BOMAW 7-9

by Mercedes Keyes

  "How do you know? You heard the song?"

  "Part of it."

  "How does it sound?"

  "Good, real good. Country-rock beat—but it sounds good so far. Don't you dare let this get back to Vivian."

  "Oh, my goodness! I can't believe it!" Sylvia looked at him and then said with a petulant frown, her lip rolled out and under, "You never wrote me no song!"

  Shawn tossed his head back laughing hard, shaking his head, "No, you're right, dear, I haven't! Women! But I am about to build you a brand new home, aren't I? Now which do you want? A brand new home or a song?"

  "You really wanna know?"

  Shawn stared at her a moment and then shook his head, "Second thought, no. I better leave it alone." He thought better, putting his shirt back on. An hour later, Jake, Shanna and Vivian returned. He dropped them off at Shanna's, helping them to carry in all the jars of preserves and pies his mom stayed up late baking. Also, she needed to check on her kitten, while he came to see if Shawn still planned to help him out. When he walked into the basement, everyone was up eating breakfast. Sylvia kept glancing at him with the biggest grin he'd ever seen on her face. She kept getting tickled, happier and happier by the moment. He looked from her to Shawn. "You told her?" He lipped the three words. Shawn grinned and shrugged; putting his arm behind his back, he lipped back, "She twisted my arm." Jake shook his head, rolling his eyes to the ceiling.

  Gesturing with his thumb, he indicated that he should follow him outside. Looking back at Sylvia, Shawn winked, she winked back, smiling so hard, she wondered how she would keep it from Vivian.

  Outside Jake asked, "So, we're still going?"

  "You taking her back today or not?"

  "Nope, she's staying until his graduation. She'll call in the morning and tell them."

  "Fantastic, let's go."

  "What about Shanna?" Jake asked.

  "She'll be all right, I doubt if he'll come around in broad daylight for her. Matter of fact, we'll drive by there and have them come here and stay with Sylvia while we're out."

  They did. Jake noticed that Shawn didn't press for them to go over right then and there, while they were present. He seemed perfectly comfortable with him driving off and leaving them to walk over on their own. Shanna stood in her doorway, watching them leave with similar thoughts. He'd said she might be going with them to shop for an alarm and something else. She supposed he'd changed his mind. Maybe he planned on getting it and didn't feel that she needed to be present. She turned back into the house, Vivian was in the back bedroom, putting her things away there until they left Wednesday.

  "Vivian…is it me or does Shawn seem…chipper? Gleeful this morning?"

  "I guess, I don't know. Why wouldn't he be?"

  "No reason, just a thought."

  "You figure he should be more worried because of your ex?"

  "I'm being silly, don't mind me. It is, after all, highly unlikely that he'll show up here again so soon after the other night."

  "Only a fool would." Vivian stated, shaking her head.

  Shanna smiled, agreeing, on the brighter side said, "Are we going to bake one of these pies mom made? Plus we have to take those others to Sylvia."

  "I say, we bake one for here and tell Angela, Mundo and Crystal to come get this other stuff she sent, there's a lot here for you and I to carry over."

  "Agreed!"

  On the way to the mall, Jake couldn't just ignore Shawn's mood. "You're in a better mood this morning."

  "It's a bright and shiny new day." He answered easily enough.

  "A bright new day, huh? Anything—eventful—happen last night?"

  "Nothing to worry about. It was a smooth night, no problems."

  "I see, so—he didn't show up then?"

  "Little brother, do me a favor, okay? Let's focus on getting to La Crosse. Getting that ring and you getting the rest of those songs written. Let that be our focus, okay?"

  Jake looked over at him and then at the road, and back at his brother again. "Okay. Sure…let's do that."

  At the mall, they went from one jeweler to another, with Jake trying to find the ring that most took him. Finally they struck pay dirt, just as Shawn was losing his patience, "Jesus Christ, Jake! You're worse than shopping with a woman!"

  "Hey! If I'm going to be in debt for the rest of my life, it's gotta be worth it! It has to grab me!" He announced. "I don't want any kind of ring, it needs to be special. Stand out, different from the rest."

  "Yeah, yeah yeah, well, don't take all day!"

