Chapter 6 #4
“I want you to meet my grandmother,” she said.
They’d never been to Paris together, so he’d never met Marie-Aurélie in the two years they’d dated.
“She’s the best. I’ve always wanted to be like her.
She’s very wise. She knows more about life than anyone I know.
My grandfather was married to someone else, and she was his mistress.
Her family never spoke to her again because of it.
They were aristocrats with no money, and they thought she disgraced them.
She never regretted being my grandfather’s mistress.
He acknowledged my mother legally, but he and my grandmother never married.
And his wife died after he did. I think there was a lot of that in France in those days.
It was a Catholic country, and there was no divorce, especially among fancy people. ”
“What would your mother think of my family? They’re not fancy. You know them,” he said, worried.
“They’re good people, they’re honest, and they’re real.
I love them. And I love you,” she said softly.
“And maybe I’d like to be married to you one day.
I just don’t want to plan a wedding now.
I hate weddings. My sister’s wedding at the Met already sounds like a nightmare.
A lot of phony people showing off. I can’t stand her future husband.
” Jamie had already met Taylor and wasn’t impressed.
One of the things he loved most about Violet was that she was real.
Whatever her reasons for not wanting to be married, whether fear or admiration for her unconventional grandmother, he was willing to be engaged to her, with no imminent plan for marriage, or maybe ever.
As long as they stayed together, and loved each other, that was all he wanted.
“So are we engaged?” he asked her cautiously. It hadn’t gone the way he wanted, but it wasn’t all bad.
“I think we are,” she said, smiling at him. “I need a Band-Aid for my ring to make it fit, before it’s official.”
“Hang on a sec,” Jamie said, and walked into the villa to the bathroom he was using, reached for his Dopp kit, and pulled out a box of Band-Aids.
He had bought a box of Incredible Hulk kids’ Band-Aids as a joke.
He took three out of the box and went back to where Violet was sitting, gazing up at the sky.
He sat down next to her, slid the ring gently off her finger, and wound the Band-Aids around the back of it until it was small enough to fit her.
It took all three. He put the ring back on her finger then, and it looked like a giant gold turtle sitting on her hand.
It was nearly the size of a golf ball cut in half.
She looked at it proudly after he finished.
“It’s perfect,” she said happily. “Way better than the Captain Video Decoder Ring that jerk took back. They met again after college, and they actually got married, and they’re still stuck together and have two kids, so maybe Captain Video brought them luck.”
“I love you, Violet,” Jamie said, and kissed her gently on the lips.
It had been an emotional night for both of them.
“You’re the most valuable player on my team, so you’re wearing that ring righteously.
And you’re a bigger deal to me than the World Series.
” She looked at the ring again and smiled at him.
“I think it’s beautiful,” she said. “I love it.” It suited her. It was crazy and unusual, and beautiful, just like she was.
It had been a big night for both of them, and it hadn’t turned out as he’d expected, but they were engaged in their own special oddball way. Engaged to not be married. He wasn’t sure how he’d explain it to his family, but they were crazy enough themselves to understand, and they loved Violet.
“I don’t think I want kids,” she said as she looked at him, “but if I ever did, I wouldn’t mind having them without being married, like my grandmother did with my mother.
” But they hadn’t had a choice, her grandfather was married to someone else.
Jamie wasn’t, and he still wanted to marry her.
He was hoping to convince her eventually, but she wasn’t ready for that yet, and he wanted to respect that, because he loved her.
“We can figure that out later,” he said gently. Then he looked at his watch. It was twelve-twenty. “Well, we missed the stroke of midnight. Happy New Year, Violet,” he said, and kissed her. It was a long, heartfelt kiss with all of his love for her, and hers for him.
“Happy New Year,” she whispered back. They went into the villa then, to celebrate their engagement.
There was nothing traditional about it, or about her, but they had managed to create something that worked for them.
She kept her World Series ring on while they made love, with the Incredible Hulk Band-Aids to keep it in place.
She could get it sized later and she liked it just the way it was.
They were engaged, and it was the happiest night of Jamie’s life.
He had found the love of his life, his soul mate.