Object: Fairy lights
"See, this is why I love bargain shopping." Alice gave a little squeak of pleasure as she darted for a particular shelf. "Is there anything better than the Kohl's clearance shelves?"
"I can think of a few things," Jasper said, a rueful smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. It was a shelf he wouldn't have looked twice at, filled as it was with dilapidated boxes and loose merchandise.
"Oh." Alice gasped, her face lighting as she held something up for his inspection. "Look at this. Isn't this perfect?"
"Perfect." He pressed his lips together, trying not to laugh. Perfect wasn't exactly the word he'd use for anything in sight, let alone this plastic looking string hanging out of its ripped box. "Are those Christmas lights?" he guessed.
She made a face. "Christmas lights. Please. They're fairy lights."
"Oh, because that makes more sense," he teased.
She sighed and gave him that look she always did when she thought he lacked vision. "It's ambiance. Maybe makes a space look a little magical. Or you can use them in projects. There's this video I saw on Facebook of a person making a mushroom village-a planter or something-and she used fairy lights to light up the mushroom homes."
"As one does." He took the box and examined it. Someone had clearly tried to rip the string of lights from the box. He'd bet money on the fact they wouldn't all work. "You said they were perfect. For what?" He flashed her a grin. "Are we making a mushroom village?"
"I'm buying them." She tilted her chin up as though in defiance.
He tossed the thankfully-very-clearanced box into the hand-held shopping basket. "I'm buying, sug. But I will let you treat me to Starbucks later. Now, let's get going. A lot of other people's trash to turn into your treasure."
Slinging his free arm around her shoulders, he pressed a kiss to her hair as they walked off. He adored this woman and her little quirks. He'd always loved this about her-that she was attracted to imperfect things. If it was bent or broken, she was more likely to buy it. She'd told him once it hurt her heart thinking of all the unloved things that would be trashed if she wasn't there to rescue them.
It was cute, and it was heartbreaking. It was heartbreaking because he understood exactly why she had such a desire to save things no one else wanted. She'd been one of those things once upon the time. Plagued by mental health issues since childhood, her parents had all but abandoned her. She'd been raised by a loving aunt and uncle, but her parents' rejection had left its mark.
Back at home, Alice got right to work. Knowing she was in the zone, Jasper let her be. He made them a post-shopping meal with a side of jack and cokes and took them upstairs to her little office space.
Alice stood, hands on her hips, studying her handiwork with a satisfied expression. Jasper set the tray he'd brought up on the desk and sat in her office chair, pulling her onto his lap. The fairy lights were strung along the shelves above her desk adding, as she'd promised, a pretty ambiance to the space. He bit the inside of his cheek. "That one's flickering." He pointed to the light in the middle.
"That makes it lucky." She leaned back against him, her fingers running over his clasped hands.
"Does it?"
"Yeah. You see it blink, you make a wish."
He chuckled. "You know how to make broken things beautiful, don't you, darlin'?" he asked looking not at the fairy light but at his arms. They were littered with scars. Most of his body was.
They were a matched set.
"Babe, your heart is pounding." Alice shifted, angling her body she could look at him. "What's wrong?"
His smile was serene. "Not a damn thing." He swallowed hard. "I was hoping you wouldn't mind something new."
Alice gasped as he opened his clasped hands to show her the thing he'd hidden there. A ring box.
"We can chip it if you really want," he offered, his voice calmer than he felt.
She laughed and turned all the way around, straddling his lap and covering his face with kisses. "New can be good too. And yes, of course, I will marry you."