Page 41 of First Date: Divorce
She was out before he could catch her arm.
“No way I’m wearing any of that.It’s a year’s salary—”
“I’ll—”
“No, you won’t.And Shakespeare County in the person of Cully Grainger won’t either.”
“He could return them after for a refund.”
“Can rings be returned?No—” Her word and a raised hand stopped his response.“There’s one way to spend less and get something back: We’ll go to a pawnshop.”
“A pawnshop?”
“Sure.Much more economical.And we know we can sell them back afterward.”
*
They drove past two pawnshops she’d found using her phone before she spotted one that looked worth entering.
“I don’t know, K.D.”
“I do,” she said, head held high.“I pawned stuff as a kid often enough to spot the decent ones.”
“You—?”
“Yes.My mother’s no good at negotiating.Or standing her ground.That’s why her hus— Never mind.Take my word for it, this is a good one.”
He eyed her for another moment, though whether over the sentence she hadn’t completed or her order to take her word for it, she didn’t know.
Then he said, “Okay.”
And he did leave it to her, not questioning anything, even when she had the man behind the counter pull out sets at much lower prices — and quality — than a pair of rings that looked decent and fit both of them.
She negotiated the price down on the decent set, but wasn’t satisfied.
The man behind the counter gave Eric a look, then said to her, “I’ve got a call to make.You two talk it over.”
The man clearly considered Eric the softer touch.He was right.
He also thought Eric would persuade her to take the rings at the current price.Doubtful.
Eric tipped the man’s ring to get more light on its interior surface.“Heather and Bob,” he read aloud.“Our hopes.Our dreams.”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Eric put the man’s ring down with a clunk, and straightened.“I’m not wearing this.”
She looked up, ready to do battle.These rings were the best choice.None of the others fit as well or had the right feel of being neither too old nor too new.
Before her first shot, though, she stopped abruptly.
Our hopes.Our dreams.
As much as she never wanted to be a wife, Erichadwanted to be a husband.
He’d had those dreams and those hopes.
And they had gone wrong.
