Newest addition to my stories library. Temporarily titled 'Unrequited'. It's longer than my usual, but enjoy anyways!
Lance scowled at his employee who was chatting too much on her IPhone instead of doing what she was actually paid for. Teenagers these days, he thought angrily as he walked over to tell her off, they think money doesn’t have to be earned.
The girl saw her boss making a beeline for her so she muttered a quick goodbye and turned, suddenly feeling a need to organize the storage room. Lance, with his old age he supposed, was too slow and stopped midway in his walk. He then shook his head, seeming not to know what to do.
Lance continued walking around his store, stopping once in awhile to chat with customers. He got all sorts of people coming in. There were the well-off, ‘holier than thou’ sorts who walked in like they owned the whole jewelry store. Sure, he was grateful for their purchases; he was glad for the money that kept his place running. But the attitudes were things he would rather bear without.
Then, he’d always get the couples experiencing the quick euphoria of love at first sight. The girls usually would enter first, giggling and dragging their reluctant and wary boyfriends. The couples would go around and laugh to themselves, but ultimately never buy much.
Lastly, he would get the singles—the ones who don’t have anyone special in their lives. They’d walk through the store, wistfully thinking of their perfect matches in mind. They would never buy anything either…except Lance once got an odd girl who just wanted to buy an engagement ring to own.
Sometimes Lance thought that those types of people should never get married.
The old man, who dreamt daily of his retirement, went to the front counter to cash a couple out. He waited and watched, humored, as the man of the pair reluctantly reached for his credit card. His significant one only watched with gleeful anticipation.
Well, he thought, that’s the last customer of today.
Just as Lance was about to call his female employee out to close the store, a customer entered, causing the bell that hung over the front entrance to ring. He glanced up and saw a young man in his late twenties hesitantly step over the threshold.
After twenty years of owning and running his jewelry store, Lance was incredibly observant of what each customer needed at his store. But this was the first time in which he wasn’t so sure about his judgment.
The man didn’t look rich or poor. He was modestly dressed in a dark green sweater and worn out jeans that—thankfully—had no holes in them. And, he was actually wearing a belt. There was no girl holding his hand. And for some reason, Lance knew that the man wasn’t buying something for himself.
“Hi,” the mystery customer said to Lance. “Are you still open?”
He sounded nervous.
Lance glanced at the clock that was above the young man’s head. It read ten minutes past closing time, but that didn’t really matter. Plus, he knew the wife was cooking meatloaf at home (something she was not so gifted at making) and realized that perhaps being a half hour late would not harm anyone.
“Sure, my boy, it’s a little later, but I still have time,” Lance said, beckoning the man who hadn’t moved a step since entering. “What’s your name?”
“James.” He gave Lance a small smile and approached the front desk.
“Ah James, a nice name,” Lance said jollily. He left his position behind the desk and held out a hand, which James took. Nice grip, Lance commented to himself. “Now, what can I do for you?”
“I’m looking for a ring,” James answered, almost sounding unsure.
So, he is here for someone, the store owner thought.
“For a lucky girl, eh?” Lance asked, suddenly feeling gleeful at the sight of the young man so nervous. He remembered that feeling. Granted, his wife already picked out the ring that she wanted, and all he had to do was go down on one knee, but still, Lance remembered the nervousness that preceded his proposal.
“Not exac—“
“Oh ho, don’t be bashful!” Lance joked, turning to lead the customer to the section of rings. “I am an experienced owner who has seen a lot of people come in here. You’re ready to propose!”
James laughed weakly. “Experienced?”
“Yes, of course. I’ve dealt with many people and picked out the perfect ring for many fruitful proposals and marriages. So, young man, you rest in good hands.”
Lance grinned at the customer, who returned with a little less enthusiasm but with the same honesty.
“So,” began the owner, “describe her. The rings that I have in front of me can fit any girl’s personality. Now, be specific about her.”
“Well,” James started, tapping on the display cases with his fingers, “her name is Lena. She’s 26, the same age as me. She’s, um, she’s—well, s-she’s Lena.”
Lance looked at the man, bemused. He mentally sighed. James, obviously, was not incredibly eloquent.
“How about you show me a picture? Pictures are said to be worth a thousand words,” encouraged the owner.
“Yeah, sure—“ James said, sounding surprised. He took a minute to pull out his wallet and open to reveal a mess of folds that looked to be filled with scrap paper and business cards. Yet, James was able to locate a picture in second, showing that he probably often glanced at it and memorized its placement in his wallet. Lance suddenly felt a bit of respect for the quiet fellow.
