After spending nearly three hours searching the entire city of Salem for a
ring that Jason felt was good enough for Mimi, he and Shawn were thoroughly
exhausted - and they had not even accomplished their goal. Jason found it
impossible to find a ring that would be as perfect for Mimi as the one he
had originally wanted to buy her.
Throwing his tired body down on one of the benches across the street from Salem Place, Jason groaned, "I can't believe this is happening to me. I just can't believe it. You'd think that there would be at least one person upstairs looking down on me with a little pity."
"Jase, man, I really am sorry. I wish there was something I could . . . " Shawn's sentence was left unfinished due to the sudden ringing of his cellular phone. "Hello. . . oh, hey, Phil . . . I'm with Jason . . . oh, yeah, well, we've had a pretty unbelievable day too . . ."
Jason's attention was suddenly drawn to the phone conversation when Shawn rose to his feet and exclaimed, "You what?!?"
A smile engulfing his entire face, Shawn listened intently to whatever it was that Philip was saying, occasionally supplying a short exclamation in response. Ending the phone call, Shawn continued to smile like a fool as he told Jason, "That was Philip."
Jason, his mood quite sour as a result of his unsuccessful shopping expedition, rolled his eyes and muttered, "Yeah, I kinda picked up on that."
"He has the ring."
Jumping to his feet, Jason grabbed Shawn's shoulders and demanded, "He what?"
"Philip has the ring."
Jason released Shawn and took a staggering step backwards. "How is that even possible?"
"Apparently, Philip was at the jewelry store to pick up a bracelet for Chloe. Anyway, while he was waiting, he happened to notice another guy looking at the ring you wanted to buy for Mimi. So, being Phil, he immediately found some way to convince the other guy to let him buy the ring. And, now, all you have to do is go pick it up at Philip and Chloe's house."
His face overcome with a smile even more foolish than the one upon Shawn's face, Jason happily exclaimed, "This is great! Oh, man, maybe things will work out after all."
"Trust me, Jase, things will turn out just fine."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
"Trust me, Jase, things will turn out just fine," mocked Jason as he unhappily glared at Shawn. "Did you or did you not say those exact words to me less than an hour ago?"
"Well, yeah," acknowledged Shawn. "But, how was I to know that Philip would lose the ring?"
Sending Shawn an unamused glare, Philip calmly stated, "I didn't lose the engagement ring. It just seems to be not where I left it."
Shaking his head, Jason asked, "Why exactly was it that Chloe agreed to marry you?"
"Maybe because we love each other and I wasn't too big of a chicken to propose," responded Philip, a twinge of anger lurking in his words.
Though he was tempted to intervene, Shawn decided to just let his two friends handle their disagreement on their own. After all, that's the way they had always done things. Still, Shawn couldn't help but hope that Jason and Philip were mature enough to not solve their problems with their fists like they had in high school.
His innate cockiness winning out over his learned patience, Jason retorted, "Yeah, well, at least I was man enough to stay in the country to be with her instead of running away to London."
"No," Philip responded with matched cockiness. "That's what Mimi is doing to you."
The moment Jason rose from his seat, Shawn did the same and abandoned all thoughts of allowing the men to work out their differences on their own. Placing a restrictive arm on Jason's shoulder, Shawn calmly stated, "Look, we all just need to calm down."
After tossing Philip yet another displeased glare, Jason gritted his teeth and said, "I just don't understand how Phil could lose the ring."
"I told you," exclaimed Philip. "I didn't lose the ring . . ."
"It's just not where you left it," finished Jason.
The anger quickly disappearing, Philip said, "Jase, I really am sorry that the ring has vanished. But, I swear to you that I left it on the mantle."
"And, when you came downstairs after calling us, it was gone," summarized Shawn as he pondered where the ring could have possibly gone. "Philip, what about Chloe?"
Knowing exactly where Shawn's thoughts were leading, Philip answered, "No, she doesn't have it. I didn't even put it on the mantle until after she left with Belle."
"Belle and Chloe went out together?" Shawn curiously asked.
"Yeah, Belle called and wanted to talk to Chloe. Then, twenty minutes later, Belle was dragging Chloe out of the house."
"That's strange," commented Shawn. "Did they mention where they might be going?"
"Not a word. But, I could have sworn that I heard them whispering about ice cream."
"Hmm," pondered Shawn.
Jason shook his head with disbelief as his two best friends carried on their pointless conversation as though nothing were wrong. "Hello?!? Remember me? I'm the guy who's about to lose the woman he loves if he can't find her a ring."
"Look, Jase, it's eleven o'clock. I seriously doubt that we can find a jewelry store still open." Giving his friend an almost apologetic look, Philip continued, "But, if the ring doesn't turn up by tomorrow afternoon, we can just go back to the jewelry store and buy her a different one."
