do, too. I don’t want to struggle with things like that. I’d rather just be alone.”
“Well, I’m hoping that once the struggle part has passed, that the rest of is easy and nice.”
“I hope that for you, too,” he said.
19
*** (Tim Continued)
I was so preoccupied with finishing the container home that I didn’t even realize that she had gone back to work at the coffee shop. I hadn’t texted or called because I knew that none of it would matter until I finished the surprise for her. I had worried a little about seeming as though I was distant or didn’t care, especially since that had been a part of the problem before my Spokane trip. But I was just so anxious to finish the house and move on with everything that I hadn’t given that concern too much weight. I figured that Brooke was probably just focusing on her job at the café and on hanging out with Nick and Kate. I hoped that she wasn’t going on any more blind dates, but even if she were, I was sure that this surprise would win her back. I just needed to hurry up and get it finished.
I took one afternoon off because I needed to go downtown to get something. If it hadn’t been of utmost importance, I wouldn’t have done it, but this was too important to wait on. I left Max in charge at the house and told him I would be back in time for our fireside evening chats that I had come to really enjoy as we were working on this job together.
When I got downtown, I had almost forgotten what the frustration of the traffic and the rush of the people felt like. It had been nice to spend so much time in the mountains. I pulled into a tight parking spot and walked into the jewelry store. I knew exactly what I wanted and scanned the glass cases for it to catch my eye. Nothing was jumping out at me, though. Everything kind of looked like a different version of the same thing.
“Can I help you?” a saleslady with way too much makeup on asked me.
“I’m looking for one of these,” I said as I pointed to the proper case. “But I want one that looks like the stars.”
“The stars?”
“Yeah, you know the things in the sky at night?” I wasn’t sure why that was difficult to understand.
The woman stared at me like I was crazy and then looked over at a different, younger sales associate who came to help. I was glad to have someone else to talk to because that other lady and I were not going to end up getting anything accomplished expediently.
“Hi,” the younger girl said. “I heard you say you want one that looks like the stars, right?”
“Yes,” I said as I waited for her to tell me to elaborate more on that concept.
“Okay, perfect. So you want one that is sparkling, and delicate, and bright enough that it could rival the moon.”
“Yes, yes, exactly!” This girl knew exactly what I meant.
“I don’t think we have anything like that here,” she said as I felt my heart sink. “But I do think we have something like that in the back.”
“The back?”
“Yes,” she said as she lifted the little faux countertop to let me behind the cases and into where they housed the private jewelry fitting rooms.
I had no idea private rooms at the jewelers were an actual thing, but apparently, they were.
“Wait right here,” she said as she pointed to a chair inside a small room. “I’ll be right back.”
I sat down like I was told to, and in a few minutes, she returned. She had a small tray, and inside the tray were four rings. She set them down in front of me, and they were perfect. All four of them looked like stars.
“Wow,” I said in a whisper.
“Yeah,” she echoed. “They’re stunning, aren’t they? I have to warn you, though; they are also really expensive.”
“Oh, I don’t care about that,” I said as I saw the look of shock on her face.
She picked up each one in turn and let me hold it. I held them up to my face to look at closely, and then she put each one on one of her fingers to show me what they looked like when they were on a hand.
“What size do you need it to be?” she asked.
I think she could tell be my face and the