Page 54 of Finding Parker

“The Celtic ring. The five carat display. We’ll take it,” Kenton turned to face the display case.

I cleared my throat as I turned to face Ryan. In two steps, I was standing at the edge of the case. I realized I shouldn’t touch the glass, but I wanted to make a statement. Proper or not, I placed my hands against the leading edge of the glass, and looked him in the eye as he stood holding the ring. His face began to fill with confusion.

“I’ll take it,” I smiled proudly.

Ryan smiled and wiped the ring with the cloth he held, “Fabulous, Parker. We have many options in regard to structured payment. Let me get the paperwork.”

As I was turning toward Kenton for verbal direction regarding the payment, he responded to Ryan.

“We’ll pay cash. Or a wire transfer if that’s acceptable,” Kenton glanced toward Downes as he spoke.

Downes nodded his head once. Kenton turned and tilted his head toward Ryan, “Wire transfer?”

“A wire transfer would be acceptable, yes,” Ryan grinned as he laid the cloth down and reached under the display case.

Ryan produced a business card and held it at arm’s length, “Let me provide you with our account information.”

Kenton reached for the card with his left hand, and without looking, fluidly flipped his hand over his shoulder as he held it between his thumb and forefinger. Downes took the card from Kenton’s hand and smiled. Immediately, Downes turned away and removed his cell phone from his inner jacket pocket. It was as if they’d performed this maneuver a hundred times.

As I stood in front of the display and attempted to catch another glimpse of the ring while Ryan polished it with the cloth, Kenton stepped back to my side and placed his hand on my shoulder.

“Ten to fifteen minutes for the transfer,” Downes said sharply from behind where we stood.

“Well, that should give me time to get the certification for the stone from the safe and quickly polish it for delivery, excuse me gentlemen,” Ryan said as he turned and walked toward the rear of the store.

“Well, I’m sure Victoria will be quite shocked and rather pleased. So, what about the wedding? Soon?” Kenton asked.

“I’d prefer it to be, yes. You know how I am, rather conventional. Well no, I think they call it old school now. I feel a need to get her away from her mother’s house and have her live with me. It’s something I can’t do in the absence of marriage. We can’t live together out of wedlock, I wouldn’t dream of it,” I responded.

Kenton grinned and squeezed my shoulder in his hand, “One of the many things I like about you Parker, one of many.”

As I silently stood and waited for Ryan to return, I realized although Kenton wasn’t my biological father, he had taken on many of the duties of a father. Through the course of our friendship, even initially, his advice to me was always well thought out, and noteworthy. His excitement over my announcement to propose marriage to Victoria was quite cute, and far from what I had expected. All in all, I viewed Kenton as the closest thing to a father I could ever expect to have, and for this I was truly grateful. Filled with gratitude, I tilted my head toward him and smiled. Without speaking he smiled in return.

“Thank you,” I whispered.

“For?” he asked in a whisper.

“For,” I hesitated.

“For being you.”

PARKER. I stood at the window staring out into the courtyard as I held the ring tightly with the polishing cloth the jeweler so graciously provided. I turned the ring in my fingers, causing the light to reflect through the diamond differently. Each facet changed colors with the minutest movement of my hand. I had been standing here for no less than an hour admiring the ring and trying to develop a way to meet Victoria for dinner and not tell her I wanted to marry her.

As excited as I was, Kenton remained far more enthusiastic than I. For a man who found zero value in telephone conversations, he had called half a dozen times in the last three hours asking when we were going to have dinner next. His level of excitement was beginning to cause me to become more nervous, if that was even possible.

If you have something you feel a need to say, simply say it. Anything more causes you to look foolish and indecisive.

I often wonder if my grandmother will haunt me until the day I die. It seems everything I question in life, if she hasn’t already provided the answer, Kenton surely will at some point. Considering the vast knowledge regarding life the two of them share, it’s a shame they will never have an opportunity to meet. I walked to the table, wiped the ring free of smudges, and placed it in the velvet lined slot of the crystal box. Then, I picked up my phone and scrolled to Victoria’s number, and pressed send.

Before the first ring was complete, she answered.

“Hey,” she breathed into the phone.

“How do you feel?” I asked.

“Oh, pretty good now. I took some Tylenol and my headache’s gone. Probably just too much time in the sun, I’m guessing.”

“I see. Well, I’m glad you’re feeling better. So, Kenton was wondering when we’d like to come over to eat. He’s itching to get together,” I asked.