18. Kalen
18
KALEN
I had no idea what I was doing, and my brother was less than zero help. He didn’t understand why I wanted to buy a ring for my mate. To him, we were mated, and that was that. Getting engaged and married was redundant in his mind. He tried to be supportive, but as far as giving me advice went, he couldn’t be my go-to source.
And I understood exactly where he was coming from. If Arlo hadn’t been human, our mating would’ve been our everything as far as commitments went. But he was human, and I wanted to make this as special for him as I possibly could. And that was why I watched endless reels of proposals, read far too many blogs about how to ask your partner to be your forever, and was going to be the first person in my family to be engaged… ever.
But despite all my research, I was still clueless. I needed to find someone who could bridge the gap between my knowledge and my goal. That person was my co-worker, Madeline. Her late mate had been a rabbit shifter, and he’d made very different choices than I had, not telling her about his animal until they had a child who was about ready to have their first shift. I couldn’t imagine doing that to my mate but tried to remind myself it was a very different time, Madeline being over a decade past retirement age.
Madeline was far from hip and young, but she was romantic. Pairing that with being a human who understood about shifters made her my best partner in crime. When I asked her to come with me to the jewelry store and why, she was over the moon.
We went to a local shop where the jeweler and his sons still actually made most of their pieces. In her words, “You don’t want something trendy. You want something that fits his personality.”
I wanted to ask her how I was supposed to know what jewelry fit his personality, but she started to go down memory lane, and I didn’t want to interrupt. Despite his dishonesty to her for so long, Madeline was still madly in love with her late husband.
The jewelry store was very different from what I had imagined. The only ones I’d seen in the past were in the mall. There was something cold about them. I mean, sure, it’s nice to have something sparkly around your neck, but they had an entire case of chains, and I couldn’t tell the difference between them.
As a shifter, I tended not to wear jewelry because it was a pain when I needed to shift—I’d have to take it off first and then have someplace safe to stow it. So maybe that was why I didn’t get it? But either which way, this store was nothing like it. The second we walked in, I felt more like I was in an art studio than anything resembling my mall experience. Already, I was happy that I picked Madeline to help. This was the place. I could feel it.
“How may I help you?” We were greeted by a man who looked to be at least my father’s age, probably a bit older.
“I came for an engagement present… a ring.”
He looked back and forth between us. “I see. And what is your style?”
Madeline gasped. “Me? Oh, no, no,” she said, breaking into laughter. “I am no cougar.”
She shook her head and pointed to me. “But this guy—he’s no romantic, so we need something great for his omega. Something unique, but low profile so it won’t get in the way while doing his daily activities.”
That wasn’t something I had even considered. “My m— Arlo has been doing a lot of gardening, so maybe something that he could keep on for that?”
The man closed his eyes for a few seconds, then opened them with a smile. “I have exactly what you need. Why don’t you take a seat?”
He hadn’t been wanting to get us in and out, done. The man had taken a moment to really think about it first. Madeline for the win.
He led us to a small desk, offered us tea, and after bringing Madeline a cup, disappeared in the back.
“Is this how it’s always done?” I asked. “I mean not at the mall.”
Madeline shrugged. “This is a nice place, so probably?”
The jeweler came back ten minutes later with a tray of rings, and I didn’t even need to think twice. I knew instantly which one was Arlo’s. It was platinum, which wasn’t what drew me to it particularly, but along the sides, it had lines—wavy ones that reminded me of my mane. Now I understood what Madeline meant by fitting his personality. This ring might as well have been made for him.
“I like this one.” I indicated the ring, and the man took it off the tray and handed it to me. Not only was it gorgeous, but the texture on the band was smooth and even more detailed than I'd originally noticed.
“This was handmade by my son.” His pride beamed through. “Excellent choice.”
“You sure you don’t want to get him something nicer?” Madeline whispered, making me second-guess myself for a split second. “There are some nice ones with diamonds.”
“If by ‘nicer,’ you mean more expensive,” the jeweler interrupted, “then yes, we absolutely have better options. But I saw the second your friend took that ring in, and there was a recognition there. This is the one. I wouldn’t, in good conscience, sell him anything else—not even this one, which is five times the price.”
“This is the one.” I appreciated his honesty. I took out my card and handed it to him, not even looking at the price. I didn’t care. This was for my mate, and I couldn’t wait to give it to him.
A few minutes later, the transaction was complete and Madeline and I were walking out, me with the ring box in my pocket.
After thanking Madeline and telling her I owed her one, we went our separate ways, with me going home. Only, it wasn’t really home.
Arlo and I were taking turns going back and forth between my house and his, and it wasn’t because we weren’t planning on living together. We just hadn’t made any decisions yet. For me, it was waiting until I had this ring so we could do this the human way. And for him, it was probably because he knew I was the owner, and therefore, when one of us moved, it meant we had to sell the other place.
I didn’t love the arrangement and hoped to remedy that soon.
After a couple impromptu stops, one to grab a plant from the nursery and the other to snag some ingredients to make one of my better dishes, a simple pasta with seafood, I was home. The plan was to cook him dinner, eat together, and then ask him to marry me.
But as soon as I saw him, that plan flew out the window.
That ring was burning a hole in my pocket, and before I even knew what I was doing, I was getting down on one knee and holding out the box.
“Arlo, I… I love you more than all of the fancy poems and sonnets could ever describe. My life is exponentially more complete with you in it, and I want you tied to me in all ways.”
His eyes were glued to the box.
“We’re already mated, and our lives are one, but legally, and in the eyes of our human friends and coworkers, well, I…” I plopped open the box. “Will you?—”
I never got to finish.
Because he bolted.
At first, I worried it was a no—that somehow, I had misjudged all of this.
But then I heard him retching.
My mate was sick.
Or the idea of being married to me made him ill.
And heck—neither was good.
“May I come in?” I didn’t want to embarass him and some people were weird about puke, but not already being by his side to help him sucked.
“Yes.”
I slowly came in to find him splashing cold water on his face.
“Tell me how to help you.”
“Yes.” He turned to face me. “The answer is yes. Sorry I ruined your romantic proposal with… this.”
He said yes.
“You didn’t ruin a thing. I promise you.”
“Then why don’t I have a ring on my finger.” He held his hand out, and I slipped it on.
He picked up his hand and looked at it intensely. “It reminds me of your lion.”
“I thought so too.”
He ran his thumb along the band. “I really want to kiss you now but… so, raincheck?”
“Absol—”
I was cut off by my mate rushing back to the toilet. It was safe to say he was never going to forget my proposal. That was for sure.