"First, I don't want a different ring - I want the one that pulled the vanishing act. Second, I don't have until tomorrow afternoon." Seeing the confusion on the faces of his companions, Jason explained, "Mimi is getting on a plane at seven thirty in the morning. She's going to be in London for about a week getting things set up before she actually moves over there. And, I just have this feeling that if I don't get a ring on her finger tonight, it'll never happen."
Philip approached Jason and gave him a friendly pat on the back, saying, "Don't worry, pal, we'll get a ring on her finger one way or another."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
"If Jason were a woman, that's who he would be," Mimi commented tearfully.
Restraining from the urge to laugh, Belle only allowed herself to smile and nod. Meanwhile, Chloe glanced curiously back and forth between Mimi's dismal expression and the television screen before asking, "You think Jason looks like Julia Roberts?"
That was the final straw for Belle, and she began to giggle uncontrollably at the look upon Mimi's face. Never had she seen her friend look so flustered.
"No, Chloe, I don't think Jason looks like Julia Roberts. I just meant that . . . well, he's just like her."
"He has big hair and wears sexy little dresses?" Chloe commented, earning herself another round of giggles from Belle.
Try as she may, Mimi couldn't stop a weak smile from appearing on her lips. "I meant that his personality is a lot like her character's in this movie."
"Ah," responded Chloe. "You're trying to tell us that Jason likes to run around in wedding gowns."
Struggling to not start laughing like Belle, Mimi replied, "No! It's just that he's sorta like a runaway bride. He's so afraid of commitment that it almost keeps him from functioning normally."
"Why is that?" Chloe inquisitively questioned, her laughter quickly fading away.
"What?" Mimi asked in confusion. "Why is what?"
Her smile gone from her face, Chloe seriously asked, "Why is Jason so afraid of commitment?"
"It's . . . complicated. To be honest, I'm not even sure if I really know. But, I can tell you that if he really loved me, he would find some way to overcome his fear of marriage."
"Mimi . . . ."
"No, Belle, it's the truth. Look at Philip and Chloe and all the stuff they went through to be together. But, somehow, they made it - because they really love each other."
"Mimi," comforted Chloe. "You and Jason are not me and Philip. It's like comparing apples and oranges. I'm not saying either of us is better, we're just different."
Frowning, Mimi muttered, "Yeah, but at least Philip wanted to marry you. Jason doesn't even care if I move halfway across the world."
Using her sternest voice, Belle said, "That's not true, Mimi. And, you know. Jason loves you more than life itself. I'm willing to be my own life on it."
Throwing his tired body down on one of the benches across the street from Salem Place, Jason groaned, "I can't believe this is happening to me. I just can't believe it. You'd think that there would be at least one person upstairs looking down on me with a little pity."
"Jase, man, I really am sorry. I wish there was something I could . . . " Shawn's sentence was left unfinished due to the sudden ringing of his cellular phone. "Hello. . . oh, hey, Phil . . . I'm with Jason . . . oh, yeah, well, we've had a pretty unbelievable day too . . ."
Jason's attention was suddenly drawn to the phone conversation when Shawn rose to his feet and exclaimed, "You what?!?"
A smile engulfing his entire face, Shawn listened intently to whatever it was that Philip was saying, occasionally supplying a short exclamation in response. Ending the phone call, Shawn continued to smile like a fool as he told Jason, "That was Philip."
Jason, his mood quite sour as a result of his unsuccessful shopping expedition, rolled his eyes and muttered, "Yeah, I kinda picked up on that."
"He has the ring."
Jumping to his feet, Jason grabbed Shawn's shoulders and demanded, "He what?"
"Philip has the ring."
Jason released Shawn and took a staggering step backwards. "How is that even possible?"
"Apparently, Philip was at the jewelry store to pick up a bracelet for Chloe. Anyway, while he was waiting, he happened to notice another guy looking at the ring you wanted to buy for Mimi. So, being Phil, he immediately found some way to convince the other guy to let him buy the ring. And, now, all you have to do is go pick it up at Philip and Chloe's house."
His face overcome with a smile even more foolish than the one upon Shawn's face, Jason happily exclaimed, "This is great! Oh, man, maybe things will work out after all."
"Trust me, Jase, things will turn out just fine."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
"Trust me, Jase, things will turn out just fine," mocked Jason as he unhappily glared at Shawn. "Did you or did you not say those exact words to me less than an hour ago?"
"Well, yeah," acknowledged Shawn. "But, how was I to know that Philip would lose the ring?"
Sending Shawn an unamused glare, Philip calmly stated, "I didn't lose the engagement ring. It just seems to be not where I left it."
Shaking his head, Jason asked, "Why exactly was it that Chloe agreed to marry you?"