  There was a pretty young blonde behind the counter, waiting on their instructions. Jake was looking into the case and saw a solitaire that caught his eye, it had emeralds cut like leaves, spread off away from the diamond. "I like that, bring that up here. Are those emeralds?" He asked.

  "Sure are, and that's a 2 carat diamond encased in an 18k gold ring. You guys came at a good time, we're having a 45% off diamond sale! Couldn't have picked a better time to buy a diamond!"

  Jake looked at Shawn and winked, clicking his tongue out the side of his teeth, eagerly shopping with his brother's credit, "Okay, so with 45% off, what does this one go for?" Jake asked.

  "Well, it comes with this wedding band, as you can see, it fits over it like this when you put the two together. My God, isn't it gorgeous! I just love this set! Unfortunately, there's no one in here shopping for me a ring." She smiled admitting.

  "Well, that's tragic. I'm certain if you're a good girl and play your cards right, it won't take you long. We need to know, how much?" Shawn asked, already having an idea.

  "With this particular setting, emeralds, 2 carat radiant—a quality cut, 18k gold rings, here—you can feel the weight of those …t hey're worth the price tag and that's at 45% off."

  "Yeah, yeah, and that is?" Shawn asked.

  She picked up the box they were in, lifted it and said, "On sale, you can get that set for $13, 941.35."

  Jake snatched his hand away, dropping them on the counter and held his hands up like he was in a hold up. "Holy Jesus! They're just teeny tiny little rings! With flashy decoration!"

  "Remember sir, 45% off."

  Jake wiped his hand over his face and looked down at his brother who was leaning on the counter, looking up at him with a bored expression on his face. "Did you know that's what they cost?"

  "That size diamond and setting, yes. There are cheaper ones, if you want to look at cheaper. It's all about the diamond. Remember, I just bought one. 3 carats total, 2 carat Princess cut, platinum setting and an accumulation of 1 carat baguettes along the wedding band—NOT—on sale." Shawn informed him calmly.

  "JESUS CHRIST are you mad, man?"

  "Why do you think I tried to kill you the night at our reception?"

  Jake stood there shaking his head, he'd had no idea. He'd never shopped for a diamond ever. Had no clue of what they cost. This was his first trip to any kind of jeweler. He thought it would cost him something like $500 to a $1000, but this!

  "Well, any others you wish to look at?" She asked.

  He stood there and felt the pit of his stomach cramp.

  He looked back at the ring again and then looked at Shawn. "Well? What do you think?"

  "That's heavy duty, my brother, that's serious debt right there." Shawn warned him, "You go for that, it's get busy time! All the way."

  Jake looked down into the case at other rings and saw some nice ones, but the diamonds were all smaller. He kept looking back at the one she was putting away. "No…I can't even consider putting anything less than that on her finger." He reached in his pocket, pulling out a string with a knot in it, "I tied this around her finger when she was sleeping." He passed it to the girl behind the counter who's eyes had grown big at him announcing that he would be getting it. Her job was on commission. She prayed that everything went through before she started jumping through the ceiling. She picked up the ring-sizing rod, slid the string on it. "6½ is her ring size. Guess what, I think this set is just that, hang on, let me check."
She looked in the box and smiled up at him. "If all goes right, you can take this to her today. How would you like to pay?"

  "I'm going to put 15% down on it for him and co-sign for it. Is that all right?"

  "Just a moment, let me get the application, be right back."

  Jake stood, feeling faint.

  "You all right?" Shawn asked.

  "Why do they cost so much?" He whispered in agony.

  "Believe it or not, these are not the expensive ones. The most expensive, try a 3.4 carat Argyle pink diamond. That will run you over a mill."

  "A mill what?" Jake asked.

  "Over a million dollars. Remember that big hoopla when Ben Affleck bought J-Lo that ring? Well, it was a pink diamond."

  "Wow…I see. Hmph, I guess I better get busy, huh? Think I'll ever be able to match that?" He joked to his brother.

  "My brother, anything is possible, if you want it bad enough."

  Jake stood with that on his mind. Suddenly the diamond he blanched over didn't seem so significant. He filled out the application. Shawn co-signed and put up the 15% required. They put it through and 15 minutes later, the young blonde had a huge smile on her face. She was shaking when she came back to them. "It went through, no problem! Oh, my god! Thank you! We're going to have to go over all the insurance side of it and while we do, they're going to clean it, free!"

