"Are you sure you want to do this?" Schmidt asked.
Nick swallowed hard. "Is it that bad?"
Schmidt nodded.
Nick shook his head. "Just do it. Like a band aid, you just gotta rip it off. Now or never."
Schmidt opened the box letting pieces come flooding out. They fell across the smooth hardwood floors with the clangs and bangs, making a bunch of racket, casting shadows against the light of the Christmas tree.
"five hundred and twenty-seven pieces." Schmidt murmured studying the instruction manual.
Nick sighed, already overwhelmed with it. "What even is this?"
"It's the Sasha Sparkles deluxe mansion with working elevator." Schmidt said, beginning to put pieces together. "It's the only thing Ruth asked Santa for."
Nick picked up a sparkly pink roof piece. "I'm over here at 2 a.m. Christmas Day to piece together a glorified doll house?"
"Cece was going to help me. You see how that worked out." He motioned to Cece who was curled up on the couch fast asleep, oblivious to all the noise they were making.
Nick laughed. "Jess said she was waiting up for me. She'll be asleep just like that but with a forgotten glass of wine and the Netflix 'are you still watching?' Thing on the tv. "
"Speaking of Jess, have you. . . . decided?' Schmidt asked, trying unsuccessfully to attach two purple wallpapered walls together.
Nick shrugged him off. "I don't know. I mean I just. . . "
Schmidt nodded. "Always waiting until the last minute, typical Nick Miller. Are you doing a Christmas morning proposal? Jess does love Christmas. "
Nick spun a purple and blue polka dotted piece around on his finger. "I don't know. I don't think so on the whole Christmas thing."
"Nicholas, you already have the ring! What's stopping you?"
"Why are you even doing the whole Santa Clause thing? You're Jewish." Nick retorted.
Schmidt rolled his eyes. "and Cece is not. We have a menorah and a Christmas tree. Now stop avoiding the question. "
Nick sighed. He took a small blue velvet box out of his pocket. He opened it to reveal a vintage art deco style white gold band, a round cut diamond with smaller diamonds flanked across the band. Nick had searched for months, not stopping until he found a ring as perfect as Jess. "Every time I look at it, I have an anxiety attack. I thought about it the other day in the elevator and by the time I got into the loft I had sweated so much Jess asked me if it was raining outside."
Schmidt abandoned the two doll house walls he had been struggling with, and patted Nick on the back. "why would it give you anxiety? She's going to say yes."
Nick snapped the box shut. "But what if she doesn't? Schmidt she's way too good for me. It's only a matter of time before she realizes it. I mean she's a beauty. I wake up every morning, and I'm amazed that something that delicate and exquisite chooses to curl up with scruffy, grumpy, lumpy me. And it's not even all looks. She's funny, and kind, and caring, and smart and.. . the way she takes care of me! She's always doing these cute little things, like leaving me notes on the mirror while I'm in the shower, or buying the bubble gum flavored toothpaste because I like it, even though she would rather have the spearmint flavor, and she even changes the sheets on our bed. She asked me the other day if I wanted to try Kombucha and I said sure because I thought it was some new sex position but it was really this weird tea that tasted like vinegar, and I wasn't even mad Schmidt. I WASN'T EVEN MAD!"
Schmidt smiled at Nick. "Do you ever think about why she does that? About why she chooses to curl up next to you? About why she leaves you notes, and washes your sheets and buys you that insanely juvenile bubble gum tooth paste. I mean come on Nick even Ruthie uses a mint tooth paste!"
"It's too spicy!" Nick yelled.
"She does all of that because she loves you Nick. She loves you as much as you love her. You really shouldn't be so hard on yourself. She's not too good for you. Jess is an amazing person, but Nick, you're an amazing person. You have the biggest heart of anyone I know, you would do anything for your friends. Do you remember when Ruth had colic and you drove her around for hours just so Cece and I could get some sleep? Not just anyone would do that. You deserve someone like Jess. Not because she's beautiful, or funny, or talented. You deserve Jess, because you deserve to have someone who knows your worth, someone who knows that they've got a good thing when they've got you. You deserve to be happy."
Nick hugged Schmidt tight. "Thanks man. That means a lot."
Schmidt smiled, his eyes a bit teary. "I'm happy for you man. Now go home. Go propose to her. Just do it."
Nick motioned to the pile of unassembled dollhouse pieces. "what about Ruth's dollhouse?"
Schmidt tossed a stray piece of dollhouse at Cece. "Psssst. Cecilia! Wake up and help me woman!"
Cece opened her eyes, annoyed. "Winston Schmidt did you just throw something at me?"
"Don't kill him Cece," Nick called as he walked out the front door, "he's my best friend!" And with that he ran off into the night, home to Jess.