Holiday From Real

Mary Jane sat in the recording studio, waiting for Patrick to arrive. He was never late, and she wondered if something bad had happened since he hadn’t arrived yet. Five minutes later, she saw Brendon walk through the door.

“Hey,” she smiled at him. “Do you know where Patrick is? He was supposed to be her like fifteen minutes ago, and you know he’s never late.”

“Don’t worry,” Brendon told her. “I actually asked him if I could borrow you for the day, and I was supposed to be here fifteen minutes ago, but you know me. I’m always late,” he said jokingly.

“You want to borrow me for the day?” Mary Jane asked suspiciously. “Why?”

“I was hoping you could help me out with something,” he said vaguely.

“Such as?”

“I want your help picking out an engagement ring for Vicky,” he admitted.

“Oh my god!” Mary Jane yelled. “You’re going to propose?”

“Yeah,” Brendon said with a smile. “So, do you think you could help me out? I don’t really know what type of ring to get her, and I can’t just go up to her and ask her. And since you and Ash are her best friends, I figured one of you could help me.”

“Of course I’ll help you!” Mary Jane interrupted him.

“I hope you don’t mind skipping out on recording today,” Brendon told her.

“Not at all,” she said with a smile. “I just can’t believe that you found a way to convince Patrick to let me go for a day. I mean he’s all about the schedule.”

“Well, when I told him what it was for, he was all for it,” Brendon told her.

“Well, let’s go,” she said linking her arm with his and walking out the door.

“So, where to first?” Mary Jane asked once they were in his car.

“I don’t know. I was thinking maybe Tiffany’s. Do you think Vicky would like a ring from there?” he asked her as he started driving towards downtown.

“Of course!” Mary Jane exclaimed. “Every girl likes Tiffany’s.”

They walked into Tiffany’s and the lady behind the counter instantly walked out to greet them. “Hi, I’m Lucinda,” she said with a smile. “What are you two looking for today?”

“An engagement ring,” Mary Jane replied.

“Oh, are you two engaged?” Lucinda asked, excitedly.

“Um, no,” Brendon told her. “I’m going to propose to my girlfriend, and she’s just here to help me pick out a ring for her.”

“So, you’re kind of just looking around right now?” Lucinda asked.

“Yeah,” Mary Jane told her.

“Well, if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask me,” Lucinda said with a smile as she walked over to another customer.

“Okay, Brendon, what do you see?” Mary Jane asked.

Brendon began looking at all the rings, and finally said, “What about this one?” Mary Jane walked over to where he was standing. He was pointing to a one and a half carat princess cut diamond with a channel-set band ring with a full circle of square diamonds.

“For me, yes,” Mary Jane said smiling. “For Vicky, no.”

“So, you’d want this ring?” Brendon asked her.

“What? Are you going to go back to Gabe and tell him that this is the ring I want?” she asked jokingly.

“Hmm,” Brendon hummed. “That’s not a bad idea.”

“Ha ha,” Mary Jane said sarcastically. “But, if you must know, I do like this ring. But, it’s not for Vicky. She’d want something simple,” she explained, while browsing through all the rings. “Like this!” she exclaimed as she came upon a one carat round diamond with a plain band. “It’s perfect for her!”

Brendon walked over to see what she was looking at. “You really think she’d like it?” he asked.

“Yeah, of course,” she told him with a smile. “But, just so you know, she’s not going to care about what the ring looks like. She’s going to care that you’re proposing.”

Later that day, the two of them, they were sitting at a café waiting for their food to arrive. “So, you don’t think it’s too soon to be proposing?” Brendon asked Mary Jane.

“Too soon?” Mary Jane asked. “You guys have been dating as long as Gabe and I have been, so close to a year,” she said. “I don’t think it’s too soon.”

“Are you saying that you want Gabe to propose?” Brendon asked jokingly.

“I don’t know,” Mary Jane admitted. “I mean a part of me would like him to propose to me, but then another part doesn’t because I don’t think I’m completely over Chris yet.”

“But you might never be completely over Chris,” Brendon told her. “But, Gabe’s been there for you the entire time. He’s not going to go anywhere now.”

“I know,” Mary Jane replied with a smile. “And that’s why I love him.”

“So, you really don’t think it’s too soon?” Brendon asked.

“Not at all,” she told him as their food arrived.