Sadly, or perhaps fortunately, the jeweler's was closed. It was late, after all. The citizens of Paris did not harbor the same love as I for the late evening hours. I cursed at my foolishness-of course, every little shoppe in paris would have dimmed its gaslights hours ago. Such inconvenience. I did not walk away, though. No, the schoolboy who'd inhabited my soul for the last few months pushed me towards the shop's glass window display, the glimmer of fine stones catching the streetlamp's illumination.
There were plenty of fine baubles splayed out in romantic fashion, thick bracelets decked with huge emeralds and pearls, delicate diamond drop necklaces that could make a young woman look such the swan. None of this finery suited my Christine. It was all too grand. Not, that she did not deserve the best the jeweler had to offer. But, the items displayed in the windowglass were too gaudy for her. A woman such as she had no need to wear the whole treasury of Paris. She was fine enough. No, only something classic and simple would do for her. Definitely nothing that muttering Vicomte would choose. I could imagine Raoul de Chagny purchasing that huge Emerald eyesore in the middle of the showcase. The mere weight of it on Christine Daae's hand would cause her wrist to droop in the most unattractive of fashions. That piece would suit La Carlotta much better.
Nothing in the display and no shopkeeper to be seen, I walked away. I had defeated the schoolboy in me for another night. Tomorrow might not prove a victory as my time away from Christine would grow. Wrapping my velvet cloak closer around my body to fend off a sudden wind, I thought of the perfect gift for the petite Mademoiselle. A simple band of gold would more than suffice. A tiny ring had the ability to carry the enormity of my feelings for her. After all, small things could held so power.