by Haley Travis
“I’m just looking at this one for fun. This stone is actually too big,” she said. “It sticks up too high. I’d smash it on something. But it looks cool.” She took it off and set it back on the black velvet post.
Vera nodded. “You have delicate hands. We wouldn’t want it to look out of place or awkward. How about this one? It’s not quite four carats.”
Mia’s eyes grew huge. “I thought a one-carat diamond was big.”
“Well, they come in so many sizes, and the cut can cause some to appear larger than others. Is there anything that catches your eye, large or small?”
Vera was trying so hard to put her at ease, but Mia’s hands were visibly shaking. I pulled her aside, nodding to the saleslady to give us a moment.
“Please, tell me what’s wrong.”
“I’m sorry, but this is going to be a ludicrous amount of money. A four-carat diamond? That’s something you’d give to a princess. I... I can’t feel like you own me,” she blurted.
I blinked hard, trying to examine her expression. “Oh. Okay.” I slipped an arm around her, whispering, “Just look like a nervous bride.” That at least caused her to give me a little smile.
“Listen,” I said quietly, “My family has always been into the huge statement rings. All of that crap about the bigger the diamond, the bigger the love. Even though it usually means the bigger the divorce. How about you honestly tell me what you like, and we’ll start there?”
Her gorgeous warm brown eyes were desperately blinking back tears. “You’ll be okay with that? I’m sorry, I don’t mean to be difficult. It’s just that... This isn’t how I imagined picking a wedding ring, you know?”
“You’re going to be wearing this for a year. It’s important that you like it, and that it makes you happy.” She nodded slowly. “What if you think of it as a symbol of our friendship? It’s going to be a weird year, and we’re going to have some ups and downs, but this arrangement is going to help both of us. So if we end up close friends, and have some adventures along the way, that can only be good, right?”
Mia nodded again. “Okay. A friendship ring. I like that.”
“Okay. Let’s look at everything in the store, and you holler when something makes you happy.” I nodded to the saleslady, who stepped back, looking like she had seen it all before.
“Let’s start with the basics,” I said, as if I knew anything about ladies jewelry. “It’s a band with a rock in it. Do you like fancy bands like that one with all of the swirls?”
“Engraving,” she said. Her shoulders dropped a little. “I’d prefer something simple, I think. Classic.”
“What color of metal?”
She scanned the display cases as we slowly walked by. “I don’t like yellow gold. It looks weird on my skin.” We walked along, staring at row upon row of bright white diamonds, then along to the next case.
Mia suddenly made a strange involuntary noise and clapped her hand over her mouth. I had to follow her line of vision, thinking she might be upset, but then I realized that her eyes were wide and smiling. Her finger directed me to a pink diamond, in a simple band.
The saleslady was there in a flash. “Would you like to try that one on, dear?” Mia’s chin was nearly trembling as she nodded, and her hand fluttered as the woman slipped it on her finger. “Well, dear, we won’t even need to size that for you. It fits like a dream.”
I’d hadn’t yet seen Mia turn into a breathless little girl, and it was positively adorable. She was all fluttery, as if she were about to float away from the forces of absolute glee. I could barely look at the ring, her eyes were blazing so ferociously.
“This two-point-nine-carat diamond is classed as Fancy Intense Pink,” Vera said, more to me than Mia. “It’s a 3PR on the color scale, in a stylish cushion cut, set in rose gold.” She smiled like a proud mother. “That looks so cute on her slim hand, don’t you think?”
Mia held her hand up so that I could take a critical look. “It doesn’t sit as high as some of the other ones, so it’s actually really comfortable. Is it too big?”
“I don’t think so. Anything that makes you smile like that is great with me.”
She looked relieved. “I like the pink stone. It’s less fancy, less formal, you know? I know that white diamonds are super expensive, so this is likely a lot less.”
Vera shot me a warning look, and I gave her a wink, nodding subtly that we were not to correct Mia. After picking out matching wedding bands, she reluctantly took the ring off, handing it to Vera, who nestled it into a fancy box.
“Sweetie, did you see the bookstore across the street, and a few doors east?” I asked. She nodded. “Why don’t you go look around for some wedding magazines, or books that might help with the planning? I’ll do the boring paperwork and meet you there in a bit?”
She nodded, turning to leave, then spun back to give me a little kiss on the cheek. “I’m sorry I was rattled.”
Wrapping my arms around her in a hug, I whispered in her ear, “You’re going to have to get used to letting me buy you things. This is a great start.” She snuggled against me for a second, just long enough to make my heart pick up speed.
I gave her a kiss on the forehead before she ran off. Vera was pulling out paperwork and spreading it across the counter.
“Sir, you’re aware that pink diamonds are about twenty times the cost of white?”
