Justin

"It's so big," Nikki breathed.

"Too big?" I asked, a little worried.

"Not at all," she said with a wistful sigh. "It's absolutely gorgeous." She shot me a mischievous smile. "Can I touch it?"

I laughed. "Why do you ask every time?"

She shrugged playfully. "It seems like the polite thing to do since it's never going to really belong to me." Her tone got serious. "You know this has got to stop, right? You can't keep torturing me, and you, and most of all, Jhondie, even if she doesn't know it." She sighed. "I know that the two of you have had some problems lately, and I don't know if this is helping you get over them or making things worse."

"I know," I replied, losing the humor as well. I looked at her firmly, our eyes meeting. "And that is why this is officially the last time."

Her light blue eyes widened. "Are you serious?"

I nodded. "Very."

"And not as a band-aid?"

"Because I love her and want to spend the rest of my life with her."

Nikki's expression became excited as I looked over to my left and summoned the clerk over to us. He came over with a rather expectant smile. "The lady was able to help?" he asked congenially. He should. I had been here twice before and not able to make up my mind. He was hoping that I would go away and leave him alone. I had dragged Nikki all over the city half a dozen times. The offer of food and story contacts was no longer appealing to her. It was decision time.

"This one," I said, lifting the ring off of the velvet blanket it was laying on. Out of all of the rings we had looked at, I could most easily see myself offering this one to Jhondie while I was on one knee asking her the most important question I would ever ask in my life. It had struck Nikki as well. As a matter of fact, when we came in the little shop an hour ago, there was a man looking at it and she flirted with him until he took a step away from the counter and gave me time to dive in there. Nikki could be a pain sometimes, but there were other times that I truly loved the girl.

The ring was actually an antique from the late 1800's. I couldn't complain despite the outrageous price. The craftsmanship was incredible. It still looked new. The two-carat center diamond was of an unusual cut that shot a prism of fire under the lights of the display case, but it was the emeralds that set the ring apart. They were tiny, their shape mimicking the diamond and inset into the gold band all the way around. The band had been polished smooth so that the stones wouldn't scratch the skin. It was so perfectly Jhondie that I wondered why I had a hard time deciding earlier. Maybe it was because I had been feeling uncertain before, but now I wasn't. This was the ring and she was the woman.

I was glad that Nikki had agreed to come with me. It was good to have the confirmation from a woman that I was making a good choice. I liked the ring, but women are strange creatures. What a man would thing was ugly would have a thousand women practically swooning over. Some of the latest movie stars were proof enough of that. I wasn't sure why piercings and obscene tattoos did it for some women, but I preferred sticking with a more classical look. This ring was proof of that. It was elegant and sophisticated but very unique. Much like my Jhondie.

"So, does she have any idea?" Nikki asked, starting to get excited now that the clerk was actually running my debit card with the bank.

"Not a clue," I grinned. "I told her I wanted to do something special for our anniversary, but I think she's thinking maybe a little weekend getaway somewhere."

"That wouldn't be a bad idea to go along with it," Nikki commented. "Maybe somewhere you've never been before, like New Orleans or to the east coast, somewhere like New York."

I shrugged. "She's not in the mood to travel right now," I replied. Jhondie also didn't like to fly. There was too much security around airports. Too many guys in uniform and the last thing Jhondie needed to deal with right now was the Army searching her luggage and asking what Tryptophan was for. "Besides, I promised Nana that I would bring Jhondie to Mexico this summer so she could meet the rest of the family. It would look a little weird if I wanted to take another vacation right before that."

"True," Nikki said. "I guess it really doesn't matter where you do it so long as you finally propose to the girl."

I laughed at that. It wasn't that Nikki was eager to see me married to Jhondie. It was more that I had been driving her nuts lately. Before everything with Bryn had happened, I had thought about asking when we went to Mexico. That would have been rather stylish. Sunrise over the Gulf of Mexico. But then I realized that Jhondie needed something to let her know she was wanted and needed here, and she needed it soon. I had been looking around, not really thinking about specifics, but then I got serious.

Nikki was just ready for me to pick something. The last time we had gone out, she flat out said that the reason I couldn't find anything was because I wasn't ready to ask. That pissed me off, but she was right. I was desperately trying to find something to make Jhondie forget about her problems rather than helping her deal with them. Two days later I blew up at Jhondie. And for some reason, today it was very easy to see that this was the ring I wanted to offer to her when I proposed.

Earlier today Nikki had almost called security and had me thrown out when I showed up at her office. Well, more like her cubicle, but she was proud that she was working at an established paper, unlike most of the people she had graduated with. Still, point being, she knew why I was there. She ordered me out of the building because she had a lot of work to do and I was not going to get her out of there no matter what I had to offer. Fifteen minutes of begging later, she had the phone in hand and was about to dial security when I pulled a card out of my pocket.

She saw the name on it and froze, almost salivating. She knew about Dink. She knew what he was capable of. She never thought I would ever give up my best contact. "You want me that bad?" she asked hesitantly, her eyes not leaving the card. My finger was covering the number on it. From the look in her eyes, anyone passing by would assume I was about to take her to the nearest hotel.

"I'll even give you a personal introduction," I offered. I wasn't sure, but I think she had to wipe some drool off of her chin.

She hung up the phone. "This is going to be the last time Justin."

"I know," I replied with a grin. She had said that the last three times. "Remember that antique jewelry store we look at?" She nodded slowly. "There was one there that I really liked. Actually a couple, but one that really stood out. I want to get a woman's opinion on it before I buy."

