The weather was getting warmer, while the
sky was staying light later into the evening.
Spring was definitely coming, and AJ couldn’t wait. It had been a hard winter. The store’s first quarter sales figures had
been dismal, but he had expected a lull between the holiday shopping season and
the start of spring, when people were more likely to stop in as they strolled
the sidewalks of downtown Lockland.
What he hadn’t expected was just how
demanding his new job as a parent would be.
He loved Lucy more than anything, but nothing could have prepared him
for the toll her arrival would take on him and Jori… mostly Jori. She was the one who cared for the baby by
herself all day, while he was working downstairs in the shop. Even as he prepared for closing, he could
hear Lucy’s crying through the ceiling. She
cried all the time – colic, the doctor said – and AJ didn’t know how Jori dealt
with it day in and day out and still stayed sane.
He did know that she didn’t always deal
with it well. She’d seemed depressed
lately and had started seeing a therapist, at the suggestion of Lucy’s
pediatrician. The counseling sessions
seemed to have helped somewhat, but their relationship was still strained. As he listened to the sound of Jori’s
footsteps stomping across the ceiling, AJ tried to think of some way he could
cheer her up.
He was watching Howie reorganize a display
of mood rings by the cash register when the idea came to him. “Hey, Howie!” he said suddenly. His business partner and best friend looked
up, eyebrows raised. “What are you doin’
tonight?”
“Nothing…” Howie answered warily. “Why?”
AJ grinned. “How do you feel about babysitting?” He could tell just how Howie felt by the look
that flashed across his face, but before he could come up with an excuse, AJ
added, “I wanna take Jori out tonight.
She’s been in a funk lately, and we haven’t had a date night since Lucy
was born. I’d like to do something
special for her. She needs a break, and
I need a night with my woman, if you know what I mean.” He waggled his eyebrows, and Howie rolled his
eyes. “Will you watch Lucy for a few
hours? Please?” AJ begged.
Howie caved much more quickly than he’d
anticipated. “Fine, alright,” he agreed,
although he sighed heavily. “What time?”
“Let’s make it eight. We’ll put Lucy to bed before we leave, so you
really won’t have to do anything; you can just watch TV while she sleeps.”
“What if she wakes up?”
“She won’t,” AJ assured him, although Lucy
never slept more than three hours in a row.
“Well, what if she does, and what if she
starts crying?”
“My kid, cry? Never.”
AJ grinned again. “C’mon, D,
this’ll be good practice for when you’re ready to have a kid of your own.”
“I don’t even have a wife,” said
Howie. “I’m nowhere near ready to have a
kid.”
“Well, when you are, you’ll have your
experience babysitting mine to fall back on.
And don’t you think it’s about time to pop the question to Leigh? You guys have sure been dating a long time.”
Howie shrugged. “We’re in no hurry.” He went back to the box of mood rings,
straightening a stack of little cards that showed what each color meant.
AJ was watching him try on one of the
rings when the words suddenly spilled out:
“I think I’m gonna propose to Jori tonight.”
Howie’s head shot up, the ring hanging
halfway off his finger. “Seriously?”
AJ nodded.
Sure, he’d only just decided to do it, but he had never been more
serious. It wasn’t really as spontaneous
as it seemed; he had been contemplating the idea of marriage for months, ever
since Jori had found out she was pregnant.
It had never bothered them before, not being married, but now he decided
that an engagement ring was just what Jori needed to make her happy again.
All he needed was to find the ring.
“Hey, you mind closing up?” he asked
Howie. “I wanna check out that pawn shop
on the corner. You think they’re still
open?”
“Why, need to pick out a diamond?” Howie sounded like he was joking, but AJ just
smiled.
“Maybe.”
Howie stared at him with an incredulous
expression on his face. “So you’re
serious about proposing, but you don’t even have a ring? Be honest, AJ, how long ago did you decide to
do this?”
AJ snickered. “About two minutes ago. So I take it that’s a yes? Thanks, man, I owe you big time! Oh, and we’ll see you at eight, alright? Later!”