“From your expression, I assumed they must be higher.”
“We have an excellent financing program, if you’d like–”
“Not necessary,” I said, pulling out my black credit card.
She glanced at my name, then back up to me suddenly with a peculiar expression. “Of course, Mr. Stoneburrowes. I’ll ring these up for you.”
When I met up with Mia in the bookstore, she had an armful of wedding magazines, and a huge gold-covered textbook. Her face fell when she saw that my hands were empty. “You didn’t get it?”
“Yes, but they have to run paperwork and polish it and all sorts of junk. I’m going to pick it up in a few days,” I said, taking the heavy book from her. “Let me carry this.” I glanced at the cover. “Art history?”
“Yeah,” she looked a bit guilty. “If you want me to decorate a little, I should know something about the art in your condo. I thought that skimming through this would refresh my memory from art classes, and help me brainstorm. Plus it will look great on the shelf.”
“Good thinking,” I said.
“It’s over a hundred dollars though. Is that okay? It’s supposed to be the most complete textbook out there.”
I gave her an exasperated sigh. “Mia, you couldn’t possibly spend too much money.” Chuckling, I added, “I should force you to spend five thousand a week just to get used to it.”
She glared at me, looking positively horrified.
“Okay, for a start, you should buy all of this with your new credit card.”
“Oh, okay,” she said in a tiny voice.
“I’ll get you a new one with your new name as soon as I can,” I said brightly. The way she pasted on a smile almost convincingly was reassuring.
M I A
<<< 10 >>>
CHANGING JOBS
As I got ready to go to my place of work for probably the last time, I couldn’t stop humming that old country song about taking your job and shoving it. My manager hadn’t been that bad, as far as overbearing men who adore bossing you around go. But last minute schedule changes, the constant lack of respect, and endless reminders that my life was subject to his whims were quite exhausting.
Suddenly being a lady of leisure was an alien concept to me. I had been working various jobs since I was sixteen years old, and although my job did not define my identity, working was part of who I was.
As I marched into the café, trying to appear outwardly calm, I realize that my only line of defense would be to imagine myself as Jacob’s employee now. We were working on a project together.
As I filled out the little resignation for
m, that I assume he had put in place due to the extremely high turnover of women working in this shop, I realized I didn’t even know Jacob’s full address. My final check would have to be mailed, or I could make up some excuse to come pick it up instead.
I pulled out my phone to stall for a moment, thinking that perhaps checking my calendar was a logical thing to do. Next week would be swamped with wedding plans, but surely I’d be able to take a moment to pop in.
Just then, a text came in from Jacob.
“Here is your new address. I think you mentioned you were going to quit your job today. In case you need anything mailed to you, please feel free to have it sent to your new home. The concierge can accept any packages and hold them for you. Have a great day!”
I couldn’t believe it. He was helpful, nearly bordering on eager. My logical mind said that he was trying to make everything go smoothly so that I would be comfortable and not jeopardize our marriage arrangement. But on a more emotional level, I felt cared for. Nurtured.
Quickly filling out the form with my brand new address, I wondered how excited real wives were when filling out their new address, their new name for the first time. So many firsts that real wives were likely completely thrilled about, but for me, it was sort of hollow. I was excited but didn’t feel that it was right to be.
I dropped the paperwork on the manager’s desk, grabbed the bottle of hand sanitizer and extra ponytail holders from my cubby, and left quickly before any of the staff could begin making dramatic farewells. I didn’t have the energy for embarrassment or faking emotions today. I had to save that up for my new project.
Walking briskly to the subway, I finally allowed myself a sigh of relief. Tears pricked at my eyes as I gazed over to the little park where I had spent so many lunch breaks, trying to figure out what to do with my life.
This was actually happening. My new job was paid wife, and in a year, I would be a millionaire. It was ridiculous. Having a secret of this magnitude was odd, like a heavy, foreign object taking up a lot of space in my mind. Holding this in would be a challenging mental exercise, or at least, that was how I’d have to frame it to myself.
After spending an hour packing up my two rolling suitcases, and leaving Stacy’s apartment as spotless as possible with a thank you note on the kitchen table, I lugged the essentials of my life back onto the subway, and down to Jacob’s condo.
I felt like an urchin entering a posh hotel as I rolled my stuff into the grand lobby.
“May I help you, Miss?” The concierge jumped up.
“No, thanks. I can handle it.”
“Of course, Miss. Mr. Stoneburrowes is currently at home. He just picked up your new pass and keys.”
He must have registered the surprise written all over my face. “Welcome to the building, Miss. I’m Zav.”
“Nice to meet you, Zav,” I smiled as I shoveled myself into the elevator. “Have a great day.”
