Just Before You Go

A week after Luke had effectively dropped a bomb into my lap, I’d set out on my journey back to Huntington. I’d spared Jimmy all of the intimate details, mostly because I was afraid he’d judge Luke past the point of return. I’d played it off that I simply wanted to break the news of the engagement to my parents in person. Jimmy had happily obliged, buying me a round trip home—he’d also felt the sentiment was probably best reciprocated. So, he’d be flying out the following morning so we could ambush his parents with the good will. Nevertheless, he’d scrounged up a vehicle to take me to the airport.
Realistically, it probably could have waited. The tour was set for a delay in just a few short weeks, which meant a show in Long Beach and then a luscious eleven day break from tour. We were all really excited to head home, and while I could have waited eleven more days to go and tell my parents I’d decided to get engaged, Luke had persisted that we tell them together.
And he was ready to make the trip to California to do it…now.
“You can’t go home without a ring,” Jimmy had told me. “That’s in bad taste or some shit.”
I shrugged, “I don’t need a ring.”
“My parents will bash my face in,” he told me with his eyes wide with fear. “Why don’t you like my face, Aria?”
“Maybe it would look neater smashed in,” I grinned.
“Bashed,” he corrected with his eyes narrowed.
He took a hard right, screeching the wheels as he held the wheel at a violent angle. My hand grappled for the handle, bracing myself for my imminent demise. But soon our death trap on tires smoothed itself out and Jimmy was looking like nothing had happened. Sometimes he really, really frightened me. His carelessness was, at times, enviable, and at others, dangerous.
“The airport is that way,” I told him, pointing to our left with my eyes glued to the GPS sitting in my lap.
“I know that,” he smiled.
His eyes searched the sides of the road as we cruised down an unfamiliar street. We took turn after turn and I was growing more and more certain that I was bound to miss my flight.
“Aha!” he proclaimed, steering us onto a curb and then backing off it with an embarrassed sort of cringe.
“Jesus, you’re excitable today,” I snickered.
“I’m excitable every day,” he informed me, folding up his body so he could climb out from the compact car.
He skipped around the back and over to my door, which he pulled open with an exasperated sigh. I stared up at him blankly, unmoving and a little perplexed about the change of events he’d seamlessly sewn into my day.
“Come on,” he grumbled.
I furrowed my brows, “Where?”
“Oh for fuck’s sakes,” he muttered, crumpling down and leaning across me to unlatch my seatbelt.
In one fluid motion, he pulled my weight over his shoulder and literally dragged me from the car. He kicked the door shut and carried me to the sidewalk before finally setting me down onto my feet. I smoothed out my shirt as I prepared to berate him.
“Later,” he griped quickly, grabbing me by the wrist and dragging me through a glass door.
A bell chimed loudly as we entered what I was sure for a second was heaven. The lights were brighter than hell, and everything seemed to glisten. Was I in a movie? Surely Jimmy wasn’t this romantic.
A man in blue stood with his hands folded to his front, his expression turned from courteous to grim as he caught sight of the lanky man tattooed in all his glory.
I recognized that look well. It was the same one that both of my parents had strapped onto their faces when they’d first met Jimmy. And practically every encounter since. Jimmy never seemed to notice; or he never really cared. He went on about his life, unwilling to notice the judgement cast in his direction.
“Pick one,” he told me happily.
My eyes fluttered from case to case, each more jam packed with shiny diamonds than the last. Yet, somehow, I wasn’t elated. I wasn’t jumping for joy or greedily running to inspect each crystal.
“No…” I found myself saying.
He rolled his blue eyes, “I have terrible taste. My dad told me that once. So, trust me; you don’t want me picking out your forever jewelry.”
I smirked, “Jimmy, this is too much. I really don’t need a ring. I’m quite content with the promise.”
“Well, I’m not,” he frowned. “I already fucked it up by not coming prepared to the proposal. So…You know…”
“It’s too much,” I reiterated.
He shrugged, “I don’t spend my money on fucking anything. Other than…Well, you know. This seems like a way better use of my resources.”
His fingers laced themselves into mine as he excitedly pulled me to the case nearest the door. He leaned over the glass to inspect the contents of the glass box. Each ring was beautiful in its own way. But nothing caught my attention, probably because I was still operating under duress.
“Hello,” the man in blue finally spoke. “How may I help you?”
“We need an engagement ring,” Jimmy told him with a cheeky smile.
The man sized him up, doing a poor job of trying to hide it in the slightest.
“But she’s picky,” Jimmy continued, still studying each ring. “So…Good luck.”
“Oh!” the man gasped slightly. “It’s for you?”
I nodded.
“Which cut do we prefer?” he asked me, pulling a large board from the display and setting it gently onto the counter.
“I like the square ones,” Jimmy told me. “What’re those called?”
“Princess,” the man and I answered in unison.
Jimmy grinned, “Rich girls knows her cuts, huh?”
“You do know that you’re richer than I am, right?” I smirked over at him. “And my parents, too?”
He laughed, “Whatever.”
