Mark, Emily, Maureen, Joanne and Penny made their way up to the Loft. Penny was a little ahead of the others, with Emily's old Yankees cap on her head, tossing around the foul ball she'd caught during the game, and trying not to laugh as she listened to the adults talking behind her.

"Oh, for goodness sakes, Maureen," Joanne was saying. "It was just a glob of mayonnaise that fell onto your hot dog. It wasn't going to kill you. There was no reason to shout in disgust and throw it into the trash."

"It's gross!" Maureen pouted. "Mayonnaise on a hot dog. Emily, how can you eat them like that?"

"They put mayonnaise on burgers all the time," Mark defended Emily's preference in hot dog condiments. "It's not that unusual."

"Oh why don't the two of you just start a fan club for gross toppings for hot dogs?" Maureen continued, rounding on Mark. "You could go off and be the King and Queen of strange tastes, with her liking mayonnaise, and you always wanting that cabbage stuff on yours."

"It's sauerkraut," Emily spoke up. "And a lot of people eat hot dogs with sauerkraut, just like there are others who put mayonnaise on their hot dogs."

"Why am I not surprised you two are defending each other?" Maureen mumbled as she slid the metal door open. Inside the Loft, Mimi immediately looked up from her spot by the window.

"Roger, you need to… oh, it's you," Mimi trailed off. "I thought it was Roger coming back from his emergency band meeting."

"What did he do now?" Joanne asked, noticing the dancer's expression.

"I found this," Mimi walked over and handed her friends the receipt for her ring. "Look at the price."

"That can't be right," Mark stared at the price.

"You don't know where he got that much?" Mimi eyed him skeptically. "You're his best friend."

"I know, but he never said how much he had to pay for that ring," Mark replied. "I thought he stuck to our limited budget." Mimi and Mark turned to Maureen and Joanne.

"Don't look at us," Maureen insisted.

"We didn't even know what Roger was planning until you showed us the ring," Joanne agreed. Mimi frowned as she suddenly noticed Emily fiddling with her locket, the way she always did when she was feeling nervous.

"Emily," Mimi gave her a stern glance. Emily looked even more awkward when she noticed everyone was now looking at her.

"He… he made me promise not to say…." she admitted hesitantly.

"Not to say what?" Mimi marched right up to her, looking very irritable.

"I can't, Mimi. I'm sorry, but…"

"Emily?" Mimi cut her off. "I'm really sorry, but you give me no choice." Before anyone could say anything, Mimi took hold of Emily's hand and started to bend her thumb back. "Tell me!"

"Mimi, cut it out!"

"What did he do?"

"He made me promise…"

"Just tell me!"

"Mimi, you're gonna break her thumb!" Mark imputed. Mimi placed a bit more pressure on Emily's thumb in response.

"She just has to say…"

"His Fender! His Fender!" Emily cried out. With that, Mimi let go of her hand.

"Roger's fender? What about it?" Mimi frowned. Emily took a moment to rub her thumb before finally meeting her friends' eyes.

"He made me promise not to say."

"What did he make you promise not to say?" Joanne encouraged.

"Um, Roger stopped by my place downstairs a week before he proposed," Emily gave in. "Said he wanted to talk."

Flashback

Roger took a seat on Emily's sofa, while Emily pulled up a stool. Wenceslas, Emily's pet potbellied pig, trotted up and sniffed at Roger's shoes until he picked the little black pig up and placed him on the couch at his side.

"So, what did you want to talk about?" Emily asked as Wenceslas rested his head on Roger's lap, with Roger patting the pig's head. "Judging by the look on your face, it must be important."

"Well… Normally, I'd go to Mark, no offence…."

"None taken."

"Right. But in this case, I really think I need a girl's expertise. I don't really want to ask Maureen, because there's always the chance that she'd blab, and if I go to Joanne, Maureen might insist on tagging along, which still brings about the blabbing problem."

"So, I'm sorta your last chance, in a way," Emily nodded.

"I'm not saying that you're my last resort or anything like…."

"I didn't say you were. So, what's the problem that you need a 'girl's expertise' for?"

"Well, you know Mimi and I, we've been together since…." Roger began.

"Since before I met you guys, yes."

"Yeah. Well, I was sorta, kinda, thinking that… you could help me… pick out a ring for her?"

"You're gonna ask her?" Emily's face broke into a grin.

"I put it off long enough," Roger admitted. "I should have done it the second she got out of the hospital after she almost died that Christmas Eve. But I'm not gonna wait any more."

"Not to pry, but what's your budget?"

"I've got a little over five hundred saved up. Do you think that'll be enough?"

"Well… Nana had a distant cousin who worked for a jeweler once. I think that you can still get rings at that price, but it would have to be a simple one."

"That's okay. I knew I couldn't afford anything too fancy. So, do you think you can help me pick one out? I mean, you're a girl, so you'd be a good judge."

