Rough Justice (Cainsville 5.5)

"The point of being with someone, Gabriel, is that you don't have to handle things alone."

"I just wanted..."

"To fix it without upsetting me. I know. But what do you think would upset me more? Navigating this problem together from the first time Seanna pulled that crap? Or watching you struggle for months and not knowing what was going on?"

He nodded.

I continued, "You're right that this makes me wonder whether we made the right choices with Seanna. Choices I championed. But that only means that I take responsibility for resolving this with Rose."

He paused in the front hall. "I'll understand if you'd rather I just dropped you off and went back to Chicago."

I sighed and shook my head, and then waved him into the living room. "This is what we need to work on, Gabriel. Being upset with you doesn't mean I want to get away from you. Okay, maybe, if I'm pissed enough, I'll need time to myself. Temporarily. But I'm not..." I turned to face him. "I'm not going anywhere."

His nod claimed he understood, but the wary look in his eyes said he wasn't so sure. Or that my declaration wasn't enough. Wasn't clear enough. Did I mean I wasn't going anywhere today? In the near future?

I motioned for him to sit on the sofa. Then I took the other end, my purse still in my hand. He kept looking at it, as if that belied my assurance that I wasn't about to flee.

"When I was a teenager," I said, "sometimes guys gave rings to girls they'd been dating for a while. Not an engagement ring--they were too young for that. But a ring that said marriage was where they were heading, eventually. A promise ring."

"Would you like...?" he began cautiously.

I burst into a laugh. "Uh, no. That isn't a hint. Not exactly how I operate, if you haven't figured that out."

I reached into my purse and took out a rolled-up sheet of paper. When I handed it to him, he hesitated.

"I'm not serving you a summons," I said.

He took the paper and then saw the ring on it.

"Yeah, it's a ring," I said. "But just ignore that."

>

His brows arched.

I made a face. "I mean you don't have to wear it. I know you don't wear jewelry. It's symbolic."

He tugged the ring off and turned it over in his hand.

"Be happy it isn't one of those high school promise rings with a diamond chip," I said. "Or a big rock of cubic zirconia."

He held the ring up. It wasn't exactly the result of days of careful shopping--I'd been in a hurry--but I'd tried to choose with care, visiting several stores before I found a simple band with a pale blue sapphire.

"Yes, it matches your eyes," I said.

He smiled and slipped on the ring.

"It probably won't--"

"It fits." He looked at me. "Thank you."

"Well, like I said, that's not really the gift. The ring is symbolic. And even the gift isn't actually..." I exhaled. "Just open the paper."

He unscrolled it to find a picture.

"This is..." He tilted his head as he studied the photo. "It's the cabin I rented for us last winter. The one on the lake. Yes?"

"I offered to buy it."