape, you think she’ll like this one? Maybe I should’ve gone with the round one
instead of the princess thing.”
“Bruh, get a grip, you’re making the rest of us look bad.”
“Who’s us?”
“Men, anything with a dick. Damn bruh, she’s got you turnt.”
“Drive the damn car.” I picked up the newspaper and opened it blocking him from view. I wasn’t concentrating on the words until I got to the police blotter.