"Yeah, I'll help."

Roger ran a hand down his face, accompanied by a deep sigh, as he scanned over the endless rows of rings in the display case. Of all the pointless things they tried to teach him when he and Mark went to school back in Scarsdale, why did they never offer any classes on picking out the right ring for a girl you loved? Sure, he knew the ring had to be inexpensive, but all these looked it.

"Roger, I don't mean to sound impatient," Emily spoke up. "But you've been looking for about fifteen minutes, and the clerk looks like he's ready to kill you."

"I can't help it. The rings that come in a box of Crackerjack look better then these ones." Roger groaned. "Maybe we should try somewhere else."

"Somewhere else? You do realize this is the sixth store we looked in, don't you? I'm not trying to rush you or anything, but it is getting late, and I really should be starting to think about what I'm making Penny for dinner tonight. Leftover pizza can only last so long." Roger continued to look over the rings in the case before his shoulders slumped in defeat.

"Maybe… I should call it a night," he relented. "I just really wanted to find something today." However, as he started to turn, he looked one more time and saw it. "Wait a minute. Hey, Emily, look at this one." Emily glanced down at the ring Roger was pointing to. It was a simple solitaire ring with a white gold setting. But it was still quite pretty, with the diamond gleaming in the display lights.

"It's lovely," Emily agreed. Grinning widely, Roger motioned to the clerk.

"I'd like this one, please," Roger pointed out the ring he chose.

"A fine choice," the clerk nodded as he removed the indicated ring from display. "That will be two thousand." Upon hearing the price, Roger's eyebrows shot up and Emily's jaw dropped slightly.

"WHAT?!" Roger shouted.

"There's no need to scream, sir," the clerk scolded.

"Hang on," Emily stepped up. "Why is that one so much, when the ones over there are cheaper? I mean, they're the same size, same color…"

"Actually, they're not the same," the clerk insisted with a snooty manner. "Those rings are standard solitaire rings. The one your friend picked out, however, comes with a quality assessment certificate, and is guaranteed to be unmatched in brilliance. The price stands at two thousand. Since you two are obviously from the low income class, which is clear from your attire, you would be better off with the cheap imitations."

"Roger," Emily sighed, noticing his hands were clenching. "It's not worth it. We'll just go somewhere else. I'm sure we'll find a much better ring for Mimi." Roger growled in frustration, and gave the ring a final glance. He had already been picturing giving that ring to Mimi, and imaging how it would look on her finger, and seeing her beautiful eyes shining even brighter then the diamond. But right before he turned to leave, he stopped as a thought entered his mind.

"Hang on. Emily, what time is it?"

"It's a little before 5:30. Why?" Instead of replying, Roger turned back to the clerk.

"Hey, would you be able to keep that ring out until I get back?"

"We close at six sharp," the clerk informed.

"Oh, I'll be back before then," Roger promised, hurrying out of the shop, with a confused Emily following him.

A short time later, Roger was practically running up the stairs to the Loft, with Emily behind him.

"Roger, come on!" she called after him. "What are you doing? Will you just explain what's going on in that head of yours?" Roger finally started talking as he slid open the door.

"It's gotta be that ring, Emily. It's like how you know you know you love someone. You just know it."

"But you heard how much that ring was. There's no way you'll be able to get enough money. And you are not going to head down to the Food Emporium's ATM."

"You've never really had a problem with that ATM before."

"That's because you take money out a little at a time, and you put it to things you need, like AZT for you, Mimi and Collins. But don't you think someone would notice if two thousand dollars suddenly went missing from that machine?"

"Emily, I don't think I ever said I was going to use the ATM," Roger pointed out. "I know a pawn shop around here. I went there once before, when I ran off to Santa Fe after Angel's funeral."

"Okay, but what exactly do you plan to…" Emily stopped when she noticed Roger was now holding his red fender, looking at it in torment. "Roger, you're not serious!"

"It's the only way," Roger closed his eyes, carefully storing it in its case. "I need the money for Mimi's ring, and I should be able to get a bit for this."

"But... Roger, you love that fender."

"I know," Roger looked over at her, his face set. "But I love Mimi more."

End Flashback

"His fender?!" Mark gaped.

"He gave up his fender?" Joanne echoed.

"What is he talking about, me blabbing?" Maureen cried. "Would I blab?"

"Auntie Maureen, I really don't think that's what you should be upset about," Penny laughed before smiling over at Mimi. "Wow. Roger must really love you, Mimi."

"He wouldn't let himself get talked out of it," Emily concluded. "He made me promise not to tell anyone." Mimi had sat quietly through the whole story, and she still remained quiet. Finally, she glanced up.

"Do you know where this pawn shop is, Emily?" Mimi asked.

"Yeah. Why?"

"Because I have business there now."