Chapter 111

Regina had timed it so that we walked out of the Burbank studio in close proximity. There was a small crowd out front and I dutifully waved while Regina posed with her arm around Vicki’s shoulder.

The younger girl rolled her eyes at me and I gave her a grin. Then we got into the SUV and headed out.

“OK, where are we going?” Jill said, pulling up the navigation feature on the car.

“There is a store in Beverly Hills,” I said. “It’s near where Liz and I had dinner the first time I was here.”

“Yeah, that narrows it down,” Jill said, looking at me as though I were an idiot. “Let me just type in ‘stores in Beverly Hills’ and see how that works out for us.”

“Emmitberg Jewelers,” I said.

Jill started to type and then spun around to look at me in the back seat.

“You’re going to do it!” she said excitedly. “You’re going to get engaged! That’s so cool!”

“Uh, I just saw a ring I knew she liked,” I said. “It’s more of a ‘just in case’ thing.”

“Bullshit,” Jill retorted. “Besides, after you go in there, she’s going to know.”

“I’m not going in,” I said. “I already bought the ring and paid for it. He was going to ship it to me in Nashville but since we’re here and relatively close ... I thought we could just pick it up. I called him last night after we set this up. I thought I might see if Dayton could get it for me. I figure the paparazzi probably know your face as well as they know mine by now.”

“The camera loves me,” Jill retorted. “When are you going to ask her?”

“Uh,” I stammered again. I knew Liz had told everybody to clear their calendars for Labor Day weekend but I hadn’t realized that she’d kept the reason from them. “We’ve sort of already decided things.”

“You did not!” Jill declared.

“We sort of did,” I said. “It isn’t going to be anything ... huge. It’s just going to be us and you guys and a few others. We didn’t want the whole ... thousands of guests ... thing. It’s going to be a small service. The only thing up in the air is the location.”

Jill seemed to accept my statement on its face – which surprised me.

“Don’t tell Liz I’ve told you,” I said. “I ... I figured she’d already let everybody know.”

“Probably wants to make sure she has an out if you wind up boinking that slutty Regina Hart!” Jill said.

I rubbed my eyes and shook my head.

“Did she give you a good look in the dressing room?” Jill asked.

“How do you know about that?” I asked.

“She did!” Jill said as she punched Dayton on the arm. “I totally called it. Did you get full puss or just boobs and butt?”

I let out a long breath.

“You got full spread, didn’t you?” Jill asked. She seemed much too happy with the turn of events.

“I did not get full ... anything,” I replied.

“But she flashed you the goodies,” Jill interpreted.

“She undressed while I had my eyes closed,” I corrected. “I didn’t know what she was doing and I caught a look at the top of her underpants and a little of her backside. Then I closed my eyes again. She said I was her ‘bud, totes’ and ‘it was no thing like that thing.’”

“Really?” Jill said, tilting her head at me questioningly. “She said that.”

“Whatever it means,” I replied.

“It meant that she considers you a friend and she undressed in front of you for some other reason than to entice you,” Dayton explained. Jill and I looked in his direction. “I have a niece and I know the lingo.”

“Damn,” Jill said. “I figured that she was going to ... grudge fuck you. I can’t believe I just said that!”

“Me, either,” I said. “She’s a God damned kid, Jill. Let’s talk about something else.”

“Tell me about the ring,” Jill suggested.

I was a little nervous to discuss the ring. I had done the research. I had seen other celebrities wearing jewelry that had cost a hundred times what I had spent – and I had spent far above my comfort level.

Liz had seen the ring in the display during our initial foray in Beverly Hills. She hadn’t mentioned it – since it was our first “official” date – but I had seen her eyes wander to it several times.

I figured Jill would be the best judge of whether Liz would like it or hate it.

“It’s a four-carat princess-cut diamond and sapphire in a white gold setting,” I said, pulling the picture up on my phone and passing it across.

Jill stared at the phone for a minute, then stared at me for a minute, and then looked back to the phone.

“Jesus Christ, Travis,” she said. “What did that cost?”

“A lot,” I hedged.

“I’m serious,” Jill insisted. “What did you pay for that?”

“Sixty-one thousand dollars,” I admitted.

Dayton let out a strangled gasp and then coughed.

“Sixty-one thousand dollars,” Jill repeated.

“It’s all I could afford,” I protested.

“How in the fuck can you afford that?” she asked.

“It wasn’t easy,” I answered. “Look, I checked out things from other people. I couldn’t go 10 or 11 carats. It just wasn’t possible – without asking Liz to pay for her own ring.”

“That isn’t what I’m saying,” Jill cut in with gentle tones. “It isn’t how much you spent. She isn’t going to care about that.”

