The Watch (Part III)

The thing about nursery rhymes and fairy tales, that no one ever told him as a kid…was that
they were all true! It was something he discovered as a writer. Take Hansel and Gretel for
instance, sometimes parents do want to kill their children. Or how about The Three Little Pigs?
Poorly constructed buildings do fall down. And let's not forget Hey Diddle Diddle. Drugs really
will fuck with your head. And then there was his favorite, the one that was annoying him all day.
Humpty Dumpty!

He wasn't asking all the king's horses and the king's men to try and put the guts back inside
an oversized clumsy egg. He was just trying to get his watch fixed, but it seemed that what
held true for Humpty also held true for his watch. You can't uncrack an egg. He'd spent all
morning and well into the afternoon in the Diamond District going from jeweler to jeweler,
trying to find someone willing to even try and repair his watch. They all laughed, most tried
to sell him a new one and a few offered to find him a duplicate, or told him to look on ebay. Ebay!

Back at his apartment, he got online and tracked down the manufacturer in Switzerland. He
called and talked to a representative. He was asked to e-mail a picture of his watch along with
his request and that they would get back with him. He did. He received an e-mail reply two
hours later.

Dear Sir, we regret to inform you that your make and model of watch had been discontinued for
three years and there are no parts available to attempt a repair…blah…blah…blah. It rambled on
and it ended with them trying to sell him a new watch. It was a poor ending to his crappy day.

Kate came home to his foul mood. She didn't even have to ask how it went. He sulked on the
couch and aimlessly channel surfed the rest of the evening. She heated up leftovers and made
sure he was fed. She even recreated one of his bizarre ice cream concoctions for dessert in a
feeble attempt to cheer him up. He just picked at it till she took the melted remnants away
from him. As she poured the milky soup down the drain she knew that one good thing would
come from today. Now he could let go of his old watch and go buy himself new one.

…..

A month later, Kate was getting tired of looking at the watch shrine still sitting on the corner of
his nightstand. Damn, she didn't realize he could be so stubborn! She'd all but given up trying to
get him to buy a new one. She stopped pointing out watches to him whenever they happened to
be out window shopping. She quit leaving magazines lying around the apartment opened to ads
for watches. She even quit her most obvious ploy of asking him "What time is it?" five or six
times a day.

Kate could only berate herself when the solution finally came to her as she drove home from work
one day. How could she not have thought of it sooner? She took the next left instead of her usual
right. She had a stop to make before she could go home.

…..

She woke earlier than usual the next morning. Today was the day. She had waited for the weekend.
She was nervous about how he would react to her gift. She snuck into the closet and removed the
small square box from where she had hidden it. It was wrapped in silver paper and tied off with a
shiny blue bow. She carried the box and an envelope with a handwritten card over to his nightstand
and set them down next to his broken watch. Next came the risky part of her plan. She carefully
picked up the watch pieces and slipped them into the pocket of her bathrobe. She was committed
now. She left him sleeping and went to the kitchen to make breakfast.

It was the smell of bacon that woke him ten minutes later. Best wake up call ever! He stretched and
opened his eyes to the sun peeking through the curtains. His hand reached out to the other side of
the bed. It was empty and cold. Ok, scratch that! Second best wake up call ever.

He turned his head to check the digital read out on the clock that sat on his nightstand.

He never did see the time. A silver box blocked his view. He sat up to get a better look.

What the hell did she go and do?

He really didn't want another watch. He was content to just using his phone as a replacement timepiece.
He picked up the box and card and set them in his lap. His hand then shot back and slapped the empty
spot on the nightstand. Damn it, she took it!

She really knew how to put a relationship to the test. They had the apartment to themselves this weekend
so he grabbed up the items and headed to the kitchen clad only in his boxers determined to put an end to
this. He almost lost his resolve when he saw her. Why did she have to look so…so…domestic? It made her
even more beautiful.

She smiled when she saw him. "'Morning."

He didn't reply. Don't give in, don't give in. He sat down on a barstool across from where she was working
and made a show of placing the box and card on the bar.

The smile left her face and her brow wrinkled with worry.

"I can't believe you did this Kate."

Uh oh, he just used her name. He was definitely upset.

She tried to explain. "I…" But he wouldn't let her.

"You of all people Kate. How could you do this?" Both of his hands were open, gesturing at the box.

She tried to speak again. "It's not…"

"You get upset when I try to buy you a toothbrush much less an expensive piece of jewelery!"

"Rick…"

"So why do you think its ok for you to go and spend an obscene amount of money on a watch that I clearly told you I did not want?"

Kate took the wooden spoon that she'd been stirring the eggs with and slapped it down on the counter next to her.

There it was, he'd woken the dragon. He knew what was coming. He was ready. But what she did next baffled him.

She didn't yell back at him. She didn't look mad. She just sighed, and what she said next confused him even more.

"I didn't buy you a watch."

"What?"

Kate slid the pan with the eggs from the fire and turned off the burner. He watched as she came around the bar and sat
down beside him. She picked up the box and handed it to him.

"Just open it. And if you're still mad, I'll understand."

He took a moment to try and read her face before he gave up; he pulled off the bow and began tearing the paper from
around the box.

When the paper was off, he looked back up and found her smiling at him, there was something about the look in her
eyes.

Something had changed. What the hell was going on?

He had to see. He opened the box.

What he saw inside…well, it said what he'd been waiting to hear since their first night together.

He knew she wanted him, but in the months that had passed she never said what he wanted to hear the most. That she loved him.

But this…this was more than he ever expected.

"Kate, I…?"

Her fingers to his lips stopped any more words, and she handed him the card that accompanied the box.

He opened the flap and pulled out a plain single sided card. And there, written in her delicate script, was one line.

~For the Life You Saved ~

The words started to blur as the tears welled up.

He set the card down and pulled the watch from the box. It was her watch. She'd given him her watch! He knew what it
meant to her, and now…what it meant to him. She loved him!

He pulled her into a tight embrace, determined to never doubt her love again...and to never, ever let her go.

Well, that was fun! I'd love to know what you thought. Did you see it coming? Coming Up Next: THE RING