  "Whoop-tee-doo! Free, Shawn—they're going to clean it for free!" Jake rolled his eyes.

  Shawn only laughed.

  They went from there and signed Shanna up for an alarm system to be installed at her home. Jake made no further mention of John Sykes, nor did Shawn. When they returned to the house, it smelled of apple pie. The house was full of noise, everyone was staying in. Even Mundo lazed around the house, he and Angela playing on the Play-Station. He was cheating and being his comedic self and had Angela laughing so hard, she was crying, while he kept a straight face, saying little things that made her laugh harder. Sylvia watched them and laughed, with no idea what he said that had her going, but found it funny just to see her weak and rolling around in full hilarity. Mundo would look back at them as if to say she was crazy, when they all knew him. Vivian, Sylvia, Crystal and Shanna were sitting at the table general chit-chatting when they came in.

  "It smells good in here! Woman, what you baking?" Shawn asked, walking past Mundo and Angela as she attempted to sit up on the sofa, but she couldn't see, so drunk off of giggling like crazy, which was Mundo's strategy, because he couldn't win any other way.

  "Your mother sent us some preserves and some apple pie fillings…so I made up some crusts and baked us some pies, baby! While these two women here, brought back with them full pies, crusts and all!" She pretended to be upset.

  "Hellooo, excuse me, we had to make our crusts! Shanna—who made the crusts on them pies?"

  "We did! Hellooo, we made them crusts! Didn't we Jake?" Shanna asked him.

  "I'm not gettin' in the middle! Leave me out of it."

  "Jake, you aught to be ashamed of yourself! You know doggone well, Shanna and I stood in that kitchen with your mother and made them pies up!" Vivian fussed at him. He only leaned over her, kissed her neck and grabbed her hand, "Yeah, yeah, yeah, come here." He stood and pulled her up from her chair, pulling her towards the door. Sylvia looked over at Shawn, her eyes wide with the question. He smiled and nodded. She felt like bursting with joy.

  Outside, Jake held Vivian's hand as they strolled along the road toward Shanna's. She was dragging back a bit, a lazy smile on her face as he held her hand and pulled her along, "Where are you taking me, Mr. McPherson?"

  "Away with me! Far, far, away! Would you go far and away with me, Vivian Cooke, if I were to ask you to go? If I were to ask you to trust me with every bit of might in your being? Would you trust me? Would you go?"

  "It depends on where you're taking me. Would you tell me, so I'd know?"

  "Nope! You'd have to trust me completely. Would you?" He asked, stopping at the porch and then turning to sit on it, and pull her down between his legs on a lower step. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her neck, her ear, and then nibbled at it, and then her temple. "You're mighty slow in answering me." He warned.

  "Ja-a-ake…you know me by now. You know I have to plan everything and I have to know what I'm doing, where I'm going. You know I'm not a gambler." She returned softly, looking up at him.

  He took her chin and lifted her face for his complete inspection, looking at it as he'd grown accustomed to doing, he finally said, "Yes, you are. You took me on, that was a gamble."

  "I guess. In all honesty, I still don't really know what I'm getting…do I?" She smiled sadly, because she was being honest and she didn't want to bring him down, but she wasn't as impulsive as he was, not any more. She'd grown out of all that. Even her seducing him the previous morning wasn't impulsive, the way he thought it. It was in her plan to tie them in a knot to one another, as tight as any.

  "Should I tell you what you're getting?" He asked, leaning down and kissing her lips.

  "Sure, tell me." She murmured gently when he lifted away.

  "A man who loves you, with all of his heart. That's what you're getting. One, that if he had his way…" He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out the box, "…you'd be getting a pink Argyle diamond, instead of this one today." He put the box in front of her. Vivian looked at the black velvet box as if it were a spider and then up at him.

  "Go ahead, open it."

  She couldn't believe it, she reached up and almost afraid of what she'd find, flipped the lid back.

  "Oh, my god! Jake! Ohhh, Jake—you—how? I don't get it? Wh-what—oh, my God." She covered her mouth.

