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“Will you be…”
“Hey, hey, hey!” Angel appears from the back with his teenage nephew, Gabriel. He looks like Angel - except skinnier, younger, and a lot more handsome. “I thought when you said you needed a ring, I didn’t realize you two…” he smiles and points to me and Jack.
“What?” Jack looks horrified.
Angel puts up his hands. “No judgement. Love is love, right?” He smiles and laughs.
“Love is love.” Gabriel repeats and shakes his head agreeably.
“Are you high?” Jack asks Angel. “Is he high?” Jack turns to me and I shrug, enjoying every minute of Jack’s discomfort. “I’m not asking this idiot to marry me.”
“But I thought you loved me,” I say, hurt.
“Jilted at the altar.” Gabriel shakes his head. “Rough.” He turns to look at me sadly.
“Is that camera working?” Jack points to the ceiling. “Is Al Roker or some shit going to come out any moment telling me I’ve been Punk’d?”
“I think you mean Ashton Kutcher, and that was like twenty years ago,” I explain to him.
“Somebody get me thefuckout of here,” Jack bellows.
It was funny for a while, but now I think Jack is actually going to have a mental breakdown.
“Jack,” I pull him aside and wave at Angel and Gabriel to give us a moment. “I think you need to breathe.”
“I need to get thefuckout of here is what I need.” Jack leans over the glass counter that lines the north wall of the shop. Behind it are various types of car stereo units sitting on a shelf. Some of them even have tape decks.
“What is that?” I hear Jack say and look over to see him pointing in the case.
“What?” I look over in the direction he’s pointing, not expecting to see a vintage looking diamond ring. It’s beautiful and elegant, and I see exactly why Jack is taken with it, because it reminds me of Erin.
I peer down into the glass along with Jack and smile. “I think she’ll love it.”
“Ah, it’s a beauty, huh?” Angel pulls the velvet box from its case and places it in front of Jack. He almost looks like he’s afraid to touch it.
“I’ll take it.” Jack flicks the box closed and holds it in the palm of his hand as if it’s a bomb ready to detonate. Something changes in him as if he has resolved some inner war, and he closes his hand around the box and then places it in his pocket.
“You don’t want me to wrap it up?” Angel asks.
“No.”
Jack hands Angel his credit card, and Angel rings him up. I start to say something but he interrupts me. “I don’t want to know.” He holds a hand up in front of me.
“I was just going to say that it doesn’t look like something Angelina Jolie would wear.”
“That’s helpful,” Jack says, sarcastically.
Jack takes his card back from Angel. “Good luck you two!” Angel calls after us as we exit the store.
“You know what I’m gonna do?” Jacks asks, ignoring Angel.
I stop for effect, waiting for him to continue.
“I’m going to make you wear a fucking tuxedo at my wedding, you dick.” Jack points a finger at me and continues to exit the store.
I can hear Angel cackling behind us.
“That’s what I’m gonna do.” He stomps down the block towards the record store. “You see how that works?” He smirks at me. “Fuck with me, and I’ll make you pay,” he grumbles.
