It only took a minute to walk to the nearest branch of Tiffany & Co. We paused outside one of its large windows with the stone arch and signature blue banners hanging down.
Nick shuffled around and tugged at his hair. I really wished he’d get it cut – I couldn’t believe there wasn’t a dress code for pilots; surely all those golden curls risked flopping into his eyes at an inopportune moment?
‘You look nervous,’ I observed quietly. Or as quietly as anyone could speak with the traffic and the crowds passing by. I pulled out a packet of mints and offered him one. ‘Beth doesn’t know you’re going to propose. I doubt it’s on her mind. You can give yourself a little longer. There are Tiffany stores in London.’
‘No. That’s not it. I want to do this.’ He took a mint and crunched down on it. ‘I’m just worried I’m going to pick the wrong ring. What does it say about my understanding of her, if I have no clue about the type of ring she’d like?’
I shrugged. ‘I suppose it says that you’re the type of man who doesn’t pay attention to jewellery. That’s all. It’s only a ring. Buying a ring from this kind of place.’ I waved the packet of mints towards the cream stone exterior. ‘It’s a symbol isn’t it? A status thing. You pay two and half times your monthly salary for it, the rock will be huge, and she realises you must be serious.’
‘So cynical,’ he scoffed. ‘Who made up the rule about how much you have to spend?’
‘Consumer capitalists.’
He huffed a quiet laugh.
‘You could always propose and then take her with you to pick a ring,’ I suggested.
‘That’s not exactly the traditional way. It might come as a disappointment.’
‘Beth doesn’t strike me as a traditional sort of woman.’
‘What’s that supposed to mean?’ He instantly tensed and I waved my hands at him in a calming gesture.
‘Stand down, stand down. She’s not one for peer pressure, is she? That’s all I mean. She doesn’t worry about what people think. She serenaded you from a tree for goodness’ sake.’ I laughed.
His shoulders relaxed and he smiled at the memory. ‘Yeah, okay. But that’s part of the pressure I think – she’s good at the grand gestures like that.’
‘Is a grand gesture vital?’
‘It’s supposed to be a momentous occasion isn’t it?’
‘Then I hope your account has a healthy balance.’
He rolled his eyes and shoved his hands in his pockets. ‘Shall we go see what they’re like then?’
Their air conditioning was turned up to the ice-palace setting and there were bright lights shining in the tall glass cases across the floor. The hush and thick grey carpet, which muffled our footsteps, gave it the feel of a library. A polite saleswoman talked to us for a few moments, trying to ascertain whether we needed help and what the budget was, then directed us to an engagement ring display, and left us to fetch complimentary coffee.
‘None of these look right,’ Nick lamented after twenty minutes of staring at white gold bands and varying designs of diamonds set into them.
I could see what he meant. They were very flashy. Beth wasn’t into flashy displays of wealth. She needed something more delicate and sentimental. The image of our mum’s ring came to mind. She’d been buried wearing her wedding ring but the engagement one, we’d kept. It was a twisting vine of gold with small inset diamonds, rather than one large rock.
I took Nick by the elbow, to get his attention. He stopped chewing his thumbnail and raised his eyebrow at me.
‘You should give her Mum’s ring,’ I said softly.
‘What?’
‘Mum’s engagement ring. I have it at my place in London. In the safe.’
His eyes took on a shine that had a lump coming to my own throat, but he cleared his throat and shook his head slightly. ‘But what about you? And don’t make a joke about it not suiting you,’ he forestalled me with quiet ferocity.
‘You know I’m never going to need it.’
He threw another look at the cases and then shook his head again. ‘Okay, we’re done here. Let’s go.’
I didn’t argue but it wasn’t exactly the kind of attitude that made me think I’d just answered his prayers. We went back outside, and he went over to the nearest hot dog vendor and brought back two enormous hot dogs, dripping onions and relish.
‘I got you one because I figured that you would never buy yourself one,’ he told me sharply, holding it out. ‘It has to be done when you’re in New York.’