  "Here, let's see if it fits?" He took it out and put the wedding band back. "We'll save that one for later, shall we?" He asked. Vivian couldn't speak as he took her left hand and slid the ring on, it fit perfect.

  "Oh, my Go-o-od!" Came out muffled from behind her right hand.

  Her hand shook with the diamond and emerald leaf ring, glimmering, glistening from the sun, sparkling so dazzling it was hypnotic, she still had her mouth covered and began crying.

  "Don't cry, baby…don't cry. I swear to you, this is only the beginning. I swear to you, it's gonna get better. I'm determined that it will. All I ask, is that you believe in me. Do you?"

  She nodded, still crying and squeaked out, "But how did you afford this, Jake, you can't afford this! Is it real?" She asked suddenly as it occurred to her it might not be. Jake burst with laughter, "Believe me, baby, it's real! I nearly fainted twice during the transaction! So, you like it?"

  "I love it! But you could've waited for something this size. I would have been happier with smaller, Jake, really, I would have."

  A mannish grin was on his face, Vivian braced herself as she was getting to know that look, "Well, baby, I'm sorry to say, I don't do small! With me, it's big all the way!"

  "Jake, you're such a dog!"

  "Oh, yeah, so does that mean I get to do a bit of sniffing around later?"

  "This ring on my finger, shoot, baby—I'ah put some gravy on it; you want some gravy, baby?"

  Jake laughed and pulled her up to him. She wrapped her arms around him, and loved his mouth the way he liked it.

  When they went back, Shawn wanted to take a picture of them, he made her stand between Jake's legs, while Jake sat his hat on his head and pulled her up to him and held on. Shawn had her put her hand on his shoulder and urged them to smile.

  They did, he snapped their first official picture as the future Mr. & Mrs. McPherson.

  Chapter 186

  Something wasn't right.

  Something—was—not—right.

  In Sylvia's mind, the thought was more akin to, What is going on? Sylvia knew that it was quite possible the expression on her face boldly announced that thought, along with an absolutely deep gut feeling that something was going on. She wasn't sure or certain what it was, but it was in the air. The people in her basement, some of which, were sud
denly struggling to make eye contact, mainly with her—gave her that feeling, along with her husband getting ready to leave. Where, who knew, this had just come out of the blue.

  It was 8:45 in the evening and all of a sudden, Bart was there. He was there to get Shawn. It was obvious that not only was it a surprise to her, it was also a surprise to Jake and to Shanna. Yet this surprise, while it may be that with them, didn't seem all that much of a surprise. There was a sudden manner about them since Bart's arrival. There was a sudden hushed, knowledge and awareness; it existed between these four people, so intense, one could cut through it with a knife. Sylvia stood with one hand on the kitchen chair and the other on her hip. Watching as if this was some strange play that she'd awakened to find herself in the midst of. Jake was sitting on the sofa, looking at his father as he stood talking with Vivian, some small inane gibberish that Sylvia could not quite comprehend, because of him showing up and Shawn rushing around the house and putting on a change of clothes.

  Sylvia was staring at the look on Jake's face. A look he tried to guard, but one that clearly stated, once more, he was left out of the loop. He even turned red once or twice as if fighting with some unnamed emotion surrounding some inner conflict that she hadn't a clue about. Shanna was sitting on the sofa next to her brother, looking up at her father. The look on her face wasn't any better; she was back and forth from trying to look her father in the eye, but unable to. Followed by nervously glancing Sylvia's way and again, a struggle to hold eye contact. Sylvia could hear her husband upstairs, his footsteps loud and clear, he was in a hurry.

  Sylvia closed her mouth and turned without another word to Bart and made her way upstairs. At first, of course, she had politely greeted him. He was after all, her father-in-law and had always been nothing but kind, gentle and caring towards her. So of course, all the preliminaries of inviting him in, polite smiles, kiss to his cheek with a hug had been done. There is where the normalcy of his visit ended; within moments of his arrival, the air within her basement had transformed right before her eyes as her husband said, "I'll be ready in just a minute, dad." He turned and made his way up the stairs, the same ones she went up, finally following him and entering their bedroom. He was in the bathroom, she could hear the water running. There was a gym bag on the bed. Sylvia stared at it stunned, her mind spinning like crazy from questions that left her in a quandary.