30. Chapter 30
Chapter 30
Zach
B efore Mom left a few days ago, I asked for some advice. It’s probably a question I’d ask my dad, if I had one.
I clearly jumped the gun asking Mazie to marry me without a ring, without a grand proposal. It’s something I need to correct. But I’ve never gone jewelry shopping before. I’ve never even considered buying a diamond ring.
So I asked Mom how’d I know which one to get. And while her eyes widened for a moment, and she blew out a breath, a few cryptic words left her mouth.
“You’ll just know, honey.”
At first, it took me a minute to comprehend what she was saying, because I was sure there had to be more to it than that. But now, as I stand in front of the glass cases with rows and rows of shiny diamond rings, I know she was full of shit.
It takes a lot to make me nervous. I literally just took a bullet for somebody. Yet, standing here has my heart racing and a light sweat breaking out across my forehead.
I’m not worried about Mazie changing her mind, but I want to get this right . She’s not a materialistic person, but doesn’t every girl dream about their engagement ring and wedding? It’s my job to make those dreams a reality, even if I don’t know what they are.
Part of me considered calling Eli, but I didn’t want him swaying my decision. As much as he knows his sister, sometimes his ideas of what she wants are a bit out of left field. Not to mention, I haven’t seen him since the hospital. We’ve both checked on each other, made sure the other was okay, even though I’m fairly certain neither of us are. But we haven’t laid eyes on one another.
Just as my eyes start to spin from the glitz all around me, an older blonde woman walks out of the backroom with a smile plastered to her face. I came all the way out to Pineville City to make sure no rumblings made their way around Juniper Grove.
“Hi there. Anything I can help you with today?”
“I’d like to buy an engagement ring.”
Her smile brightens, and she clasps her hands in front of her. “Oh how exciting! What kind are you thinking?”
My eyebrows raise; and I pull my lips between my teeth. Am I supposed to know the different kinds?
She giggles and waves me over to the center case, unlocking the door behind it and pulling something out. In each slot sits a plain band with a different shaped diamond.
“These are the various cuts of diamond.” She points to the one on the top left. “Round, heart, cushion, princess, oval, pear, marquise, emerald, and radiant.”
I run my hand down my face as I look over the options. It’s even more complicated than I could have imagined.
“One thing I suggest is to look at them and see if there are any you think your girlfriend wouldn’t like. Start with process of elimination.”
With a nod and sharp swallow, I narrow my eyes and bend to look a little closer. It’s easy to eliminate all but the round and oval. None of the others feel like something Mazie would want to wear. So I point to the two of them wordlessly.
“See? Not quite so hard. Next, we’ll pick a setting you like.”
She puts the diamonds away and pulls out a few trays that are filled with various styles of rings. Now, I can tell what Mom was saying about how I’d know. There are many that are easy to look over, ones that aren’t right. Some are too glitzy, some are too plain.
But then my eyes land on one and my heart jumps. Carefully, I pull it from its spot in the tray and pull it closer to my face so I can examine it closer.
The ring itself is not quite gold, but definitely not a silver color either. It’s almost…pink. The center diamond is an oval and the sides of the ring are twisted and encrusted with tiny diamonds. It has a feeling of being old, while still being beautiful and new.
Mazie always loved her mom’s ring. But I know she’d never want to wear it. Yet somehow, looking at this ring, I feel like Jenna would love it. That it speaks to her as well.
“You look like you’ve found the one.”
My attention is pulled from the ring and back to the woman in front of me. “How do you know?”
“I’ve been doing this for twenty years. I know the look in the eye when it’s the right one. And you, my friend, have the twinkle.”
“Well, you’re right. This is the one. What now?”
The smile that spans her face makes me wonder why I asked.
We spend the next hour going over details of the ring, including the various ‘Cs’ of diamonds for the main stone. Things I never in a million years thought I’d need to know or will ever use again. When all is said and done, I pay a deposit for them to create the ring.
One thing I hadn’t anticipated is going home without a ring today. Nobody warned me you don’t walk out with the ring but simply place an order for them to custom craft it.
It kind of ruins my plans a bit.
My intention was to go home, grab some nice clothes, order Mazie’s favorite dinner from Antonio’s, set the mood with some candles, and get down on one knee before suggesting a movie night. Of her choosing.
While the plan might still remain the same, it’s not something that I can do for a few weeks. It’s frustrating, but there’s nothing I can do about it.
The hard part is that I’ve been antsy, knowing my plans and intentions. And Mazie can tell.