Before Howie could sputter his response, AJ
darted out the front door and headed down the street. The sign on the door of the pawn shop said it
was open for another hour, so he went inside.
It was empty, except for the man behind the counter. “Hi there,” AJ greeted him. “I’m looking for anything resembling an
engagement ring. Got anything good?”
The shop owner showed him a variety of
rings, but none of them seemed special enough for Jori. She deserved an engagement ring that was as
beautiful and unique as her, and AJ decided he wasn’t going to find that
one-of-a-kind ring in a random pawn shop.
In the end, he walked back to Vintaj empty-handed, but before he went up
to his apartment, he stopped in the store and picked out one of the mood rings,
slipping it into his pocket on his way up the stairs.
Jori was asleep on the couch when he came
in, Lucy lying awake in her playpen in a corner of the living room. “Hi, baby girl,” AJ cooed softly, scooping
her into his arms. At two months old,
she was still tiny, but she was starting to hold her head up and follow him
with her eyes, which were still the same cerulean blue as her mother’s. Jori complained that her eyes were the only
physical trait Lucy had inherited from her.
AJ hoped they never changed.
Lucy gurgled in response, and Jori jerked
awake. She sat up, squinting blearily at
AJ through the strands of hair that hung in her eyes. “Oh, hi… I didn’t hear you come in,” she
mumbled, sounding still half-asleep.
“Hey, babe.” AJ grinned, unfazed by her disheveled
appearance. He’d grown accustomed to
Jori’s “stay at home mom” look: the lank
hair, the bare face, the baggy t-shirt and sweatpants she slouched around in
all day. But it was time to bring back
the woman with whom he’d fallen in love.
“Get up, and get dressed. Howie’s
coming over to babysit, and I’m taking you out!”
“What?”
Jori blinked in surprise, but he saw the way her face brightened.
“You heard me, woman. Now go get ready!” He swatted her playfully on the backside as
she scrambled up off the couch. He took
her place, cuddling with Lucy until Jori reemerged from the bedroom, completely
transformed. She was wearing an emerald
green dress with a plunging neckline that accentuated her post-pregnancy
cleavage and a forgiving empire waist that hid her post-baby belly. Her hair tumbled over her shoulders in long,
loose waves, and her eyes popped, framed by thick, lined lashes and smoky,
shadowed lids. AJ wolf-whistled as he
looked her up and down. “Lookin’ good,
babe. You sure clean up nice!”
Jori made a face. “I feel fat,” she pouted.
“You don’t look fat,” AJ pointed out. “You look smokin’ hot.”
She rolled her eyes, a smile tugging at
the sides of her mouth. “You’re just
saying that… but thanks.”
“I only speak the truth.” Grinning, AJ stood up. “Guess I should go make myself look worthy of
standing next to you.” He heard Jori
laugh as he walked away, wandering into the bedroom to change his clothes.
When he came back out, Jori had just
finished feeding Lucy a bottle of breast milk and was ready to put her to
bed. “I pumped earlier, so there’s
another bottle in the fridge if she wakes up and needs more while Howie’s
here,” she told AJ before she carried Lucy back to the nursery.
AJ passed this information on to Howie when he arrived and received a glare in
return. “You told me she wouldn’t wake
up,” Howie protested. “Now I have to
feed her a bottle?”
“Unless you have a tit she can suck
on.” AJ snickered, but Howie continued
to glower, clearly not amused. “That’s
only if she does wake up and wants it
– which she probably won’t,” AJ added quickly.
“But if she does, you’ll be glad I told you where to find it.”
Howie shook his head. “You’re so gonna owe me for this…”
“I know.
Thanks, buddy, you’re a real pal!
Oh hey, there’s Jori – time to go!” announced AJ, relieved to see Jori
tiptoeing out of the nursery.
“She’s asleep,” Jori whispered. “Hi, Howie.
Thanks for babysitting tonight.”
“He’s happy to do it,” AJ replied, before
Howie could say otherwise. Slipping his
arm around Jori, he steered her toward the door, saying, “I already told him
everything he needs to know, so I guess we should be going. Bye, Howie!”
