Fifty-Nine
before
“So you haven’t talked to Shiloh about this...” Mikey was standing on the other side of a jewelry case. He wore Otis in a sling around his chest—both
Mikey and Otis seemed so accustomed to the sling that they didn’t notice it. Mike supported the baby with a palm under his
rump and held one of Otis’s chubby hands.
Janine had gone back to work. Mikey was with Otis all day now. He was home when Cary arrived from the airport.
“No.” Cary was looking down at the jewelry case. There were hundreds of rings, new and used. This place specialized in unusual
jewelry. Antiques. Independent designers.
“Maybe you should talk to her...” Mikey said.
Cary sighed. “You said you’d help me pick out a ring.”
“And I will. I will.”
“This is pretty.” Cary pointed at a ring. “Is this pretty?”
Mikey squinted at it. “It’s pretty. Yeah. It’s kind of normal. Shiloh’s going to want something no one else has. Maybe a different
gem? Like an emerald?”
“Emeralds are soft. I want a diamond.”
“The ring isn’t for you, Carold.”
Cary looked up. He felt agitated. “I want her to know that I was ready to buy a diamond. She can trade it for something else
if she doesn’t like it, I don’t care.”
Mikey seemed concerned. He patted Otis’s bottom. “Are you guys— I mean, Cary, does Shiloh know how you feel about her?”
Cary shrugged. “Yes. Yes and no.”
“I pre-asked Janine. To make sure I had a clear landing.”
Cary made a sour face. “What’s the difference between pre-asking and asking?”
“You hint . You talk about the future. You give her a chance to tell you not to propose...”
“Shiloh can say no if she doesn’t want to marry me.”
“Okay. Well...” Mikey’s eyebrows twitched. “That sounds painful.”
Cary put his hands on his hips. “You think she’s gonna say no?”
Mikey looked like he wanted to throw up his hands—but he was holding a baby. “I don’t know what she’s going to say! She told
me you guys were just friends!”
“You’ve always wanted us to get together, Mike!”
“I still do! I’m just worried about you.”
Cary sighed again. He walked over to a different case. “These are all used over here. I don’t think she’d mind used.”
“No, me neither.”
They both stared at the case. Cary’s eyes stopped on a silvery one with a decent-sized diamond and lots of lacy detail. There
was something nautical about it. Cary pointed at it. “What about this one?”
“Oh, that’s nice,” Mikey said. “Kind of art deco, with the filigree?”
They asked to see it. Cary liked the ring even more up close. It looked old and a little fussy. He looked at Mikey. “That’s
it, right?”
Mikey looked like he was really thinking about it, which Cary appreciated. “Yeah. I think she’ll love it.”
They waited for the clerk to get the paperwork. Mikey looked worried, like someone watching his team lose a big game.
“I just feel like I’ve wasted so much time,” Cary said, trying to explain himself. “I want to get right with her. And myself.
I want to start living and dying in the right direction.”
Mikey let go of Otis’s hand and patted Cary’s shoulder. “You’re a good man, Cary.”