Far from perfect but still okay. Hope everyone is having a great Paily Week!
Paige clenches her hands in front of her. Her brow shows beads of sweat, her excitement tempered by nervousness. "Have you ever seen something so perfect? It hurts looking at her because I've waited so long and now…now that I'm here and she's here I just don't know what to do." She approaches slowly and gulps as she runs her fingers up her side and down her back. "My God you're gorgeous. Curves in all the right places. Strong but sexy. I just wanna jump on you right now!"
Emily shakes her head and looks around in embarrassment. "Paige, honey, keep your voice down. It's just a bicycle."
The pair stand in the middle of a bike shop in New Jersey. Yes, Emily drove Paige to another state to pick up the new bicycle she'd saved up for because even after four years dating Emily's single goal is still to make Paige happy. All devotion in the world doesn't make up for the fact that she is a bit put off by Paige's blatant...arousal over a bunch of metal parts. The last three hours all she's heard is how perfect a machine this bike is and she's pretty sick of this one-sided love fest.
Emily's ambivalence causes Paige's jaw to drop in shock. "Umm, Miss Fields, this is not 'a bicycle', this is the Giant Anthem X 29ER. Neon red. Aluminum suspension and lightweight frame. Overdrive 2-inch head tube and MegaDrive downtube and RockShock forks. Monarch shocks. Swiss competition spokes. Schwalbe racing tires. Baby, this is not a bicycle - it's the love of my life!"
At the end of her patience Emily grabs Paige and pinches her inner arm. "Excuse me?" she forces out between clenched teeth. Paige flinches at the sharp pain and gasps, "Youaretheloveofmylifeandthisisjustabicycle." Satisfied with Paige's answer, Emily lets her arm go and Paige rubs the spot she pinched. "That's gonna leave a mark, you know."
"Sorry. I hated to do it," Emily says smugly.
"Come on Em, I'm excited. Would it kill you to be happy for me?"
"Of course not. And I'm happy for you. But can you refrain from having sex with it in the middle of the store?"
Paige scoffs at Emily's embarrassment. "I'm not that bad." Emily shoots her a skeptical look as she turns and walks to the bike shop's front counter. She turns and motions for Paige to follow.
"So we're ready to go," the shop clerk says as she wheels the bike and rests it next to Paige who gulps and feels a little sick to her stomach. She drops her purse on the counter and rifles through it, pulling out a manila envelope. Opening the envelope she withdraws a stack of bound $100 bills. Three thousand dollars. Her hands shake a bit as she removes the wrap and begins counting out the money for the clerk.
"100, 200, 300, 400…" Paige stops and stares at the bike for a moment. Emily notices her hesitation and gently turns Paige's head toward her. "Hey, are you okay?" she asks.
"Yeah," Paige replies. "I just – I mean, it's a lot of money, you know?"
"I know."
"And I could do so much stuff with that money."
Emily is patient, trying to help Paige work through her hesitation. "Yeah, you could."
"I mean, we could take a trip. Buy a cheap camper and see the country or get tickets to someplace warm where we can swim in the ocean. Just you and me." Paige's thoughts start to spill out faster and faster. "Or maybe we could go on the world's craziest shopping spree and you could buy short skirts and those heels that drive me crazy. And a leather jacket – you look amazing in leather and not in a dirty way."
Emily laughs softly and marvels at her girlfriend's panic – she rarely loses it like this and Emily wonders if something else is at work here. Just as Emily tries to search her mind for an answer Paige digs into her purse and pulls out a frayed color advertisement from the newspaper. Emily peeks over her shoulder and freezes in place.
"Or," Paige's voice is shaking, "I could get you this other thing."
Emily tears up at the gorgeous engagement ring in the ad. White gold. A princess center-cut diamond with a twisted band inlaid with small diamonds all around it. It's different than anything she's seen before but Emily loves it. Her eyes mist and she brings her hand to her mouth not knowing what to say.
"What do you think?" Paige asks as she turns to Emily, her eyes pleading for something, reassurance maybe?
Emily draws Paige into a tight embrace and cradles her neck so she can bring their foreheads together. "It is the second most gorgeous thing I've ever seen," Emily says, "and I am so honored. Jeez, McCullers, every day you blow my mind, you know it?"
Paige lowers her head and blushes but Emily won't have any of it. She pushes Paige's chin up with her hand and smiles warmly. "You've worked so hard for this money, you've saved and saved and you deserve this bike. I want you to have it – we have plenty of time for, well, the other thing." Emily lets a few tears go before inhaling and sniffing. "But God, I love you for even thinking of me, I love you so much." She takes Paige's cheeks in her hands and gives her a kiss on the end of her nose.
Paige exhales and shows a broad smile. "Okay." She pulls away and hands the stack of bills to the clerk who sniffles but begins counting out the bills again. Paige looks at the clerk in confusion but all the woman can say is "that was so sweet…" as she rubs her tear-filled eyes and grabs a tissue from under the counter.
Paige blushes again and picks up the picture again running her thumb over the surface. "It sure is pretty, though, isn't it?"
"It's just a bike, Paige," Emily says as Paige laughs and puts the picture back in her purse.
A few moments later the pair guides the bike from the store toward the truck Emily begged off her dad. They put it gently in the back and tie it down with bungee cords and straps. As they get into the pickup cab, Paige turns to Emily in confusion. "Say Em, you said the ring is the second prettiest thing you've seen. What's the first?" Emily laughs and says, "The first has always been the view ahead of me when we ride our bikes or take a run. There's a reason why you always beat me when we race." She gives Paige a wink and her laughter floats out the window as they pull out of the parking lot toward home.