Chapter 12: The Ring, The Survey & Overload

I don't know whose idea it was, but Tina accompanied us to look for a ring. I didn't object, but I wondered if this was appropriate. I looked on it as a very personal matter. Although Tina was involved in the family, this marriage was exclusively between Fiona and me, with Tina as a spectator.

Some decisions are easy to make and some are hard. Between Fiona and Tina, they turned the ring selection into a route march to the point where we visited the same jewellery stores twice, comparing opinions I had no intention of contributing to. Man was never made to go shopping with a woman. This was no exception. After a while, I felt compelled to say something.

"Ladies, is there any possibility that you will be able to choose in this decade?"

"This is an important decision, Andy," Fiona said with a look of consternation. "I want something that will last me a lifetime and still make me feel no other ring would do."

"Are you even close to making a decision?" I asked, probably showing my frustration now.

"Yes, Andy. I'm almost sure. It's down to a choice between two. I like this one," she said pointing to a very nice rectangular shaped stone in a simple setting. "Tina likes the oval shaped stone in that ring," she said pointing to another ring which was equally elegant.

"Do I get a say?" I asked, now definitely showing that I was tired of being excluded.

Fiona looked at me in surprise. I don't think she realized until that moment that she had ceased to ask my opinion somewhere along the line.

"Oh ... of course," she stumbled. "Which one do you like?"

"With your permission, I would choose the rectangular stone. It suits your personality. It's bold and large enough not to get lost on you."

I saw the confused look on Tina's face before her mother gathered her wits.

"Bold? Do you think I'm bold?"

"Yes, I do. You are bold and beautiful and successful. The ring you wear should make that statement. I believe the rectangular one does just that."

"Oh ... it does?"

"Yes, Fiona, it does."

"Oh ... okay then. That's the one I want."

If I'd known I could put a stop to the endless dithering, I would have said something sooner. I did not ask Tina's opinion because Tina would not be wearing this ring. Fiona would.

The ring was a little tight and had to be resized. It would be ready early the following week. Her intention to dramatically display it at the office would have to wait a couple of days. I think that frustrated her more than anything. I had to keep in mind that this was a first for her. She had never been married and had never been given a ring of any kind. It should have tempered my frustration at the selection process, but I forgot the impact this would have on her. I had been through it before, even though it was almost twenty-five years ago.

"I'm sorry if I got a little upset this afternoon," I told her as we sat on the sofa before dinner. "I could just as easily have picked out a ring myself and hoped for the best, but I wanted you to agree. I didn't count on Tina having a say."

"That wasn't my best idea, I admit, Andy. She's so supportive of us being together and she's convinced she got us together. I haven't got the heart to tell her that I was way ahead of her."

"Don't apologize, love. I love Tina as a daughter I never would have had any other way. She's a lovely, bright young lady that you should be immensely proud of. I want her to be involved in our new family to be. It's just that the ring was something very personal. It will bond you and me. It doesn't exclude Tina, it just doesn't include her in a very private, special way."

"Thank you, Andy. I love the ring and I love you."

I got a passionate, long kiss to confirm her happiness.

"Does Tina have a boyfriend?" I asked.

"I don't think so. Not right now."

"I just wondered. She's a really attractive girl and I thought the boys would be pounding on your door after her."

"Oh, that's not a problem," she said brightly. "She has plenty of young guys panting after her, but she's pretty fussy about who she goes out with and isn't into long-term relationships."

"Well, she comes by that naturally," I snickered. "Sounds just like her mother."

"Past tense, mister. I waited my turn and got my reward."

"I'm glad you feel that way, because I feel almost the same."

"Almost?"

"I had to serve my time first before you arrived."

"Was it that bad?"

"The last year or so ... yes."

"I'm going to do my best to erase that memory," she promised.

"It's already fading and it will soon be gone. I promise it will never be a part of our life together."

"I believe you," she smiled.

"Let's compare notes," I said as Fiona sat across from me in my office as we prepared to discuss the coffee survey.

"Well, a good percentage of the roasters want to be able to participate in the market. Unfortunately, putting in filling equipment is pretty much beyond their means. However, I did have an idea. East Bay has a cup filler that is idle and pretty close to the same size as the coffee pods Keurig uses. If they could adapt it to fill and lid coffee, we could set them up as a co-packer for a number of the smaller roasters.

"The roasters would grind bulk and ship to East Bay for packaging. We could talk the roasters into that kind of setup pretty easily I think. But I have another idea."

"Go ahead," I said with a smile. My lady was on a roll.

"We could develop five or six generic labels that could be sold to any of the micro-roasters. That would be for dark, breakfast blend, de-caf, tea, hot chocolate ... that type of thing. East Bay would hold the generic film and two or three cup colours and fill and sell back to the little guys, giving them a new market. Everything I've heard says these pod type coffee packages are growing like crazy. The big roasters don't have much good to say about the coffee, but they know it's eating into the market and if you figure out the price per pound, someone is making a killing."

"Your information pretty much jibes with mine. They may not think much of the coffee itself, but it's dramatically improving the return they could make. East Bay may be exactly the right solution for the smaller private label guys and I do like your idea of a series of generic labels. It means that everyone could play if they chose to."

"How many of the larger players will go it alone?" she asked.

"Folgers have already committed, along with Starbucks, Newman's, and several others. However, they would be interested in our supplying them with specialty labels. The printing is fragmented among a bunch of varieties and flavors, so it fits our style just fine. I think we've got a good chance to make this work. Did you get any pricing information?"

"Not much, Andy. How about you?"

"Yeah, Folgers gave me a ballpark and Newman's pretty much gave me the price."

"Is it enough for us to decide?"

"I'll let Dave tell me. I suspect what East Bay will end up doing is taking a prospective price list out to some selected clients and see how they react. Mike has a bunch of roasters in Seattle and Portland, and he's in very tight with them. That's probably where we'll get our best feedback. Can you give me a written report on your findings and the generic proposal? I'll put it together with my information and send it on up to Langley."

"You'll have it later today," she promised.

"Hi Ralph, how are you?" I asked as I picked up the call.

"Good, Andy. Just called to let you know the pouch machine is en route and will be in Oakland on the 26^th of this month. That's just about exactly on schedule."

"Good news. I know you're jammed on your two machines, so I'm sure you'll be happy with some relief."