Page 87 of Baby Blue
Dinner was amazing, and Blue was proud as a peacock. He’d spared no expense and called in a reservation to the nicest place in the little Georgia town, and it had exceeded his expectations in every way. The food was delicious, the décor and ambience spot-on, and the desserts… they were incredible.
But the most incredible thing was Anne’s face. Her smile was as wide as the sky and her eyes were lit up like sparklers. She looked every bit as happy as he felt, and he was happy?over-the-moon happy. He was pretty sure he’d be happier in a couple of hours.
He wasn’t wrong. As soon as they’d finished dinner, he drove straight to the mall, but instead of going inside, he pulled into the parking lot of the big jewelry store out front. Once the car was parked, he turned to the woman beside him. “Sure about this?”
“Are you?”
He nodded. “Sure enough that if you don’t want to, I think I’ll buy one anyway and wear it myself.”
“That’s pretty sure,” she said with a grin.
“Yeah. Let’s do this thing.” In seconds, he’d rounded the front end of the van and opened the door for her. He’d seen somebody do that on TV for their girlfriend and he’d decided to try it with Anne. Oddly enough, she seemed to like it and told him how “gallant” he was. Blue wasn’t too sure about that, but it was easy enough to do and it made her happy, so he figured he’d keep doing it.
The array of rings inside was mind-blowing. It got to the point that Blue wasn’t sure which ones they’d looked at and which they hadn’t. There were only two cases left that they hadn’t gone through when they rounded a corner and Anne whispered, “Oh my god, that’s it right there. That’s what I want.”
Blue motioned a salesclerk over to open the case and when he slipped it on Anne’s finger, there was no doubt. It was definitely the ring for her?it almost looked as though he’d had it custom-made for her. “Oh my god, it’s so beautiful,” she whispered to him, then took it off and showed him the tag. She just shook her head and murmured, “No. It’s too much.”
The salesclerk smiled. “Do you like it?”
Anne held the ring out to the young woman. “Yes, very much. Do you have anything like it that’s a little, um, maybe slightly…”
“We offer financing,” the young woman offered.
“Do you offer a cash discount?” Blue asked, and in his peripheral vision he could see Anne’s mouth fall open.
“Oh, yes, sir. Fifteen percent, and we pay the sales tax for you. That’s only for pieces over twenty-five hundred dollars,” she added.
“Then write it up.”
Anne shook her head and leaned in to whisper in his ear. “No, babe. That’s too much.”
“It’snottoo much, not for the woman I love. We’re getting it, end of discussion. Oh, and do you have the band that matches it?” he asked the clerk.
“Yes, sir.” The woman reached into the case and pulled it out to show to them.
“Go pick out what you want to give me and we’ll put the bands in layaway. I assume you can do that?” he asked.
“Yes, sir. Ma’am, the men’s wedding bands are over here,” she said as she walked away, motioning for Anne to follow. Anne shot Blue a look that made him chuckle under his breath.
An hour later, they were on their way home, the tiny box in Blue’s inside jacket pocket.Man, these jackets are pretty handy, he told himself as he thought about how he’d looked in the mirror earlier. The sport coat he’d bought went with a lot of things, even jeans, and he felt dressed up and mature when he put it on. “So am I getting it tonight?” Anne asked, jarring him out of his own thoughts.
“No. I pick the time and place where I formally ask you,” he announced.
She sighed and he looked over just in time to see her smile. “Okay. Sounds good to me.”
As Anne collected the kids at Glen and Shelby’s house with Shelby’s help, Blue showed the ring to Glen. “Wow. That’s beautiful,” Glen said with a huge smile.
“Yeah. It was what she wanted and I had enough to get it. I wanted to do something special for her, you know?” Blue said.
“She’s a special person. I hope you guys will be very happy,” Glen told him and slapped him on the shoulder.
“Thanks,” he told the attorney. For once, he didn’t feel intimidated by Glen’s money or education. He almost felt like an equal. Glen had certainly always treated him that way, and he realized it wasn’t Glen’s treatment of him. It was the way he’dcome to see himself, and it was a relief to feel like he fit into society.
The rest of the week flew by, and the weekend stared him in the face. Friday night’s set at the bar had been brutal, but he’d done it and still managed to get up at eight o’clock on Saturday morning. Anne was herding the kids through the house to clean their rooms as she watched Indigo playing in her play yard. “Hey, you’re up!”
“Yeah, barely.” Blue headed for the coffee pot and poured himself a tall mug full. “So whaddya think about going fishing this afternoon?”
Anne wheeled and stared at him. “Fishing? Are you serious?”
