Chapter 6: No Prior Engagements

Julie:

On the way to the downtown stores, John's cell phone rang and he answered it. "Yah. What? Those idiot cops towed the car off?" He turned to me and said, "Just now, the cops impounded your car. That was about the worst mistake they ever made in their miserable lives. We'll look at rings and then I am going to do something I have never done in my life." It scared me, when he made such a bald statement.

Before he could tell me what, the cab driver turned his head and said, "Hey, you're the great profile. If you run for mayor, you got my vote and all the other drivers in this town. The cops are crap here."

"Would you repeat what you just said in front of a camera?" John asked him. "I have just decided to run for mayor."

"John. What do you know about being a mayor?" This side of John scared me and still does even today, the way he can make an instant decision and follow through without once looking back to worry about if it was the right one or not.

"

Hell, Babe, I guess I don't know a dammed thing, but I can learn. When they took your car after I just gave it to you and towed it away, I figure enough is enough. Then they told Barry to tell me how this was just the beginning. Honey, it's all she wrote for them."

"Are you sure you want to do this, just over a car?" I found I couldn't quite keep up with his great leaps of logic. Also I was scared something bad might happen to him if he kept bucking the system. Now that I had found the only man I could ever give myself to totally, I didn't want to lose him over a mere car, even such a special one.

"Babe, this isn't about any dammed car, it's about your car. You are mine and I am yours. Nobody is going to push us around, not if I can help it. I don't care if it's the governor himself, nobody is going to mess with us and get to feel good about it later."

When we arrived at the jewelry store, we got out. John gave the driver three twenties and told him to keep the meter running. We went in and were recognized immediately. John held the door open for me and followed me in.

A slightly over weight man came rushing up and greeted us, "Mister Profile. Welcome. How may I help you?"

"Well, you can start by showing my lady some rings. I don't know shi_, er, anything about rings and such." If I'm going to be the next mayor, I can't go around saying 'shit' in public, now can I?" The salesman grinned at him and asked me, "What sort of mounting would you like for the engagement ring?" I turned to John to see what he wanted.

"We would like something that displays understated quality and yet has a unique design." I looked at him, surprised at his words. He grinned a wide grin at me and said, "I read that in a brochure for a German car. It seemed the right thing to say here." I shook my head.

"What is the very best quality diamond you have in this store?" John asked.

The salesman excused himself and returned with a large stone. It glowed with a brilliance seeming to come from within rather than reflected light from the outside. I gasped as I looked at it. To call it beautiful was an understatement. "Magnificent." I exclaimed. "Oh Lord, I thank you for letting us look at it, now take it back, please." My heart was pounding.

John just stood there quietly and asked, "How much should I write the check out for?" My knees got weak and I had trouble breathing. I was afraid my poor ignorant John was going to be humiliated.

The superior smile left the salesman's face as he quoted six figures. John nodded and turned to me and asked, "Do you like it?"

"John, please don't joke about this." I was confused by all we had happening at the same time. It seemed as if one thing was followed by another until I felt as if I were riding on an out of control roller coaster. I was trembling.

John wrote a check and handed it to the salesman. "We'll take it with us."

"But sir. It has to be mounted. I have to get the check verified. If you'll just wait." The man was almost hysterical. He had never met a man like John before. But then, I guess few people have. He is a man who is so very unique in just about every important way possible.

John took the check back from nerveless fingers and tore it up. He wrote another check out for the same amount and called the cab driver in. "Here, take this to the bank and cash it. Tell them to send an armed guard back with you." The driver took the check, looked at it, did a double take and hurried off. John then took the phone out of his pocket and punched a speed dial number. He waited.

"Hello, let me talk to Frank Wilson." He waited some more, then, "Hello, Frank? This is John Strait. I just sent a cab driver over with a pretty good-sized check to cash. It's okay. Would you send an armed guard back with him? Thanks." The phone went back in his pocket. "He'll be here with the cash in a minute."

"Sir, we absolutely cannot accept such a large amount of cash. It's against the rules."

"Mister," John said in a very mean tone of voice, "I offered you a check and you turned it down. Now I have cash coming and you will take it or I am going to make you so miserable you will make up new definitions just to define the misery you are about to feel." The salesman knew when to back down. He backed all the way down and we waited.

"John Dear," I told him, "Such a diamond is too large to be used in a ring setting.

"Hell, Babe, I know. It's to hang around your neck when we go to parties or the movies or dancing or something. While we're waiting we'll look at engagement rings." He turned to the salesman and said, "Show us."

I picked a nice conservative ring set and John paid for it with a credit card and had it sized immediately. He slipped it on my finger and we kissed. Then I fainted.

"Julie. Julie. Honey, what happened?" I heard John's voice and then, as I became more aware, I opened my eyes to see a whole crowd around me. They were all strangers except for John and the salesman. "Oh John. I'm sorry. This has been far too much excitement," I told him.

I could hear the other people making noise in the background as John lifted me to my feet. "Please, Honey, don't tell me you bought me City Hall, next."

"Hell no," he cracked back at me. "Too many other people already bought City Hall. Nothing left there worth owning." He grinned a very evil grin at me and then I saw then we were back on camera and my John had just started to become The Candidate. This was a side of him I wasn't too certain I liked or not. The crowd hooted their delight.

One little old lady yelled at him, "I knew I recognized your profile. So I called TV Three and they come a running. I bet you have a real high profile, hee hee hee." Old people weren't supposed to be that sexual, I thought.