For now, I’ve been able to pass it off as pain or just not being completely right since the shooting. Truth is, I’m doing better than I would have thought. I had to go in briefly to see the station therapist, who mentally cleared me for work, though until I’m healed, I’m still on desk duty.
Not being able to work is incredibly boring. The small trip out to Pineville City helped break up the day a little. Technically, I’m not even cleared to drive. But who’s going to stop me?
It’s going to be an incredibly long several weeks if the most I get out of the house is to walk Mazie to and from Three Sticks. She doesn’t want me driving yet. Despite my injured state, she still feels safe with me by her side, which is something I don’t take for granted.
There’re still a few hours until Mazie’s done at Three Sticks when I get back to Juniper Grove, so I swing by my apartment to grab some fresh clothes. Though I’ve basically spent the majority of our time dating at Mazie’s house, she’s never officially asked me to move in, and I don’t want to be presumptuous. It’s not so much that I think she doesn’t want to, but that she doesn’t know how to ask without thinking she’ll sound silly.
While I could head over to Three Sticks anyway, I don’t want to hinder the progress she’s made. Liv and Alina are both happy to sing her praises at the end of the day and how wonderful she did. I’m worried that if I showed up, she’d just gravitate toward me instead of helping the customers, which is the whole point of the exercise.
With some new clothes tossed into a suitcase, I’m about to leave and spend the afternoon watching TV at Mazie’s. Not only is her setup nicer than mine, but she has better snacks.
But before I make it to the door, something has me hesitating and instead I flop to the couch, running my hand through my hair.
I dig my phone out of my pocket, wincing slightly at the angle I take on, and hold the device in front of me like I’ve never used it before. With a deep breath, I swipe it open and make the call I’ve been avoiding for days.
He picks up on the third ring. “Hey, man.” He sounds tired. Not like his usual self.
“Hey. I’m sorry I haven’t reached out until today. I just—”
“No, no. I should have been the one calling you. I was trying to let you rest and honestly wasn’t sure you wanted to hear from me.”
My eyebrows pinch together. “Why wouldn’t I want to hear from you?”
“You got shot because of me.”
I glance around the room for a second, not really sure what his thought process is. “So?”
“That’s kind of a big deal, Zach.” He sounds almost…angry. I’m not sure if it’s the situation or if it’s because I don’t seem to be understanding his concern.
“I’m aware. And let me tell you, it hurts like a bitch. But I made a conscious decision, Eli. And I’d do it again.”
“Really?” His voice is low and filled with disbelief.
“In a heartbeat.”
Silence fills the line, but I know he’s still there.
“You fix things with my sister?”
“How’d you know they were broken?”
“The sisters talk. Get used to it.” I roll my eyes. He says it like it’s something I don’t already know.
“Yeah, at the midsummer shindig whatever. I, uh…I asked her to marry me.” I pull my lower lip between my teeth while I await his response.
“Did she say yes?”
“She did. I actually put a deposit on a ring today.”
“I would have gone with you.” He sounds hurt, and I pinch my eyes shut.
“I know. I just felt like I needed to do it on my own. To not be swayed at all by what you think she’d like. It had to come from me and me alone.”
“I get that.”
“Are you…okay with us getting married?”
“Not only do you not need my permission, but I’m pretty sure I already gave you my blessing or whatever you want to call it.” There’s a bit of jovialness back in his tone now, and that has me feeling relieved.
“Just double checking.”
“More like quadruple checking, but sure.”
A smile pulls up my lips and I’m almost certain Eli has one on his face too.
But it quickly passes as more silence settles between us. Hopefully, things will go back to normal, and we won’t always have this heaviness.
“Zach?”
“Yeah, man?”
“Thank you.” There’s so much sincerity in those two words. On a level I’ve never experienced from Eli. It’s a little disarming.
“You’re welcome.”
The line clicks dead, and I stare at the phone for a minute. I’m worried about him and if he’s going to be okay. He’s still staying at Liv’s, and I know they’re taking the best care of him and that Jordanna is a major mood booster, but this was traumatic. Especially for somebody like Eli who’s not trained and prepared to take a bullet like I am.
Thankfully, Mazie said he’s already reached out to his old therapist. The one who he saw after Jenna and Paul died. He didn’t seem to be in the best place before this happened. So I’m sure it’s going to take some work for him to get back on level ground.
All I can do is keep checking in with him.
And even more frequently when he goes back to his apartment.
He’s going to be my brother soon. I was able to protect his life. Now, I need to protect his mind.