Deciding that nothing in that particular case was of my taste, we moved on. Everything was too…clean. It didn’t seem fitting to receive a ring from Jimmy that was some stunning solitaire diamond. I wanted to think of him when I looked at it; and he was hardly a solitaire diamond. He was something unique…more exquisite.
As Jimmy and the blue man got into a light debate about why cuts are named certain things, I perused around on my own.
And then I spotted it.
All in a flash, the world’s most perfect ring showed itself to me. It stood out among the others, calling my name. It was a black diamond cut into a pear, framed in small white diamonds. It was maybe the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen.
I must have gasped, because Jimmy’s ears perked up.
“Find a good one?” he asked me, trotting over to my side.
I pointed at it, rendered speechless by its brilliance.
“The black one?” he laughed. “Seriously?”
I nodded furiously.
The man came over and pulled the ring from its place, after being guided by my shaky hand. He handed it to me and I quickly slid it onto my finger. With unbridled luck, the thing fit perfectly. When the fuck does that ever happen? I had never fit into a sample size of anything.
Then the whole thing felt…very real.
I burst into tears like an idiot.
“I guess she likes it,” Jimmy laughed. “Or she’s just figured out she’ll have to marry me…it could really go either way.”
“Shut up,” I sniffled, shaking my head at him.
“You seriously want a black engagement ring?” he asked playfully. “Trying to dress your ring up like Blair, or what?”
No way would Blair ever rock a black engagement ring. That would be entirely too predictable for someone like her. She’d end up with something incomparably unique. A gemstone, maybe. Opal? A sapphire? Maybe an emerald. But not a black diamond.
“It reminds me of you,” I smiled at him. “And your dumb hair.”
He smoothed the ends of his strands, “You leave my hair out of this.”
“If I really get to pick a ring,” I grinned. “This would be the one.”
Jimmy beamed, “You heard the lady! Wrap it up!”
I reluctantly handed the ring back to the working man and hung back so Jimmy could head off to pay for it. The man tried to explain the details of the particular ring to my man but he just wasn’t having it. He obviously didn’t care and neither did I. He could have given me a ring from a toy machine and I would have been just as content.
“Come on, wife,” Jimmy snickered, gesturing to the door with his head as I looked over. “You have a flight to catch.”
We thanked the guy as we headed back out into the street. It was a whirlwind I hadn’t expected. And now, rather than enjoying the time with Jimmy post-ring, I’d have to hop on a domestic and fly solo to California.
I reached for the handle of the car but Jimmy’s grip stopped me. I turned to see him grinning down at me, an unfamiliar enthusiasm peeking through his crystal blues.
“I feel like I should propose or something,” he told me.
“Don’t you dare,” I laughed softly. “The first one was perfect.”
He nodded, digging the black box from the bag we’d been unnecessarily given. As he popped it open and slid the ring from inside, his eyes met mine again.
“Fair enough,” he smiled.
“I love you,” I told him.
His eyes melted, “I love you, too. And now you’re stuck with me forever,” as he slid the ring onto my finger he let out a loud laugh, “Sucker!”
The whole drive to the airport, Jimmy was twirling and messing with my ring beneath the weight of his hand. I let him, feeling somehow satisfied each time he’d jostle the jewelry around.
“Just drop me off,” I told him as we neared the parking lane. “No use coming in.”
He frowned dramatically, “But how will I see you off like they do in the movies?”
“You won’t,” I grinned, leaning over to steal a quick kiss from his pouting lips.
“You drive a hard bargain,” he teased, checking over his shoulder before pulling into the drop lane.
I pulled my bag from the bag and tossed it over my shoulder. With one final look over the man that would eventually become my husband, I was reluctant to leave.
“I’ll see you in the morning,” he reminded me, sensing my trepidation.
We’d decided it would be a band aid best pulled by myself. Jimmy was a bit of a thorn in my parents’ paw, so I figured it would be best to let things settle before bringing him around again post-engagement news. But as I went to leave him, I found myself wishing he was coming along. I needed all the backup I could get. But, I guessed that was what Luke was for. We’d bury each other’s bad news in more bad news.
“I’ll pick you up,” I reminded him right back.
“Oh,” Jimmy gasped, digging through his pockets to pull out a set of keys. “I guess you’ll need these.”
I laughed, snatching his set from him and stuffing them into my bag.
“We seriously need to get you a car when we get home,” he informed me playfully.
“Maybe I’ll pawn the ring for car money!”
He laughed, “That’s my girl.”
I leaned over and stole one quick kiss from him. He pushed me away slowly, careful not to bruise my feelings.
“You’re going to miss your flight,” he reminded me with a sly grin.
“Fine,” I groaned. “I’ll see you in the morning. Be good while I’m gone.”
He nodded, “I’m always good.”
With a shake of my head, I climbed out from the car and planted my feet into the concrete. He waved sheepishly at me as he pulled away from the curb and headed back to his life. With my thumb toying at the new addition to my hand, I took a deep breath and forced myself to move.
It was with great hesitation that I made the move for California, but my brother needed me.
And I needed to rip open the wound, let it bleed, and then let it heal.

Notes

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