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The Australian-accented voice coming out of the navigation app on his phone tells him to turn left onto Walnut Street, and our destination will be on the right. Looking ahead, I see the three-story, old grey brick building with teal blue awnings. Guess we’re really going to get a ring. When it’s time to go big or go home, looks like Jamie went big.
“You really doing this, huh? Asking Charlotte to marry you?” I get out and lean against the door while Jamie pays the parking meter.
He looks over the top of the meter at me, then straightens. “What gave it away, Murph? Was it standing in front of Tiffany’s or me announcing it to the locker room today?” He puts his credit card back in his wallet. “Come on. Let’s go get my girl’s ring, and then we can grab something to eat. I’m in the mood for cheesesteaks.”
After walking through a vestibule area with an armed security guard, we enter the main store, and I take in all the different cases full of jewelry. This place is bigger than I expected. I follow Jamie to a counter where he lets a beautiful woman know he’s here to pick up his ring and hands her his receipt. She’s dressed in a tight, white button-down blouse with the top two buttons open, displaying an expensive rack to match the expensive store. She smiles sweetly. “Yes, Mr. Dawson. I’ll be right back with it. Feel free to look around.”
“I’ll bet they want me to look around. I just dropped my life savings on this ring. There’s no money left for me to look around with.”
I hear Jamie saying this as I start to look around at the displays in the store. At least I planned to, but I stop a foot away from where I was standing. I don’t have to look any further. There’s a shiny silver charm bracelet with a delicate crown charm hanging from one loop. It’s perfect. A different saleswoman, dressed similarly to the one helping Jamie, must see fresh meat when she locks eyes on me and beelines over. “Welcome to Tiffany’s. My name is Clara. Can I show you something, sir?”
I point to the bracelet. “Can I see that?”
“Of course, sir.” She takes it out of the case and places it on a black velvet cloth for me to see. “This is our classic charm bracelet in sterling silver.”
I touch the crown and watch it sparkle in the light before looking back at her. “I’ll take it.”
“Wonderful.” I hand her my credit card. “I’ll just ring you up over here.” She points behind her as Jamie comes over.
“See something you like, Murph?”
I nod down to the bracelet in front of us. “Yeah. This just reminded me of Sabrina.”
“You gonna man up, Murph? Or are you waiting for a written invitation? You’re not in high school anymore, man. What’s the point in waiting when you know what you want?”
Clara comes back over and hands me a little teal blue bag and my card and receipt. “Thank you for shopping with us today, Mr. Murphy. Please let me know if there is anything else you need.” She smiles coyly before walking away.
Jamie grabs the receipt out of my hand. “She wrote her fucking number on the back, man.” He looks disgusted. “This what you want, Murph? An easy hookup?”
“Jesus. How long does it take for them to grab a ring?”
He hands me back the receipt. “Long enough for me to tell you to man up.” Proud of himself, Jamie turns around and looks for his sales associate, who’s walking toward him.
“Sorry to keep you waiting, Mr. Dawson.” She pulls the teal box out and hands it to Jamie.
He cracks it open, and I watch him as his finger touches the single diamond reverently. Jamie turns his head to look at me, and my always confident captain seems a little nervous. “God, I hope she says yes.”
I slap his back. “She’s waited for your ass for six years. Pretty sure she’s gonna say yes, man.”
He gives me a goofy smile. “I hope so. Cause when you find the right girl, it makes everything else in life easier.”
* * *
Igo through my new routine before showing up at my mom’s house.
First, I text her, letting her know I’m on my way.
Then I text her again, letting her know I’m here.
Finally, I ring the damn doorbell and wait a minute before letting myself inside because I was told under no uncertain terms was I allowed to act like a complete stranger in my own home.
I’m okay with being a stranger if it means I don’t ever have to walk in on her and Coach again. Seriously, the sight of Coach’s ass is burned into my brain.
Slowly opening the door and not taking any chances, I call out to announce myself and am greeted by Carys, who’s coming down the stairs with her earbuds in her hand.
“Missed you, AJ.” She’s the only one who has ever called me AJ. It stands for Aiden James. I hate it because James is my father’s name, but I’ve never been able to tell Carys to stop.
When she was younger, she had a bit of a speech impediment and struggled with her “D” sounds. It was easier for her to say AJ than it was to say Aiden. Many years of speech therapy fixed her issues, and now this girl has been trained to have a voice that echoes throughout a theater.
