There was a point of waiting to the very last minute to do something, and I’d reached it.
I wasn’t a procrastinator by nature. Until my life had become so full that even escaping for an hour to visit a jeweler—in secret—was a feat.
“You told your girl that you were going out drinking, but you’re really getting her ring?” From the driver’s seat of his truck, Austin shook his head. “You’re supposed to lie about drinking, not use it as an excuse, dude.”
“It’s a thing with us,” I muttered. “Can this thing go any faster?”
“Not unless you’re going to pay my speeding ticket.”
“No time for speeding tickets. Besides, don’t you get special dispensation or something?”
“I work for the fire department, not the police. Who are also not above the law, thank you very much.”
I rolled my eyes at Austin’s indignation. “Fine, just step on it.”
“I’m stepping. I thought you were already engaged. Why do you need another ring?”
“I never gave her one.”
“Wow, lame.” Austin coughed into his fist. “Oh, I see.”
“It was a spur of the moment thing. I wasn’t prepared.”
“You didn’t ask her parents first?”
“Her parents are dead, unfortunately.”
“What about her priest?”
“I don’t think she has a priest. Is that a thing?”
He jerked a shoulder. “Seems like a good idea to ask a man of the cloth. He’d probably give you some of that premarital counseling. I could too, but mine would be short.” He flipped on his turn signal to veer down the street where the jeweler’s was located. “Run. Fast.”
“You’re just jealous.”
“Of regular sex? Yes. The rest?” He shuddered. “I might be ready for that when I’m like sixty-eight.”
“Such a precise age.”
“Well, I have the better part of a decade until my kid sister is old enough to move out, and I’m not going to confuse her with relationships that might not last.”
“Marrying kind of ensures they’ll last.”
“Are you a hippie?”
“No?”
Austin shook his head. “Just saying, I don’t want to mess with Joey’s head. So, by then I’ll be pressing forty, and I figure with Viagra, I’m probably good to go for another thirty years. By sixty-eight, I’ll be ready for canasta tournaments and a pair of lounge chairs in Florida.”
It was my turn to shudder as he stopped the car in front of Zagan’s Jewelers. “Your idea of the future is horrifying.”
“Least my expectations leave room for improvement.” He shrugged and got out of the truck.We walked inside and I informed the woman behind the counter I was picking up a special order that I’d already paid for. She emerged a few moments later with a small green box. Without prompting, she popped open the lid.
Inside, nestled on fabric the same green, was Gran’s vintage engagement solitaire ring with two important additions—a small canary yellow diamond on one side for Lily and a small green diamond on the other side for our daughter. Or son, if my spidey sense turned out to be wrong.
I smiled at the jeweler. “It’s perfect, thank you—” I broke off as my phone buzzed in my pocket with Hannah’s ring tone. And she was calling, not texting. “One moment, please.”
I stepped away to take her call. “Hey, you. I’m almost done—”