Once they were on the other side of the
door, Jori giggled. “He didn’t look too
happy to be here.”
“He was.
He just has a funny way of showing it.”
AJ grinned. “C’mon, let’s get
outta here.” He grabbed her hand as they
went down the stairs.
It had gotten chilly outside since the sun
went down, but there was still a spring in AJ’s step as he walked Jori out to
his car, one hand holding hers while the other was crammed in his pocket,
clasped around the ring he intended to give her when the mood was right.
***
They drove into downtown Cincinnati and
dined at a restaurant right on the riverfront.
The candles on each tabletop provided a romantic ambience and just
enough light to read the menus. Jori
ordered a glass of wine, while AJ settled for a Coke, and as they waited for
their appetizer to arrive, he looked across the table at her and smiled.
“Feels good to get out for some grown-up
time, huh?” he said.
Jori smiled back. “Yeah… but it feels weird, too.” In the flickering candlelight, he watched her
lips fall into a frown. “This is the
first time we’ve ever left Lucy.”
AJ realized she was right. He was used to being away from Lucy during
the day, but in two months, Jori had never been separated from their daughter
for more than an hour or so, and during these times, she left her in AJ’s
care. This was the first time they’d relied
on a babysitter.
“She’s in good hands,” he assured
Jori. “I trusted Howie with my first
baby – why not this one?”
A wry smile slid across Jori’s lips. “Are you saying the store means as much to
you as our daughter does?”
“Not at all, just that they’re both
special to me, and I’m confident in Howie’s abilities to handle both.” Smiling easily, he reached out and patted her
hand. “Relax, babe. I want you to enjoy this evening.”
Jori nodded and took a sip of her
wine. “Wow,” she said, after a few
seconds, fanning her face with her free hand, “this stuff’s going straight to
my head. My mom always said alcohol gave
her hot flashes after she had a baby – I guess it runs in the family.”
AJ chuckled at the sight of her flushed
cheeks. “I guess that’s a good
thing. We don’t want Lucy nursing on
boozy breast milk now, do we?”
Jori yanked her other hand out from under
his and shot him a dark look, her eyes threatening. “One glass of wine,” she said. “That’s all I asked for. I haven’t had a drink in almost a year.”
He shrugged. “Me neither.”
Not that he didn’t still crave it, but his commitment to Jori and Lucy
kept him from caving to temptation.
“You still smoke, though,” Jori pointed
out. “If you’re allowed one vice, so am
I. End of discussion.”
AJ smiled.
“You don’t have to get snippy.
I’m not judging you. Drink up!”
But Jori continued to glower at him,
apparently convinced he was secretly admonishing her for wanting a glass of
wine. AJ looked out the window, where he
could see across the Ohio River to Kentucky.
Sometimes he felt like he and Jori were standing on opposite
shores. She’d seemed so distant lately,
her moods as unpredictable as the river itself.
He was relieved when the waitress finally
brought over their appetizer; the spinach and artichoke dip made for a nice
distraction. By the main course, Jori’s
mood had improved, and during dessert, AJ decided the moment was right. When Jori had finished her last bite of cheesecake
and laid down her fork, he reached across the table and took her hand.
“What’s this for?” she asked, smiling.
He held back his own smile, trying not to
let his face give it away before he got the words out. “Nothing… just thinking how beautiful you
look tonight.”
Blushing, she ducked her head a little, so
that a tendril of hair fell into her face.
“Well, thanks for giving me an excuse to get all dolled up.”
“You don’t have to get dolled up to be beautiful,”
said AJ. “The day I met you, when you
walked into the tattoo parlor in a tank top and shorts, with no makeup and a
hangover… you were beautiful then, too.”
Jori scoffed. “I was also thirty pounds lighter.”
“You’re even more beautiful with curves. And boobs,” he added, eyeing her cleavage.
“Well, good, ‘cause I don’t think I’m ever
getting my pre-baby body back, so get used to the curves. Don’t get too attached to the boobs, though;
I have a feeling they’ll shrink back down when I’m done breastfeeding.”