“You too, Miss.”
Checking my hair quickly in the mirrored elevator, I was glad for the ride up to the forty-third floor, so that I could run a brush through my thick subway-breeze styled hair.
Jacob answered the door so fast he must have been waiting for me.
“Welcome to your new home, m’lady,” he grinned, sweeping me into the foyer. Then he saw me dragging two huge suitcases, and grabbed them from me. “I hope the cab driver was careful with these.”
“I took the subway.”
The look of horror on his face was so extreme that one would think I had taken some sort of demon vortex through the fourth circle of hell. “Why... why would you do that?”
“That’s what humans in Toronto do, Jacob. They take the subway. It wasn’t rush hour – don’t worry, I was fine.”
He shook his head, taking my things to my room, while I followed. “I’m going to set your phone up with both of my car services. Now, where did you say the rest of your things were being stored?”
I told him the name of the storage facility and the address. He entered everything into his phone carefully. “Do you have the key with you?”
“It’s a keycode. Unit seven in the orange block, code 30405.”
He took everything down and sent a text. “Your things will be delivered here this afternoon. I’ll have everything brought to the hallway outside your door so that your room isn’t cluttered and you can unpack easier.”
“But your hallway will be a mess.”
He flashed me a warm grin that instantly put me at ease. “I want you to be comfortable here. Take your time unpacking and arranging your things. Order any furniture you need, and have it delivered. The concierge can have it delivered into our foyer if we’re not home, and I have a furniture assembly guy who can come in on twenty-four hours notice, sometimes less.”
I’m not sure what expression I was making, but he suddenly laughed at me. “What? What’s that look for?”
“Do you have a guy for everything?”
He shrugged. “Pretty much, yeah. Except for my plumber and my decorator. Those are ladies.”
I shook my head. “Weird.”
Jacob’s warm eyes regarded me carefully. “It’s the way my family has always been. It makes life go more smoothly, don’t you think?”
“I’ve never had the option of thinking about it.”
“You’ve never hired movers before?”
I laughed. “When regular people move, they talk their strong friends into working for the day, and pay them in beer and pizza that night.”
“What about the furniture?” he asked quite seriously, leading us into the living room.
“That’s when you really need to hope that Kevin and Jamie are available that day. Otherwise, you might have four girls doing their best, and you’ll end up with a couple of dents. But it’s the only choice we have.”
“You risk damaging the walls? Denting your wooden furniture?” he asked, sitting beside me on the couch, apparently fascinated by this conversation.
I nodded, surprised that a sharp guy wasn’t getting this. “Rent is insane. People can barely pay for it every month. You can’t be spending a few hundred dollars on movers, then suddenly get the flu and miss a week’s worth of work.”
His awkward unease was actually kind of sweet. “Damn. I’d never thought of that.”
“You’ve never had to.”
His head tilted down slightly, as if he were ashamed. “You must think I’m beyond spoiled.”
I stared at my hands for a moment, trying to think of a diplomatic yet honest answer. “You’ve always had everything you needed, plus everything you’ve wanted. You’ve never had to decide between eating and buying new shoes because your only pair has a hole in the sole and leak when it rains. But that’s the world you were born into, so I shouldn’t judge you.”
“But you do.” His eyes tightened immediately as if he wished he hadn’t said that.
“Not exactly.” I felt my lips pressing together, and noticed him staring at them. “I find it unusual. I don’t think you’re an ass about it, and you live your life your way. But it’s sort of… disconcerting how out of touch with reality you are about some things.”
“Like what?”
“Like not thinking about the subway being three dollars, and a cab being at least fifteen dollars.”
“But those bags were heavy. You could have pulled your shoulder or something dragging those around.”
“Fifteen dollars is two days worth of groceries for some people. It’s over an hour’s worth of work for many people across the city. For you, it’s one cocktail, and you’d never think twice about it. So, you can see that being really weird.”
Jacob nodded, thinking. “You’re right. These things just don’t occur to me.” He took my hand, stroking my palm with his thumb. I tried to ignore the tingle that ran through me, but it was stronger than before.
“Please keep pointing these things out to me,” he said gently. “I’ve been living in my little bubble for a long time, surrounded by the same sor
ts of people. I want to learn.” He paused, looking down as if he hadn’t realized that he was holding my hand in his. Then he looked at me with a glance that could only be described as yearning. “I want to know everything about you. Your life, your world, what your life has been like up until now.”
I heard myself say, “Okay,” in a small voice.
He dropped my hand quickly, giving his head a shake. “What would you like for lunch? Carol will be here in half an hour. She’ll make anything you like.”
“Oh. Um, whatever you’re having is fine.”. The thought of someone cooking for me made my spine itch with awkward stress.