"I swear to God that if you don't buy something today, I am going to make sure you never procreate," she said firmly, getting up and grabbing her purse. Nikki didn't have to worry about her boss getting mad at her for taking off for a couple of hours. The girl worked at least eighty hours a week. This was just a late lunch break for her. She would be back as soon as we were done and here till midnight probably.

The clerk came back with the ring and my card. I'm not saying this place had some good jewels or anything, but for a nominal fee they had a bodyguard service that would escort you home if you wanted. I politely declined the offer and we left. I had a feeling some accountant was going to have a stroke when he saw this deduction from whatever accounts my liquid trust money was in. Let him. This was worth more than money to me.

I dropped Nikki back off at work and swore to her that she would get all of the details of our anniversary. I almost went over to Jhondie's and took care of matters right then and there. The longer I had the ring, the more I was going to think about things and overanalyze and make a mess of it. No. I would wait. I would write the perfect words and memorize them and make sure the night was going to be perfect. We hadn't had many perfect moments in our lives, and I was determined that this was going to be the one thing that was totally traditional with the flowers and the romance and the one knee thing.

But I had promised Dad that I would be over for dinner that night. I think he suspected I was planning on asking pretty soon, but he didn't know if it was going to be now or in Mexico or maybe when Jhondie graduated. I was ready to make it official now. At least I thought I was. Pretty sure I was. No, I was positive. How is it that I could be so sure that this was the right thing to do, but so terrified to do it at the same time?

Britt was setting the table when I got to the house. Bryan was in the family room playing a very loud and obnoxious video game. The characters were speaking with Asian accents and trying to remove each other's spines. Good wholesome family activity. Maybe later we could play teams and see who could disembowel the other first. That's bonding.

"DAD!" Britt yelled as soon as she saw me. I winced. What was it about young girls that made them able to get so much volume? "Your long lost son is here!" she shouted towards the direction of the kitchen. Okay, so I hadn't been around much lately. I had been kind of busy. In a way I was working two jobs and finishing my degree. That's a lot for anyone.

"Nice to see you too," I said lightly.

Britt grinned hugely. "I had to get a bigger bra!" she announced giddily. I blinked and then left the room immediately. Maybe it was the fact she didn't really grow up with a woman around that made her so casual about certain things, but I didn't want to hear about it. I thought for a minute about Kayla. Dear God, Britt was going to be at that stage all too soon and then I was going to have to be the one killing the boyfriends. Good times for all.

I went into the kitchen where Dad was finishing up dinner. He let out a little laugh. "Brittany told you her good news?"

I snagged a piece of bell pepper off of the salad and munched on it before Dad could stop me. "Does she realize that there is such a thing as too much information?"

"I'm not sure. She wanted to call Jhondie and tell her right away." I groaned. Then I would have heard half of the conversation and that would have been just too much to take in and keep my sanity.

"Whatever kept you from preventing that, I thank it with all my heart," I said. Dad was amused. "Because if I had been thinking about that, I don't think I could have gotten this." Dad glanced over at me, his eyebrow raised in question. His eyes widened when he saw the box I pulled out of my pocket.

"What do you think?" I asked softly, opening it.

He took the ring and looked at it carefully before giving a low whistle. "Well, son, it's nice, but it's really not my style. Kind of small too. But it's the thought that counts, right?"

"Dad!" I groaned, rolling my eyes. He laughed.

"It's beautiful. I think I know a young lady that's going to be thrilled with it." He looked at me very seriously. "You're sure about this? This isn't a way to patch up the problems you've been having, you know. It just delays them for a while."

I took the ring back and put it in the box. "I bought this because we worked out a lot of the things that were wrong," I replied. He knew that there were things going on, but he didn't know the specifics. I had told him we had stuff that we had to deal with, and he accepted that there were some things that needed to stay inside a relationship. I think he thought Jhondie was having a problem with Nikki and I having a relationship. If Jhondie had a problem with Nikki, then she would have dealt with Nikki in a much more direct and painful manner.

"As for being sure," I continued, "I think I am. No, I mean, I am, it's just..." I sighed and tried to start again. "It's...I don't know how I can be so positive about something and still so terrified at the same time, you know?" Dad smiled, and I knew he understood. "Jhondie is my future. I know that. I think it was obvious to everyone from the time we met. But this..."

"This makes it real," Dad finished for me. I nodded, glad that he got what I was trying to say. "I felt the same way when I proposed to your mother. It's a big step." He paused and then said cautiously, "You know, I've heard it said more than once that the best way to ruin a good relationship is to get married."

I smiled, knowing what he was doing. "Maybe for some people. But...for us, this is right." I nodded. "Yeah. I'm more than sure."

Dad smiled and looked thoughtful for a moment. "Jhondie Carter. It's got a nice ring to it." He laughed. "Now, Grandpa sounds pretty good too, but I think I let you go a couple of years on that."

I might have turned pale. "I think I need time to get used to her having my last name before we bring in more Carters into the world," I said quickly.

Dad was amused. I was not. I wanted kids, but that was more of a "one day" thing. Far in the future. "When are you going to do it?" he asked.

"On our anniversary I'm going to take her to where we met," I said. I had been thinking about this for a while. "I'm going to make it seem like I need to do something for the boss and when we go back there have it all decked out with candles and flowers and I don't know, music or something. And if she doesn't kill me, then I'll do it."

He nodded. "Good plan."

The phone rang then and I picked it up. "You'll never believe what happened!" Jhondie exclaimed.