“I care about that,” I interrupted.

“You shouldn’t,” Jill said, shaking her head.

“Yeah, like every motherfucking tabloid in America isn’t going to have a picture of that fucking thing front and center the first time Liz steps outside,” I said. “It’s going to be analyzed and scrutinized and appraised a million fucking times. It’s the best I could do and I’m still going to come off looking like an asshole.”

Jill was shaking her head.

“She won’t care if it came from a gumball machine,” Jill insisted. “It’s the sentiment – not the price tag.”

“Intellectually, I know that,” I said. “But I wanted to get her something ... nice ... something that she isn’t going to be embarrassed about.”

“Let me ask you something,” Dayton said from behind the wheel. “Do you think you could do anything that would embarrass Liz?”

“I’m sure I embarrass Liz all the time,” I noted.

“That’s because you’re a weenie,” Jill said. “It isn’t because you don’t have access to the National Mint.”

“I got Bobbi’s engagement ring at the Base Exchange for less than three-hundred bucks and she didn’t care one bit,” Dayton offered. He waved his left hand. “My wedding band cost $70 at a pawn shop but it’s worth everything to me.”

“Yeah, I know all that,” I said. “And I won’t care if Liz gives me a cigar band in return. It’s about more than that. She’s not going to get the wedding she deserves so I wanted her to have a ring that I knew she liked.”

“You showed her the ring?” Jill asked.

“No, of course not,” I said. “When we were out ... in L.A ... she kept looking at it. I mean, we weren’t ring shopping or anything.”

“Says you,” Jill cut in with a laugh. “Liz has been sizing you up for a ring since you were 14 years old.”

I sighed.

“I meant we weren’t specifically looking at things like ... that,” I clarified. “But I was watching her. She wanted me to try on a couple of watches that I couldn’t afford if I sold a kidney. She kept going back to the case and looking at that ring. So I got it for her.”

“Damn,” Dayton said. “See, that’s what an engagement ring is about. Make sure you tell her that story because ... I think she’s going to be pissed that you spent so much dough on her.”

“Tell me you didn’t sell your car,” Jill said abruptly.

“I didn’t sell the car,” I said. “I thought about it but I think Liz likes the car more than she likes me. I’m going to give it to her as a wedding present. It’s not like I’m going to be able to get much use out of it.”

“Better than an iron,” Jill said. “But you might leave off the last sentence when you give her the news.”

“Yeah, no shit,” I said. “And you two better leave that out of any conversation you have with her about it, too.”

“I’d tell you I’d do it for a price but I suspect you’re going to be eating Ramen noodles for the next six months at this point,” Jill said, laughing.

“Ha-ha,” I said.

My salary with LLE was very nice. It was more than double what I made at the hospital. My expenses were also very few. Liz paid for almost everything – not because she was the only one with money but because we lived at a place she had already purchased and we usually only went places that dealt with her profession. I had a few bills of my own but they were less than a grand a month. I knew my bank account would be back to a respectable balance in a few days when my bi-weekly check from LLE was automatically deposited. Until then, I supposed I’d sponge off my girlfriend.

“When are you going to spring it on her?” Jill asked.

“I’m not sure yet,” I said. “Soon. I mean, it almost has to be soon, doesn’t it?”

“Oh?” Jill asked, clearly picking up on my gaffe.

“Let’s just leave it at soon,” I said.

“Um-hum,” Jill replied. “So you’ve set the date and it’s coming pretty quickly. Is she going to tell anybody or are we just going to show up and find out it’s not a pool party but a wedding?”

“I don’t know,” I said. “The timing is her thing.”

I patted my right arm with my left.

“If this hadn’t happened, it probably would have been over already,” I said. “OK?”

Jill nodded but kept her eyes on me.

“I knew you’d been talking about it,” she admitted. “I overheard a couple of conversations and Liz said a couple of things that I took to be about getting married. But I thought you were ... reluctant ... to take that step.”

“I was,” I admitted. “I still am ... sort of. The income disparity is a problem for me. I know it’s stupid but I can’t help it. At the same time ... I can’t picture the rest of my life without her. I can’t figure out how I’ve made it this far without her. There are a lot of things in my life that have changed in the past few months. I’ve adapted to them OK. But I’m looking forward to when our parents go home in a week or so. We’re just going to take some down time. I worried that too much of my life was wrapped up in Liz – and that she was wrapping up too much of her life in me. This past couple of weeks has shown me that we can still feel the same way about each other when we’re not together 24 hours a day.

“We’ve started to define the roles in a way that we’re both comfortable, I think. That was my biggest fear. You know I’m best in small doses. I worried that she was going to get fed up with me at some point and tell me to pound sand.”