Chapter 18

The rest of the day was a whirlwind for Hailey. Jay did, in fact, take her to a new breakfast spot. Kim, being the foodie that she was, had raved about it and it did not disappoint. They stuffed themselves on pancakes as big as dinner plates, along with scrambled eggs and bacon.

Afterwards, when they came to a jewelry store, Jay asked, "Want to look in here?"

Hailey's eyes skimmed over the sparkling displays in the window. "Jay, this is pretty high-end."

"Relax, Hails. I've been saving for this moment for a while."

"Yeah? How long exactly?" Hailey found that quite interesting.

"Couple years," shrugged Jay. "At least, I hoped we were heading to this moment. Now, that doesn't mean you're gonna get a million-dollar ring, but I'm gonna get you something nice."

Hailey smiled. "You're so sweet. But there's no need to go overboard." She looked again at the window displays. "Okay, let's check it out. It'll be fun."

The sheer volume of engagement rings was staggering. Several other couple were browsing and trying on rings. Jay pointed out some he thought Hailey would like. "What about these?" he asked.

"Sure." Hailey was amazed that those were the very ones she was considering, too. Jay and I really are in sync. The thought gave her a little thrill. The clerk assisting them raised her eyebrows when she saw the hard plastic circle on Hailey's left hand.

"It has sentimental meaning," said Hailey. She smiled up at Jay. "Yeah, it's our private joke," he replied.

The woman nodded. "Humor is good in a relationship. Maybe if my husband had had more of it, we wouldn't have gotten divorced."

Jay was taken aback at the woman's bluntness. "Wow, sorry to hear that," he said.

The clerk laughed. "Oh, don't worry. I'm dating a wonderful guy now."

After trying on six different rings and discussing the merits of each, Hailey was feeling overwhelmed. However, in her mind, she kept coming back to the third ring – an oval diamond with small pear-shaped diamonds on either side. It seemed to speak to her.

Jay, being the loving fiancé, made small comments about each, but did not exert any pressure on her to choose one today. They thanked the clerk for her assistance. "Here's my card if you decide one of these is the one!" she said gaily.

Back out on the street Jay said, "Hails, you know there isn't any hurry. We've been engaged, what, four hours?"

Hailey checked her watch. "More like four-and-a-half. Not that I'm counting," she laughed.

"Yeah, yeah, four-and-a-half." He paused and took both of Hailey's hands. "Listen, we can do this whole engagement and wedding thing as slow or fast as you like. No pressure."

"I know. And I appreciate that."

"So, what should we do now?"

Hailey thought for a minute. "I know. Let's go to the Navy Pier and ride the Centennial Wheel."

Jay liked that idea. "Done!" He grabbed her hand and they set off.

After riding the Centennial Wheel and then lounging in the Beer Garden, they returned to their neighborhood and strolled through their favorite small park. They found an empty bench and watched some elementary school kids play soccer.

The sun was sliding lower in the sky when Jay pulled Hailey up from the bench. "Come on. We need to go. I have a dinner date tonight."

"Excuse me? A dinner date? Stepping out on your fiancée already?"

Jay loved to tease Hailey. "Seven-thirty reservation at Marconi's. Since I am such a considerate guy, I wanted to give my date plenty of time to primp."

Hailey's eyebrows arched up at the mention of the fancy restaurant. "Is that right? I thought Bartoli's was your go-to date night spot."

"I love Bartoli's, but this is a special occasion. It calls for more than pizza and beer and jeans."

"Let's not forget screaming kids," added Hailey.

Jay shuddered as he recalled the last time they were there. The three kids in one family all had a meltdown at the same time and started throwing food. "Adults only tonight. No screaming kids."

Hailey sighed happily. "I envy your date. She's a lucky gal."

Jay gave her a sweet smile. "I'm the lucky one." Then he leaned down and kissed her and picked her up and twirled her around.

At the end of dinner, Jay set his wineglass down as he suddenly remembered something. "Oh man, I need to text Will."

"Why?" asked Hailey.

"Last night when I told him I was going to propose, he urged me to, and I quote, 'go home right now and ask her. Then text me with the answer.'"

Hailey studied him across the table. "So, why didn't you ask me last night? Were you scared?"

"Scared? Not likely," laughed Jay. "You weren't exactly sober and I wanted you to understand the question clearly."

Hailey forked up another bite of tiramisu. "Guilty as charged."

"I don't know if he's working tonight or not," said Jay as he picked up his phone and tapped out, SHE SAID YES!

Five minutes later, the phone buzzed. Jay answered and put it on speaker. "Go ahead, Will. We're at Marconi's."

"Congratulations, you crazy kids! I'm really happy and excited for you."

Both Hailey and Jay had big smiles on their faces. "Thanks, Will," said Hailey. "Want to see my engagement ring?"

That surprised Jay. She grabbed the phone, snapped a picture and pressed 'send.'

At the nurses' station at Med, Will frowned as he stared at the strange image. "What the hell is that, Jay? Is it the Cracker Jack prize?"

When Jay explained, Will, like Hailey earlier, burst out laughing. "Strange, yet somehow oddly appropriate."

"Just so you know, we did some ring shopping this morning," said Jay.

Hailey jumped in. "But we're not rushing the process."

"Hey, I gotta go. They're overhead paging me," said Will. "Again, congrats and I love you guys!"

"Thanks, man."

"Thanks, Will. Love you, too," added Hailey.

After the call ended, Jay looked at Hailey. "But you love me more, right? I'm the more lovable Halstead, right?"

Hailey reached over and squeezed his hand. "Shut up and kiss me."