AJ chuckled. “I’ll miss the boobs, but if I could spend
every day for the rest of my life looking at those curves, I’d die a happy
man.” Jori rolled her eyes, but AJ
leaned forward and squeezed her hand.
His heart was hammering, and he knew his next words would change his
life – and hers – forever. “I’m
serious,” he said. “I’ve loved you since
the day I did your tattoo, and I want us to be just as permanent. I want to spend the rest of my life with
you.” Jori sat up a little straighter,
her eyes widening, and he could see that she was starting to realize what he
was about to do. “What I’m saying is… I
want to marry you.”
Jori let out a little gasp, as AJ slid out
of his seat and sank to the floor in front of her on one knee. His free hand fumbled in his pocket for the
mood ring, as his other hand held hers, and when he found it, he whipped it
out, held it up, and said, “Jori Jean Wilder… will you make me the happiest man
alive and become my wife?”
Jori’s free hand was clapped across her
mouth, and her eyes were full of tears, but she nodded, soundlessly at first,
and then squeaked, “Yes! Hell yes, I
will!”
AJ laughed and slipped the mood ring onto
her finger. It was too big and
immediately twisted to the side when she held up her hand to see it in the
light. He explained quickly, “It’s just
a cheap mood ring from the store. I
thought we could pick out your real engagement ring together.”
Jori laughed. “I love it!”
She looked more closely at the ring.
“It’s turning blue – that means I’m happy, right?”
He thought back to the little color key
cards he’d seen Howie organizing. “I
dunno – are you happy?”
Beaming, she jumped up from her chair,
pulling him to his feet as well, and threw her arms around his neck. Then she pressed her lips to his and kissed
him deeply. When they broke the kiss,
breathless, she whispered, “Does that answer your question?”
He grinned and nodded. “Here’s another question for you: Wanna get out of here?”
Whether it was the wine or simply the
happiness that had gone to her head, AJ did not know, but Jori was positively
giddy on the ride home. While he smoked
a cigarette, she sang along to the radio at the top of her lungs, her hair
whipping around wildly in the wind that gusted through the open windows. At one point, her hand snaked across the
center console to squeeze his thigh, and he stomped down on the gas pedal,
startled. The car shot forward as the
engine revved, throwing them both back against their seats. AJ quickly eased off the accelerator and
turned to look at Jori, who was wearing a sultry smirk on her face. He raised his eyebrows, and she waggled hers
in return.
Forcing himself to look straight ahead, AJ
tried to focus on the road, but it was difficult when he could feel her fingers
creeping slowly across his leg, toward his inner thigh. “Whatcha doin’, Jor?” he asked, a note of
warning in his sing-song voice. When she
suddenly grabbed him, he gasped and nearly lost control of the car, his hand
jerking the steering wheel. The car swerved
into the adjacent lane, and an angry honk from somewhere behind him told AJ
he’d narrowly missed sideswiping someone.
When he’d steadied the wheel, he flicked
his cigarette out the window and whipped his head toward Jori. “What the fuck are you doing, trying to get
us killed?!”
She looked wide-eyed and shaken, but she
was laughing, like she’d just come off a rollercoaster ride. “Just having a little fun with my fiancée,”
she replied innocently.
AJ shook his head, taking a deep breath
and holding it for a few seconds before he released it. His heart was racing, ricocheting off his
ribs. “You know I love you, babe, but
let’s save the fun for the bedroom, huh?”
“Aww, where’s the fun in that?” Jori
giggled, but she kept her hands off of him until they got home.
That night, they made love for the first
time since her C-section, and in the morning, when AJ woke and looked over at
Jori, still asleep with a corner of her pillow clutched in her hand, he noticed
the mood ring on her finger, still glowing a deep shade of indigo. When he went down to open the store for the
day, he consulted the cards by the display on the counter.
Jori had it right. In the dark blue box was just what he wanted
her to be, what he hoped they’d be together.
Happy.
***