"Maybe because we love each other and I wasn't too big of a chicken to propose," responded Philip, a twinge of anger lurking in his words.
Though he was tempted to intervene, Shawn decided to just let his two friends handle their disagreement on their own. After all, that's the way they had always done things. Still, Shawn couldn't help but hope that Jason and Philip were mature enough to not solve their problems with their fists like they had in high school.
His innate cockiness winning out over his learned patience, Jason retorted, "Yeah, well, at least I was man enough to stay in the country to be with her instead of running away to London."
"No," Philip responded with matched cockiness. "That's what Mimi is doing to you."
The moment Jason rose from his seat, Shawn did the same and abandoned all thoughts of allowing the men to work out their differences on their own. Placing a restrictive arm on Jason's shoulder, Shawn calmly stated, "Look, we all just need to calm down."
After tossing Philip yet another displeased glare, Jason gritted his teeth and said, "I just don't understand how Phil could lose the ring."
"I told you," exclaimed Philip. "I didn't lose the ring . . ."
"It's just not where you left it," finished Jason.
The anger quickly disappearing, Philip said, "Jase, I really am sorry that the ring has vanished. But, I swear to you that I left it on the mantle."
"And, when you came downstairs after calling us, it was gone," summarized Shawn as he pondered where the ring could have possibly gone. "Philip, what about Chloe?"
Knowing exactly where Shawn's thoughts were leading, Philip answered, "No, she doesn't have it. I didn't even put it on the mantle until after she left with Belle."
"Belle and Chloe went out together?" Shawn curiously asked.
"Yeah, Belle called and wanted to talk to Chloe. Then, twenty minutes later, Belle was dragging Chloe out of the house."
"That's strange," commented Shawn. "Did they mention where they might be going?"
"Not a word. But, I could have sworn that I heard them whispering about ice cream."
"Hmm," pondered Shawn.
Jason shook his head with disbelief as his two best friends carried on their pointless conversation as though nothing were wrong. "Hello?!? Remember me? I'm the guy who's about to lose the woman he loves if he can't find her a ring."
"Look, Jase, it's eleven o'clock. I seriously doubt that we can find a jewelry store still open." Giving his friend an almost apologetic look, Philip continued, "But, if the ring doesn't turn up by tomorrow afternoon, we can just go back to the jewelry store and buy her a different one."
"First, I don't want a different ring - I want the one that pulled the vanishing act. Second, I don't have until tomorrow afternoon." Seeing the confusion on the faces of his companions, Jason explained, "Mimi is getting on a plane at seven thirty in the morning. She's going to be in London for about a week getting things set up before she actually moves over there. And, I just have this feeling that if I don't get a ring on her finger tonight, it'll never happen."
Philip approached Jason and gave him a friendly pat on the back, saying, "Don't worry, pal, we'll get a ring on her finger one way or another."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
"If Jason were a woman, that's who he would be," Mimi commented tearfully.
Restraining from the urge to laugh, Belle only allowed herself to smile and nod. Meanwhile, Chloe glanced curiously back and forth between Mimi's dismal expression and the television screen before asking, "You think Jason looks like Julia Roberts?"
That was the final straw for Belle, and she began to giggle uncontrollably at the look upon Mimi's face. Never had she seen her friend look so flustered.
"No, Chloe, I don't think Jason looks like Julia Roberts. I just meant that . . . well, he's just like her."
"He has big hair and wears sexy little dresses?" Chloe commented, earning herself another round of giggles from Belle.
Try as she may, Mimi couldn't stop a weak smile from appearing on her lips. "I meant that his personality is a lot like her character's in this movie."
"Ah," responded Chloe. "You're trying to tell us that Jason likes to run around in wedding gowns."
Struggling to not start laughing like Belle, Mimi replied, "No! It's just that he's sorta like a runaway bride. He's so afraid of commitment that it almost keeps him from functioning normally."
"Why is that?" Chloe inquisitively questioned, her laughter quickly fading away.
"What?" Mimi asked in confusion. "Why is what?"
Her smile gone from her face, Chloe seriously asked, "Why is Jason so afraid of commitment?"
"It's . . . complicated. To be honest, I'm not even sure if I really know. But, I can tell you that if he really loved me, he would find some way to overcome his fear of marriage."
"Mimi . . . ."
"No, Belle, it's the truth. Look at Philip and Chloe and all the stuff they went through to be together. But, somehow, they made it - because they really love each other."
"Mimi," comforted Chloe. "You and Jason are not me and Philip. It's like comparing apples and oranges. I'm not saying either of us is better, we're just different."
Frowning, Mimi muttered, "Yeah, but at least Philip wanted to marry you. Jason doesn't even care if I move halfway across the world."
Using her sternest voice, Belle said, "That's not true, Mimi. And, you know. Jason loves you more than life itself. I'm willing to be my own life on it."