章 50: Gram's Ring
Dean stood in the kitchen with Mom.
"Where's Allie? She isn't angry with me?" she asked. "Bean, I am so sorry. I was completely out of line. I hope she doesn't think of me as rude."
"She wanted to warm up. She's taking a shower," Dean said. "Mom, Allie is a no-nonsense kind of person. She took no offense. She's been through a lot and doesn't have enough patience for bullshit."
"What do you think about her not being able to have children? Does it bother you?" she asked.
"I won't lie, I was taken aback. But she's right. We never discussed it. I shouldn't have just assumed that she could or even wanted children. I would love nothing more than to have a baby with her. But if that's not God's plan, then we will have to think of a different plan."
"Like adopting?" she asked.
"I guess, or a surrogate, maybe."
"We would be happy to help if that's what you decide."
"Mom, I haven't even asked her to marry me yet. We kinda joked about it. Well, I was dead serious. She was joking," he said.
"You don't think she would say yes?"
"I think she's scared, and she's not scared of anything except giving all of her to someone."
"Well, I think she's lovely. I would be happy to have her in the family," she said.
Dean leaned his back against the counter. He was so tall that it almost looked like he was sitting on it. He crossed his arms.
"Mom, I need to ask you something."
She was busy chopping vegetables, "What Bean?" she asked.
"I really love her. I thought I had been in love before, but being with her has shown me that I was never truly in love. She's amazing mom. She's strong, inside and out. She's guarded but kind. She's told me things she has never shared with another human being. She trusts me unconditionally. She loves me unconditionally. She fell for an intermediate-level government employee. She didn't know about any of this," he waved his hand out. "She was shocked as hell when she figured it out. She asked if I was a drug dealer. She couldn't figure out how I was affording my lifestyle. So, I told her. About you and Dad, gram, and pop pop. The businesses. It didn't seem to matter.... much. She still can't grasp the concept of spending money because you have money to spend."
"Dean, let's wrap this up and put a bow on it."
"I want to ask her to marry me, not just talk about it."
"Well, you don't need my permission."
"I know, but I would like to know if I can have Gram's ring to ask her with," he said.
"Oh, sweetheart, I must discuss that with your father. It belonged to his mother. It would be his decision. You must love her to want to give her Gram's ring."
"I do, Mom. I want to give her the world, with or without a ring."
"I'll talk to your father."
Natalie walked into the kitchen, hopped up, and sat on the counter next to Dean. She was swinging her legs back and forth.
"Talk to Daddy about what?" she asked.
"Nothing."
"Liar."
"It's none of your mind, Bug," Carol said.
"More like none of your business."
He took her head under his arm and gave her a noogie. She pulled away from him.
She playfully punched his arm. "You suck!"
"No, you suck!" He picked her up off the counter and slung her over his shoulder.
She was laughing and pretending to struggle.
"You two need to stop it. I'm trying to make dinner."
"AWWW. MOM!" they said together.
He set Natalie on the ground. "Buzzkill," Natalie said. "Speaking of which, I need a drink. Where does Daddy keep the good stuff?"
Their dad walked into the kitchen. "The good stuff is right here," he said.
He went up behind Carol and hugged her around the waist. She looked back at him and kissed him.
"That is so gross."
"Grow up, Natalie," Dean said.
"You first!"
"How much more could he possibly grow?" Carol asked.
"He could grow a pair and ask Allie to marry him." She stuck her tongue out at him.
"Oh, that's it," he said. He picked her back up and threw her back over his shoulder.
"Dean put her down. She's not a toy!"
He walked with her out of the kitchen over his shoulder.
"Are you ever sorry we stopped with only two?" he asked, still holding her around the waist.
"God, no! I don't think I would have had the strength for another one. And besides, Dean ate and took up enough space for another one anyway."
"So, what do you think of the girlfriend?" he asked.
"Your son wants to marry her, Jack. He said the children thing is a non-issue. He mentioned using a surrogate if they wanted to have a child."
"That's a good idea if that's what they decide to do."
"I told him that we would be more than happy to help with whatever they decide," she said.
"But of course, we will."
Natalie let out a playful scream from the other room.
"Settle down, you two!" she called from the kitchen.
They came back into the kitchen.
Natalie stumbled into the kitchen. Dean had been turning her in a circle. "Daddy, where's the Glenlivet?" Natalie asked.
"In the cabinet under the bookshelf in the family room."
She left the room, leaving Dean alone with them.
"Have you asked him yet, Mom?"
"No. I haven't gotten around to it yet."
