I nodded and made my way over to the case she'd directed me to. I looked down at all the unique rings. There were so many options, and I was a lot lost as to what she would even like. I knew what her previous engagement ring looked like, and I wanted to steer clear of that as I’d come to learn that she hated the thing.
"They are beautiful, aren't they?" the salesclerk said, coming over and opening the back of the display case.
I nodded, finally seeing one that I knew in my heart was perfect. "Could I see that one in the corner please?"
"The solitaire?" she questioned, reaching into the case, pointing at the ring.
"Yes, please."
"Wonderful choice. It's my favourite. Although I can't seem to get my boyfriend to commit." She giggled as she placed the ring in my hand. "White gold band, diamond is colourless and flawless. I believe it's the best one we have in the store at the moment."
The girl droned on, and I eventually shut her out while I looked down at the ring. It was beautiful and simple, yet elegant, exactly like my girl. I looked up at the girl who was still speaking away and smiled. "I'll take it."
November 30 – 6 Weeks Later
* * *
White Christmas lights twinkled brightly in the trees around the manmade rink in the park. Tess sat on the bench while I knelt before her, holding the skate. She held onto the top of her sock as she pushed her foot inside.
"How's that?" I asked, making sure that her foot was all the way in.
"It’s okay, but I don't know about this, Maddox," she said, a worried expression lining her face as I pulled at the laces, tightening them for her.
I looked up at her and smiled. "Do you trust me?" I questioned, repeating the same steps with the other skate.
"Of course." She laughed. "It's just the whole sliding and balance issue, remember."
"I remember." I chuckled and sat down beside her, quickly lacing up my own skates. "I'm going to have you skating circles around me before you know it."
“I seriously doubt that.” She laughed, looking down at her skates.
I reached into my pocket and felt the velvet box I had tucked inside earlier. "Here, put your gloves on," I said, handing over her the gloves she'd placed inside the bag for tonight. She slid her hands inside and I stood, holding my hands out to her.
She slid her hands into mine and stood. I didn't give her any time to back out. I stepped onto the ice and held onto her as she placed one foot on the ice and then the other.
She wobbled for a minute as she held onto my shoulders, finally steadying herself.
"All right, so you can stand," I teased.
She gave me an annoyed look. "Of course I can stand." Then she laughed.
"All right, let's go. Just push off with one foot. Like this, watch," I said, pushing off with one foot and sliding a bit of a ways away from her.
"Oh, I don't know." She hesitated, her voice shaky as she looked at me.
“You can do it,” I urged, watching as she tried to find the courage within herself. She concentrated hard and shoved off with one foot, then the other. She was doing okay making her way toward me, when she suddenly lost her balance, her arms flailed about, her face filled with panic. I reached out and grabbed her, breaking her fall just before she went down.
"Oh my God," she yelled, as she reached out and grabbed hold of me.
I laughed while steadying us both, holding onto her tightly as she regained her balance.
"I told you I can't do this," she said, breathing hard, frustration lining her face.
"It’s not happening overnight, baby. It takes time. You'll get it, I promise." I moved around her until I was behind her, and placed my hands on her hips. Then I slowly pushed off and began gliding around the rink with her in front of me.
We had the entire rink to ourselves, so once I had gotten her comfortable enough, I began the lesson all over again, and by the time we were ready to go, she could skate off the rink just holding onto my hand.
"Did you see that? I did it," she said, excitement lining her voice. She looked proud of herself, and once she was on the bench, I knelt down in the snow and pulled her skates off.
"I did. You were amazing, baby."
"I'd hardly call me amazing." She giggled, slipping her feet into her boots.
I sat down beside her and removed my skates. Then I reached down into our bag and pulled out a thermos along with two travel cups and poured us each a hot chocolate.
"Here you go," I said, handing her one of the travel mugs. I capped the thermos and leaned back against the bench, placing my arm behind her.
I watched as her eyes light up as she took a sip. "Maddox, this isn't..."
"It is, right from that place in the mall. They opened up another location around the corner from work, so I stopped on my way home to get this." I smiled, leaning in to kiss her lips.
Over the past year, I learned so many things about Tess I hadn't known before. How much she could give when she felt appreciated. How feisty she could be when she got angry, how sexy she could be when she let her inhibitions go. There wasn't a part of this woman I didn't love. I learned that she loved the simple things in life—a homemade meal and an evening with popcorn and a movie, instead of dinner in a fancy restaurant, a foot rub and hot bath after a long day, instead of being pampered at the spa. The best thought was waking her with a tender kiss and a hot coffee in the morning after we'd spent the night making love. However, my favourite part of this past year had been watching her discover herself as our relationship developed. Watching her become a woman filled with confidence and one who never backed down from me when I got out of line. It had been a special gift that she had given to me. The Tess I had met a few years ago was not the same woman who sat beside me today. She was confident and loving, and she was all mine.
"When's my next lesson?" he asked, leaning her head against my shoulder and cuddling into my side.
I placed a kiss on her forehead and smiled. "Whenever you'd like."
"Tomorrow?" She laughed, biting her bottom lip as she looked up at me.
"Mmmm, I think we might be busy tomorrow." I chuckled, reaching into my pocket.
She frowned. I could see her mentally searching through her schedule trying to figure out what I was talking about.
I sat forward and pulled the box out of my pocket and turned to face her.
"Maddox, I don't know what you are talking about," she said, still trying to figure out what plans she had forgotten. "The only thing we have this week is dinner with Laura and John. I am sure of it."
I let out a breath as she sat there mumbling our schedule repeatedly to herself. I chuckled to myself, trying to ease my own nerves, then placed my hand over hers. "Tess, I just figured that you might want to go out and celebrate."
She looked at me, frowning. "Maddox, I don't know what you are talking about. Celebrate what? If you’re talking about me learning to skate, you’re just being silly." She laughed, placing her hand on my arm and giving me a gentle shove.
I flipped open the box and brought it around for her to see. "I thought we’d celebrate our engagement."