The Fear Is Paralyzing

Quarante Deux

Kris looked at all of the cases, not knowing where to even begin. He looked over at Tyler, groaning. “How did you know where to even begin?” he wondered aloud, peering into a case, looking at all of the diamonds.

“I knew what Dani wanted,” Tyler said simply as he shrugged his shoulders. “She’d shown me more than enough times the picture of the type of ring she wanted. I was smart enough to take that picture in and find one just like it,” he laughed.

“Well aren’t you lucky?” Kris said sarcastically. “Having a woman that told you exactly what she wanted. Quinn hasn’t said a single word about the ring she wants,” he told him, moving to another case.

“Dude,” Tyler spoke, walking over to Kris and putting his hand on his shoulder. “I don’t think Quinn is the type of girl that’s going to bitch about the ring you get her. She’s going to love it no matter what. She’s not Darcy,” he said, and Kris shivered at the mere mention of her name. Why he thought he wanted to marry her, he couldn’t figure it out. He had never been in love with her; he knew that now that he was completely in love with Quinn.

“I just want Quinn to have the ring of her dreams,” Kris muttered, searching through all the rings.

A salesperson came up to the two men, asking if they needed any help. “I’m searching for an engagement ring, but I’m not quite sure what she wants,” Kris explained.

The salesperson whose nametag revealed that her name was Crystal, which Kris thought was highly ironic, smiled at him. “Well, let’s take a look and see what you picture on her hand, shall we?”

Kris nodded his head, not realizing that two hours later they’d still be looking at rings. He could tell Tyler was getting annoyed and just wanted to go get a beer already, and Kris couldn’t blame him. He was about to give up and go to the closest bar as well. But, at that moment, Kris saw a ring in the back of a display in a case he thought he had looked at five times before. Somehow he had missed the ring though.

“Can you give me that one in the back left?” he asked, tapping on the top of the case.

Tyler, who had gone over to the door to look outside, walked over to where Kris stood. “You find one?” he asked. This was the first time Kris had asked to see a specific ring. Before this, Crystal had been picking out all the rings for him. Crystal held out the ring and Kris took it from her. “Whoa,” Tyler breathed, looking at the ring. It was large, but not over-the-top. A big diamond sat in the middle with a diamond weave on the sides.

“This is it,” Kris said simply, and Crystal looked up at him, a little shocked by his words. Kris had found something wrong with every single ring before this one, so to hear him say so matter-of-factly that this was the ring surprised her.

“This is it?” she asked him.

“This is it,” he repeated, nodding his head. “Let’s wrap it up and get the hell out of here, eh?” he asked Tyler, who was happy to finally be getting out of the jewelry store.

●●●

Kris and Tyler sat at the bar, each sipping on their beer. Tyler gave Kris a sideways glance. “So when are you popping the big question?” he asked him. When Kris had asked him to go ring shopping with him, it hadn’t been a surprise to Tyler. He knew Kris was ready to be with Quinn forever; he just wasn’t sure when Kris would figure that out.

Kris shook his head as he took another gulp of his beer. “I don’t know,” he muttered. “I guess when the time is right.”

Tyler couldn’t help but laugh. “When the time is right? When’s that going to be? I think you just need to pick a time and do it. Make it up real big for her. Make her dinner or take her out someplace real fancy. Just make it a big deal. Girls like that,” he advised him.

Now it was Kris’s turn to laugh. “Do it up big? Like you did with Dani? At the party?” he questioned.

“Yeah, and I’m lucky Dani’s waited too many years for me to finally ask her to marry me, so she was going to say yes anywhere. You and Quinn haven’t even been together a year,” Tyler spoke. He saw the expression on Kris’s face change, and he knew he needed to backtrack. “Not that that’s a bad thing!” he added quickly. “When you know, you know. I’ve known I was going to marry Dani since probably our third date. It just took me long enough to finally pop the question.”

Kris glanced over at Tyler. “You think Quinn will say yes?” he asked him.

Tyler thought about giving him a sarcastic answer but thought better of it. “Anytime, anywhere,” he assured him.

They finished their beer and went on their separate ways back home. On the drive back, Kris couldn’t help but think about Tyler’s advice. Maybe he should do something big for Quinn. But, he really didn’t want to wait to propose. He knew he was in love with her, and after everything they’d gone through, why would he want to wait any longer?

He thought about taking her out to a fancy dinner like Tyler had suggested, but he knew Quinn wouldn’t want their engagement to be media news, so instead, he decided to make her a romantic dinner. He stopped at the grocery store and picked up the ingredients he would need, along with a bouquet of flowers.

He was happy when he made it home before Quinn. He knew she had gone into her office to do some work with Mario. He wasn’t sure what time she would be home, but she usually called or texted him when she left, and she hadn’t done that yet, so he knew he had some time still.

He began making the chicken marsala and kept his phone on the counter so he would see when she called or texted him. The meal was just about finished when she finally texted him and said she was just leaving work and would be home soon, also asking him if he wanted her to pick up some dinner on the way home. He quickly texted back that he had it covered and that he would see her soon.

He went out to the dining room table and put the bouquet of flowers in a vase and set them in the middle. He then went and changed his clothes into a button down shirt and a pair of black pants. He walked back into the kitchen to plate the meal and put it on the table, just in time for Quinn to walk through the door.

She immediately stopped when she saw the table set with flowers and the food, dropping her purse on the floor by her feet. She couldn’t help but smile when she saw Kris appear from the hallway. “What did you do?” she asked him, walking towards him and giving him a big kiss.

“I thought I’d surprise you,” Kris smiled at her.

“Best surprise ever,” she smiled at him, giving him another kiss. “Can you give me five minutes to change so I can at least feel on the same level as you?” she asked with a laugh, motioning towards his dress clothes he was wearing.

“Sure, you need some help?” he asked with a wink.

Quinn rolled her eyes. “I’ve got it, hot shot. But, if this dinner is as good as it smells, then you might get to help me undress,” she said, giving him a seductive smile before heading back towards the bedroom.

Kris sat down at the table, fumbling with the small box that held the ring that was in his pocket. He was going to ask Quinn to marry him just after they finished dinner, before they got to dessert.

She walked back out to the table, sitting down across from him. “You didn’t have to do this,” she told him as she picked up her fork and took her first bite. “But, this is delicious!” she added, licking her lips.

“I know I didn’t have to,” he said, taking a bite himself. “Tell me about your day,” he continued, trying to act as casual as he could, not letting her know that he was about to ask her the most important question of his life.

They were finishing up their plates, and Kris was mentally preparing himself for proposing. He had rehearsed what he was going to say, but that had all sailed out of his mind right now, and he knew he was on his own to propose. “Quinn,” he began, reaching across the table and grabbing her hand. She lifted her head to look up at him, wondering what he was going to say. “I love you so much. I really can’t imagine how this past year would have gone had you not gotten this team,” he said, and a smile spread across Quinn’s lips. “Quinn, will you...” he started to say the most important words when a knock at the door interrupted him.

“Hold that thought,” Quinn said, not knowing just how important this moment was, as she stood up and walked to the door. Kris tried to stop her, to tell her to wait to answer the door for fifteen more seconds so he could finish, but it was too late as Quinn had already reached the door.

Kris stood up, his hand in his pocket, still playing with the ring box that was inside. He looked over Quinn’s shoulder to see who was at the door and cursed in French under his breath. He stopped playing with the box, knowing he wasn’t going to get to propose to Quinn tonight.
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