Short Story Collection by A. Einloth (ink book reader txt) 📕

her one of his button down shirts.
“Why?” She looked down at herself. Just above her top were little red marks, soon to be hickies. “Oh! Right!” She pulled on the shirt and buttoned it up most of the way and rolled up the sleeves. “So where are we going?”
“There’s a little diner a few blocks away that has a great eggs, bacon, and pancakes breakfast platter.” And it goes right past a jewelry store, he thought.
“Great!” Emily said.
Darron gabbed his keys and wallet and they walked to the diner. On the way, Emily noticed the jewelry store.
“Oh! Look at that! It’s gorgeous! Do you see that pendent there, it’s beautiful!”
“We can stop and look on the way back if you want. I took the whole day off for the apartment search.”
“That won’t be necessary…will it?”
“Not if you don’t want it to be. Em I would love for you to live with me. And not just because you’re a great cook. I like having you around. You give me honest opinions and aren’t afraid to argue with me.” And the sex with you was the most amazing experience of my life, he thought, but you don’t want to hear that.
And the sex, Emily thought, what about that?
They got to the diner and ate breakfast talking about nothing. Darron paid the check over Emily’s protests and they left. On the way back, Darron stopped Emily at the entrance to the jewelry store.
“Come on Em. Let’s just look.” Or buy an engagement ring, whatever, he thought.
“Ok, sure.” They went in and were quickly noticed by the clerk.
“Can I help you?” she asked.
“No, thanks,” Emily said. “We’re just browsing.” She walked away.
“Actually, I do. You see I want to buy her an engagement ring but not the wrong one.”
“I understand. Many men feel the same way. I’m going to ask you a few questions and then I’ll show you some rings that seem to fit her personality. Ok. Is she traditional or free spirited?”
“I would say free spirited.”
“Ok. What color does she usually wear?”
“She wears a lot of blues and greens.”
“Alright. What color are her eyes?”
“Green,” he said, “and gold. it’s a dark green though unless she’s excited or really happy…never mind.” He blushed a little.
The clerk smiled a little. “Very good. Do you happen to know her ring size?”
“No…should I?’
“It’s not particularly important. It would just tell me what size to pick first. She has fairly slender fingers. I’ll try a six.” She pulled out a black velvet pad and set it on the glass counter. Then she moved about the ring area and picked out some rings. “Here we are.”
Darron looked over the rings. Then his eyes landed on one that would be perfect. It had a small heart shaped emerald set in yellow gold with even smaller heart shaped sapphires around it. “This one. It’s perfect.”
“A very good choice. This particular piece is $150 and is one of a kind. Do you want to ring it up?”
“Yes,” he said to the clerk. She took the tag and his credit card an went over to the register. Another clerk put the rings and pad away. “Hey Em? Come over here for a moment.”
“What is it?” She looked at the ring in his hand. “Oh! That ring is gorgeous. Why are you holding it?”
“I just bought it.”
“For…who?” she asked hesitantly.
“You,” he said, “Emily…I love you. No one else can compare to you.” He dropped down to one knee. “Emily, I have loved you since you fell on me in the third grade. I want you to be my wife. Will you marry me?”
“Darron,” she said taking a deep breath. She ran her fingers through her hair. “Yes. I may not have loved you for that long, but I always compared my boyfriends to you and they all fell short.”
He slid the ring onto her finger. It was a perfect fit. The clerk came back with Darron’s card and a slip for him to sign. She then handed over a ring box. Emily put the ring box in her purse while he signed and they left the store. On the way back Darron remembered what had happened that morning. “Hey Em…um, do you want kids?”
“Yes,” she wrinkled her brow. “Why?”
“Well…I…I um, I didn’t use a condom this morning and I was planning on getting you to love me anyway so…”
“I would beat you up for that, but I’m glad. I would love to have your baby Darron.”
“Whew. I thought you would kill me.”
“I want your baby Darron, but I don’t want to be fat at my wedding.”
“I guess that means that we will be planning a wedding for Christmas?”
“Of course. I always wanted to be a Christmas bride.”
Darron laughed. “I just thought of something funny.”
“What?”
“Our parents, they think we’re just friends.” They laughed.

At Christmas they were married and six months later a beautiful baby boy was born. Jason Andrew had his mother’s green gold eyes, and his father’s dark hair. No baby could have been more loved.
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Publication Date: 10-12-2010

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