Hey everyone, I know I should probably finish my other LWD story before starting this one, but I'm having major writing block with it. This story is a bit different from my others. Of course it'll have some fluff, but it won't be exclusively fluff like a lot of my other stories. It will have a good amount of drama, with potentially some angst (but I promise a happy ending!) Also it has a slight supernatural element, but it hardly dominates the story.
Anyway, here's the prologue. It doesn't necessarily reflect the style of writing I'll be using for the rest of the story (it may, but I doubt it).
Disclaimer: I don't own Life with Derek
George Venturi is a lawyer, but you'd never know it unless somebody told you. He looks and acts like your Average Joe living down the street. He is a man who is of unsophisticated tastes. He's just as happy eating at a fast food joint as he is at a 5-star restaurant. To nobody's surprise, he had a deer-in-the-headlights look about him when he walked into the jewelry store, shopping for an engagement ring for his girlfriend: Nora McDonald. Unlike last time, in which his sister (who now lives in the States) helped him pick out a ring, he is completely on his own.
Luckily for George Venturi, the woman on duty has seen many like him before. She was an older woman, definitely old enough to be George's mother. She had white hair, glasses, and had that sweet look about her that you get from your grandmother. The moment she saw him come up to her, she immediately knew what his agenda was because of his uneasiness and the love that he had written on his face. She knew exactly what he needed.
"Hi are you here for an engagement ring?" she asks even before he had a chance to say anything.
"Is it that obvious?" he asks a bit confused and a little scared.
"For me at least. I've been selling engagement rings to men for years now. You build up a certain intuition, I suppose", she answers.
"I see", he says feigning understanding.
"What's your name sir?" she asks.
"George Venturi", he answers.
"So who's the lucky woman?" she asks.
"Nora McDonald", he answers proudly. She simply smiles at George's response.
"So what is your price range?" she inquires.
He tells her, and then she goes into the back room. She comes back a couple minutes later with a small box, obviously containing a ring.
"Don't you need her ring size or something?" he asks.
"Nope, this is a special ring", she says.
"Like a one-size fits all?" he asks, very much confused.
"Not exactly", she answers.
She then opens it up and reveals a magnificent diamond ring. George just gaped at in awe, completely disbelieving that it could possibly be in his price range. Maybe this woman just picked the most expensive and is now going to persuade him to buy it. Maybe this woman is just a scam artist in the body of a sweet old lady.
"This ring was produced by a small company in Eastern Asia. The company owns a small mine, which is believed to rest on sacred land. The diamonds extracted are believed to have a mystical quality to them", she says.
"What kind of mystical quality?" asks George.
"The ring has an incredible…ability I guess you can say to recognize true love. It will automatically fit any woman's finger under two conditions. The man and woman have to be truly in love and the man must engrave a brief message describing their love. If one of the conditions aren't met, then the ring will not fit the woman's finger", she says.
"Ok, assuming what you're saying is true, how is this in my price range?" he asks.
"Because I receive these rings for very little money. The company who makes them is very disinterested in economics of the business. They just make enough money to keep their operation running. They are much more interested in the spiritual aspect of their business and product", she answers.
"I see", answers George, still in a bit of disbelief.
"Ok sir do you want to buy the ring? We have a 30-day return policy, in which you can either return the ring or exchange it if it doesn't fit her finger. However, if it's the latter, I'm not sure if you would want another", she says.
"Ok", says George. He figured it was the nicest ring he could possibly nicest ring he could afford and he could exchange the ring if the whole ring automatically fitting Nora's finger was total B.S.
"Great! Now the last thing before I ring you up is the engravement", she says. "Remember it has to describe your love, but don't make it too long. There isn't that much space; it is a ring after all. About 60 characters is usually the max".
"Uh, I never really thought about it", he says, a bit dumbfounded.
"I have a suggestion, how about: Venturi + McDonald = True Love. It's simple but gets the message across", she says.
"Ok", says George.
She then took the ring and went to the back room. George assumed that she was just going to do the engravement. A few minutes later, she returned with the ring. She rang him up and paid for the ring.
"A quick question if you don't mind, do you sell these rings to every guy looking for an engagement ring?" he asks.
"Of course not. These rings are special and I'm not going to sell them to just anyone. I only offer these rings if I believe they will have a long use and if the man seems to bee truly in love. That's where my intuition comes back into play. Luckily for you sir I sensed both when you walked in", she answers.
"Ok thank you", he says as he turns around, ring in hand, to leave the store.
He couldn't help, but strut as he made his way to the car. He just knew in his heart, that he just bought the perfect ring.
Ok so that's the prologue. I'm not crazy about it, but it definitely accomplishes everything I wanted to. You can probably get a little sense of what may happen, but my intention was not to give much away.
Please review even if you are anonymous.