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“He’s trying to go cheap already. Told you. So, let’s go to the Farmer’s Market and get our asses home before we get tossed out to sea.”
“Rubbish. I’m not trying to go cheap. I’m trying to make sure I don’t get a generic ring, because my Zoe isn’t generic. It doesn’t matter if it’s large, I’m not buying her just anything.” I crossed my arms. “If I have to wait to find the perfect piece, I’ll wait.”
“Now he’s pussying out. We might as well have not made this trip. Waste of gas.”
“You’re a waste of gas,” I muttered, flipping him the middle finger when he looked back at me. “How can you be a crochety old man when you aren’t even thirty? That doesn’t compute.”
“Wait until you have children.”
Simon snorted. “Right. Because you shot rainbows out of your ass before then.” He signaled and pulled up near a strip of shops. “I’ll go park. You two can get out here.”
All I saw was a stand for Indian food, a variety-type store, and a store advertising colorful women’s dresses. “Where are we supposed to go?”
“Over there, there’s a jewelry shop.” Simon pointed vaguely up the street, though I couldn’t tell where he was indicating between the palm fronds bending in the wind and the clusters of people hurrying past. “I’ve bought a few things for Margo there before. She loved them. Take a look. See if there’s anything Zoe might want.”
“You better not be dropping us off and going home. If I get stuck here with this chucklehead—”
“Jesus, I’ll be right back, conspiracy theorist. Go.”
We got out and lo and behold, I noticed the small shop Simon had indicated a little ways away. We rushed toward it, hunching our shoulders against the wind, Nick muttering about how he was never going on vacation with Simon again, not even if he paid him.
“I doubt that’s much of a threat for him,” I yelled back over the rising wind. “You’re not exactly jovial.”
“Sorry I’m not Rainbow Care Bear like you are.” He grabbed the door and motioned me inside.
We hushed up the moment we stepped inside the rarefied air of the jewelry store. They were playing classical music, and the woman and man behind the glass-fronted counter stared at us as if we’d been dragged in by the storm.
Which we had been, sort of.
“How may we help you?” The woman spoke in accented English and patted her dark updo with a hand covered in rings. “We’re closing soon, due to the hurricane.”
“Tropical storm,” Nick corrected her. “It’s been downgraded.”
“Are you from the islands?”
“No. I’m from California.”
She smiled. “Then we are closing soon because of the hurricane.”
I coughed into my fist. “Hello, I would like some help purchasing an engagement ring, please.”
“He needs a lot of help. He’s virtually clueless. Do you even know her ring size?”
“Six. My Zoe has dainty hands.”
Nick rolled his eyes. “Christ, save me.”
“Of course, sir. We have a selection of rings that should suit. If you don’t mind if we should be so bold as to ask your budget?”
I named a figure that made Nick slap his hand across my mouth. “He doesn’t have that much money. Really. He just heard he can’t buy a nice ring for any less.”
I shoved him back. “What do you think you’re doing?”
“One second.” He held up a finger and gave the woman and man a gritted-teeth smile before dragging me away from the counter. “Do you not know anything about haggling? Especially haggling on the island? With talk like that, they would’ve sold you a colored piece of glass and emptied your wallet.”
“I’m sure that’s not true. They seem like nice people.” Then again, when I looked back at them over my shoulder, the woman was laughing behind her hand and pointing at us. I frowned. “Okay, maybe not.”
“Trust me, you have to drive a hard bargain. Watch and learn, boyo.” Nick strutted up to the counter and slapped down his wallet, naming a figure that made me choke on a laugh. “My friend will pay no more than that. What do you have?”