He took the photo which was offered.
Ah, a pretty one, Lance thought, admiring the customer’s loved one. She looked like her age, but her eyes had something in them that was especially mesmerizing. For a moment, he thought to his wife at home who still had the same…what was it? Oh, yes. Their eyes both had life in them.
The young woman in the picture sat perched on a rock which was surrounded by glistening water. Lance suspected James must have taken the picture. She sat with her arms behind her, supporting her position. Her face was turned in a playful gesture, and the smile that she gave was radiant. Her dark brown and curly hair, that looked blown by the wind, framed her smile.
“What a lovely picture,” he commented to James, handing the picture back. “Now, let’s get back to business. From the picture, I suspect she has quite a personality, am I right?”
James glanced at him, astonished. “Y-yeah, that describes her. She’s strong and independent. Likes no one to try and control her.”
Lance nodded, feeling pride in himself. By God, he was good. “And what is she interested in? Art? Music? Books?”
“All of that. She owns an art gallery downtown and volunteers her time at an old bookstore nearby. She loves reading, like to the point where it’s hard to get her to go out,” James acknowledged, smiling. “She said to me one time, ‘As a bibliophile, it is perfectly acceptable by societal standards for one to find their sole entertainment in books’.”
“e.e. cummings sort of girl?”
“Partially. She likes Austen and Joyce the most. Sometimes Yeats, when she is in the right mood.”
Lance migrated around the display cases, internally acknowledging James’s knowledge of the girl.
“Where did the two of you meet?”
James followed Lance in his steps. “Um…in college. We were taking a psychology course together and ended becoming pretty good friends. We now have jobs and stuff, but we’re still close, which is good.”
“Good, good,” Lance mumbled, eyes searching through his collection. From what he could gather, the girl seemed intelligent and well-versed in the classics—something his wife would love to hear about. She always complained about “today’s” generation and the ignorance many possess.
“What size is she?”
“Like, finger wise?”
Lance raised an eyebrow. Did James know what clothing size Lena was too?
“Yes, but you can share other sizes if you would like.”
The young customer chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck, embarrassed. “Sorry. Yeah, Lena’s an 8.”
Lance nodded and bent down, groaning a bit at his muscles stretching, and pulled out the drawers of size 8 rings. He quickly swiped his hand along the rows of rings, as if to get a feel of all of them. Then, he pulled out one and handed it to James.
James squinted at it and made a face, which Lance knew was an immediate ‘no’. This went on for the next five rings or so. The young man appeared guilty a second after.
“Oh, none of that. You want to find your girl a perfect ring. It’ll take time, I will tell you that,” Lance remarked. “Do you have any other information about Lena?”
“Well about her? Uh, she likes books…wait—I already said that. Um…she likes a lot of time to herself, but not in a vain way. She’s actually really into knowing everyone individually, and will dedicate herself to that. She just likes to keep herself grounded. Lena’s not easily pressured since she has, like, really good morals that she keeps.” James glanced around the room, as if to think of more things to say.
“She’s loyal and caring. I mean, I was once really sick with the flu in school, but she actually went to my professors and got the workload. She’s not a bad cook either; she’d make me Manhattan clam chowder when I feel under the weather,” the man said.
The one thing Lance loved about his job (and sometimes was the only thing that allowed him to have faith in younger generations) was seeing the affection that one person had for another. It’s sometimes in the eyes. There would be a spark there. Sometimes, it’s in the way the person could go on and on about their loved one. Funny thing was: it’s always subconscious how someone can talk about another person for a long time.
Lance felt a bit whimsical, thinking about the life James would lead with this Lena. She sounded lucky, and it was evident that James considered himself lucky to have her.
“—And,” James’s voice pulled Lance back from his thoughts, “she’s beautiful, obviously, but she doesn’t see that sometimes. She doesn’t have low self-esteem or anything, but I think Lena just thinks about what’s on the inside.” He paused.
“I think she’s perfect.”
There was a moment of silence where James seemed to stop and collect his thoughts. Lance took the time to observe the young man, believing in his heart that this man will become half of a happy marriage.
Once again, Lance was distracted from his internal musings by the ringing of the store phone. He knew instinctively that it must be his wife.
After a long marriage like his, a sort of sixth sense had developed along the way.
He held up a finger to tell James to wait, and the young customer just nodded, showing his understanding.
