Looking Over Your Shoulder

by P.D. Workman

CHAPTER 19

  “ARE YOU READY?” THEO said, with barely repressed excitement. "Do you want to see what I got you?”

  Juneau looked over at Ursula, who was going into the kitchen and gave her a sly look.

  “I don’t know,” Juneau said nervously. “I didn’t get you anything.”

  “You weren’t supposed to. This is a surprise.”

  “Ummm… it isn’t food, is it?”

  “Do you like carrots?”

  Juneau frowned.

  “Carrots?” she repeated.

  Theo reached into his bag and brought out a small jewelry box. Juneau’s eyes got big.

  “Oh no,” she said. “You… you didn’t.”

  Theo held the box towards her, and when she didn’t take it from him, he opened it up for her himself. Juneau stared at the ring in disbelief, then looked at his face.

  “Does this mean? Is this…?”

  “It’s a promise ring,” Theo assured her. "I know you’re not ready to get married right now. But I want you to know how special you are and how important you are to me.”

  “A promise?” Juneau repeated. "What am I promising?”

  “Not you, me. I’m promising to always be there for you, and promising you that one day, it will be an engagement ring, and I will ask you to marry me.”

  “Oh. Wow.”

  Juneau took the ring out of the box gingerly.

  “Mom, do you want to come see?” she called out.

  Ursula hurried into the room.

  “Do I? Of course I do!”

  She looked at the ring with astonishment.

  “It’s just a promise ring,” Theo told her, anticipating what she was going to say. "I know Juneau’s too young to get engaged yet.”

  “I heard that part. But how… how could you afford something like this, Theo? On your salary?” She paused. "Is it real? I mean, if it was a zircon, that would make more sense.”

  “It’s a diamond,” Theo laughed. "Verified and certified and insured and all of that.”

  “But how could you afford it? It’s way too much. Give it back, Juneau, he can’t afford that.”

  Juneau laughed, sliding it on her finger and holding it close to her.

  “No you don’t,” she said. "It’s mine.”

  Ursula looked at Theo.

  “Seriously, Theo. How could you afford something like that?”

  “It’s sort of supposed to be a secret,” Theo said. "I’ve come into some money.”

  “You sure must have, if you can afford that.”

  “It’s paid for,” Theo said. "And I didn’t even have to sell my soul to the devil.”

  They all laughed. Ursula shook her head, looking at the glittering diamond.

  “Well, it’s gorgeous,” she said. “It’s a lovely setting too. Juneau, you’ll have to take really good care of it.”

  “I know,” Juneau agreed.

  “Do you want to call your dad and tell him about it?”

  “Can I? I bet he’ll be excited. Although,” she looked at Theo, “don’t expect him to show you a lot of love.”

  Theo laughed.

  “I think I’m used to that by now. That’s what happens when you try to take a man’s baby girl away.”

  Juneau took out her cell phone and dialed Abe. He didn’t answer, and she frowned, but shrugged it off.

  “It’s Juneau, Daddy. Call me back,” she left him a brief message.

  Theo wasn’t around when Abe called back, and that was probably a good thing, in Ursula’s mind. She couldn’t understand why Abe had such a problem with Theo; other than, as Theo said, Abe was afraid that Theo was taking Juneau away from him. But then; whoever said that paranoid schizophrenia had to make sense? The whole nature of the illness was that it made the afflicted believe things that didn’t make sense.

  “You can’t keep seeing that boy, Juneau,” he insisted. "He’s bad for you. There’s something about him… he wants to hurt you. You can’t keep dating him.”

  “Daddy, you’re wrong. He’s always very thoughtful and helpful. He really likes me. And you should see the ring that he gave me. It’s beautiful.”

  “You’re not engaged to him.”

  “No. It’s a promise ring, not an engagement ring. He knows I’m not ready yet.”

  “But he’s marking his territory. He wants you to feel like you owe him something. And you don’t. He doesn’t hold anything over you.”

  “Theo’s not trying to make me feel guilty. He’s just showing his feelings,” Juneau explained.

  “Anyone can give you a ring. It doesn’t mean that you’re his.”

  “Not a ring like this!” Juneau laughed. “The diamond on it is huge.”

  There was silence for a moment on the line.

  “Diamond?” Abe repeated, and Juneau realized with a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach that she’d said the wrong thing, a trigger word. “But I thought it wasn’t an engagement ring.”

  “No, it’s not,” Juneau said quickly, and she looked for a way to change the subject before he could focus all of his energy on Theo.

  “So you know what, Daddy? I had some grapes yesterday. Crispin helped me, and I ate grapes, and I didn’t react to anything.”

  “How big is the diamond?” Abe demanded.

  “I don’t know. It’s not really that big. But did you hear me?”

  “I always thought he was involved in the jewel heist,” Abe said. "I keep seeing him in his truck, following me around. Why would he do that if he wasn’t involved in the jewel theft?”

  “He didn’t have anything to do with that. He’s not a criminal. Just a nice guy that I like. He doesn’t follow you around and he wasn’t involved in the theft.”

  “Why can’t you see it? Why am I the only one who can see it?” Abe demanded. “It’s just like the hollow mask. It’s an illusion. Only I can see past it.”

  “I have to go, Daddy,” Juneau said, as he chattered on in pursuit of a line of thought that she couldn’t follow. "I’ll talk to you later, okay?”

  She pressed “end” and hung up on him without waiting for him to say good-bye. Then she just sat there, looking at her ring, tears running down her cheeks.