Page 84 of Nine

“Baby, come here. She needs to size the ring, send it out and then we can pick it up in about a week.”

I walk over with Mya in hand. The sales clerk is holding a giant ring with a bunch of smaller rings attached to it. She looks at a few sizes and then holds one up. I slide my finger in, and it’s a perfect fit.

“Size 6. I know my fingers,” she says with a smile.

We fill out some paperwork and I see that the final balance says five thousand dollars. I’m thinking there must be a mistake, but who am I to correct her.

“Thank you for your deposit. You can pay the remainder when you pick it up. We’ll give you a call when it’s ready.”

We exit the store, and as soon as we turn the corner, I ask him about the receipt. “That ring was eight thousand dollars. The balance said five thousand. That’s got to be a mistake, right?”

“I offered up three engagement photo shoots for her to giveaway to customers, if she took off three grand. I said she could use it as an incentive to get shoppers to spend a little extra money. She loved the idea.”

“You are brilliant,” I say, and kiss him. “I almost passed out in there when I heard the price.”

“It’s just money; we can’t take it with us when we die. You might as well have the things you enjoy on this earth while you’re here.”

“I have you, and Mya, and that’s really all I need.”

“So you don’t want the shiny diamond ring I saw you drooling over?”

“I didn’t say that I didn’t want it.” I smile.

Mya pulls us toward Build-A-Bear. Her little legs are going fast and hard to get there. She stops when she comes head to head with the purple polka dot magical unicorn model at the front of the store.

“It’s you,” she whispers.

Trig and I stare down and watch as the craziness unfolds. She reaches into the box and grabs a flat clothed unicorn out. She holds it up to her heart and talks to it.

“Don’t worry. I’ll bring you to life, little guy.”

She takes off to the stuffing guy while me and Trig sit down to watch her. I look at him staring at his daughter and it’s beautiful. He watches her like a lion does a cub, and I know he’d kill anyone that got near her. I take this moment to break some interesting news to him.

“Trig, I’m late,” I say.

“Late for what? We don’t have any appointments or events today.”

“No. I mean, I’m like late, late.”

He slowly moves his body around and looks at me. I can see the wheels in his head finally turning.

“Like…missed your period late?”

I nod.

“More like missed two periods.”

“Why didn’t you tell me earlier?”

“You’ve been busy, and I’ve been busy. I thought it was stress at first, and then when the second month passed by I knew something was up.”

“Do you feel sick?”

“No. Just tired mostly, but that’s from work.”

“Did you take one of those pee tests?”

“I bought one, but I haven’t taken it yet. I thought we could do it together. Just don’t tell Mya until we know for sure. You know how she’s always saying she wants a little sister. I wouldn’t want to disappoint her if I’m not.”

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