Lance reached the phone in a few steps. Yes, it was his wife. He had to admit: her voice, whether it be nagging or concerning, was a sweet sound to his ears, but he never told her that. She would think him sentimental.
She was telling him that she burnt the meatloaf and was wondering if he wanted spaghetti instead. Lance mentally pumped his fist in the air. He much preferred that over her meatloaf. And he answered so, which led to her asking if he got the eye drops she needed at the convenience store. Lance then rolled his eyes and said he would after leaving the store. His wife went on to say that customers had no regard for how hard he worked—
Lance assured her that he was fine and told a quick goodbye. He sighed, relieved that she wasn’t angry or anything. Suddenly, he remembered James.
His customer was now bent over one of the display cases, staring at a section with fascination.
“Anything that catches your attention?” Lance asked, approaching him again.
“Yeah,” James mumbled, sounding dazed, “Can I see that one?”
Lance internally grinned. He did as he was told and handed the ring over.
“This is it,” he confirmed. His hand shook as his fingers held the ring.
“James, you have incredible taste. The ring has a humble and modest look to it. At first, it can be easily glanced at and shoved aside, but if one takes a better look at it, they’d recognize its true beauty.”
And that was true. Lance personally loved the design of the ring, but people would always look for the biggest or the shiniest. The ring of interest was neither but, by its own right, was still one of the prettiest in Lance’s store.
James was interrupted from his daze by his cell phone ringing. He gave Lance a sheepish look, but then turned to answer with a ‘Hey, what’s up?’
The store owner occupied his time with rearranging some of the rings. He waved a dismissive goodbye to the girl who had finished her duty in the back.
“Yeah, I found the ring. No, it’s a pretty decent price. Lena would love it,” Lance heard James say. There was a silence on his side when the other person was speaking. “Just hurry up, the owner’s nice and all but we can’t keep him waiting.”
"Sorry, it's my friend. He's coming over in a few seconds--he just got out of his car. If you'd be so kind to give me a bit more time, that'd be great," James said.
Lance responded, "Of cou--"
“Heyo!”
James and Lance turned to the new voice. Another young man, about the same age as James, dressed in a suit and holding a leather briefcase, approached the two.
“Sorry I’m late, James. Just got out of work,” said he to James, who shook his head and gave his friend a small grin.
“I’m not surprised.” He turned to Lance and introduced his friend as ‘Sean’.
“This it?” Sean asked, peering down at the ring. “Hmm…not bad.”
Lance smiled and gestured for them to move to the cashier area. He turned to say ‘congratulations’ to James but from the corner of his eye saw Sean reaching for his wallet.
Then something clicked in his mind.
“Young man, you are not the one proposing, are you? It’s your friend here,” he asked, pointing to the new addition.
“Yeah,” Sean grinned, giving his friend a punch to the shoulder. “I’m pretty shitty at picking at sentimental things like this, plus James knows Lena to the number of freckles that she has. Figured he’d pick out the best ring for me to give her.”
Lance glanced disbelievingly at James who gave him a noncommittal shrug. There was something in his eyes that was asking him to keep whatever happened between him and James a secret.
The store owner could do nothing but process the surprise. He could surely say that this had never happened. With a love so pure like James’s for Lena, it was almost like there was hope for the future’s married couples.
Lance mechanically put the ring into its little box which would go to Sean and then to Lena, who was apparently his intended. All the while, Sean, who seemed like the talkative one, joked around, talking about his plan to propose. James nodded at his friend’s excitement, but his eyes, which spoke of different emotions, continued to follow the ring as it was being packaged.
It all happened so fast, and then the final cost was brought up and Sean handed over his credit card.
An odd, distilling silence enveloped the room after all was done. Even Sean seemed to notice it, to which he injected with, “Guys, even though it’s sad that I’m spending so much on a ring, it’s for a happy occasion!”
Lance responded with a tight smile. James chuckled lightly.
“Thanks a lot,” Sean said to Lance, giving him a two-fingered salute as he backed away from the counter. James followed with hands tucked in his pockets.
Lance wasn’t sure what will happen with the young man who was clearly in love with his friend’s girl. It made him a bit hopeless at the thought, watching the two leave the store. He knew he and his wife would have a talk about it at home, and he could just imagine his wife’s emotions being played by the story.
The door shut, bell ringing with finality. One by one, the lights of the store shut down and the laser senses took their places inside the display cases as Lance turned on the security alarm.
He knew a new day would come tomorrow, and he would survive through it like always.
But that young man by the name of James…Lance wondered as he was leaving the store, “How long would he last?”