"Ask me what?" he said.
"It has been brought to my attention that your son wants to propose to Allie, and he would like to do it with Gram's ring."
"Really, son? Gram's ring?"
"What about Gram's ring?" Natalie asked, carrying the bottle of whiskey.
She took a glass from the cupboard and went to the freezer.
"Wait! Are you really going to ask Allie to marry you?"
"Would you be a little more discreet? She's right down the hall," he said.
"She's seventy-five hundred square feet down the hallway!"
"Okay, you two, this is not a family meeting. This is a discussion between your parents, and when we have decided, we will let you know," she said. "And by you, I mean Bean."
"Am I interrupting?" Allie asked.
All four of them spun around and faced her.
"Hi there," Jack said.
"So, I am not interrupting a family meeting?"
"I'm going to finish dinner."
After dinner, Dean and his dad sat in his office.
"So, tell me why you want to marry this woman," he said.
"I love her."
"That's it? That's all you got?"
"I don't think I need anything else," Dean said.
Jack stood up. He went over to the small wet bar.
"Cognac?" He lifted the snifter.
"Sure. What kind?"
"Hennessy XO Mathusalem," Jack said.
"Wow, how did you get a bottle of that? They only released 300 of those."
"I found a collector who had two of them. Needless to say, the twelve-hundred-dollar bottle turned into an eighteen-hundred-dollar bottle.
"Well, pour me a glass, and let's see if it was worth it," Dean said.
Jack poured two glasses and handed one to Dean.
"Son, you can't go into marriage lightly. Need I remind you of Linda."
"I would prefer it if you didn't," Dean mumbled.
He took a sip of Cognac. "Okay, this is good. I think you overpaid, but I'm glad you did."
"I know you love this girl, but I need to know how serious you are. You are asking me for my mother's ring. There are seventy years of love embedded in that ring. And forty-seven thousand dollars."
"Like I told Mom, Allie fell for me thinking I was a mid-level fed. Dad, she knew I made under fifty thousand a year and only had ten vacation days a year. She hates the FBI. But she fell in love with me or Agent Carron. And dad she is absolutely amazing in..."
"Okay. I get it. How did you two meet?"
"Well, if you don't want me to finish my last sentence, I'm not sure you want to hear the story of us."
Jack drained his glass. Dean followed. Jack got up and got them each another.
"Try me," he said.
He handed him back his glass.
"Okay. I went out with a few guys from work. I didn't want to go, but David could really be a pest. So, we went to a bar. There was the most beautiful woman there. Out of everyone in the bar, she came up to me."
"Oh, she approached you?"
"Yes. Her friend, who owned the bar, pointed me out to her. She came over and said I was the most attractive man she had ever seen. Then she was sexually molested, and she beat the absolute living shit out of a guy. And I am not exaggerating. She almost put the guy through the wall. She broke his nose and knocked him unconscious. It was awesome. A huge turn-on."
His father sat there smiling. He had never seen the look in his son's eyes like he was seeing now.
"She definitely sounds like a pistol."
"More like a sniper rifle," he said. "Arthur and I took her home. She was a little intoxicated."
"That was very gentlemanly of you."
"Arthur said the same thing. We spent the most amazing night together. I had never met someone like her. I knew I loved her the first time I saw her, Dad."
"And here we are many moons later, and you want to spend the rest of your life with her. The children's situation doesn't bother you?"
"I can't say hearing it didn't disappoint me, but I want to be with her, and if she can't have children, then that's who she is, and she is who I love," Dean said.
Dean finished his drink. Jack stood up and set his glass on the table. He went to the wall and took down the Jackson Pollock painting. Behind it was a wall safe. He opened it and searched around, moving things from one side to the other. He came out with a small leather bag. He pulled out a ring box and sat back down.
"If you are sure you want to marry this girl, I will be happy to give this to you. Things go south. This ring comes back. Ensure she knows she must sign a prenuptial agreement—not because you think things will end but because it's unavoidable. Do you think she will take issue with that?"
"No. I don't. Like I said, she had no idea what I had when we met and fell in love. She loves me for me."
He handed him the ring. "I fell in love with your mother the moment our eyes met. She had to be my love until my heart gives out. I couldn't see my life without your mother. That girl out there is charming and seems to be one tough cookie."
"I see her when I think about my future. We've been together for over a year. I hope that I have given her enough time."
Jack patted him on the back. "Go get your princess. I sure hope she says yes," he said.
"Not as much as I do," Dean said, looking at the beautiful heirloom ring in his palm. She's going to think I'm flaunting my wealth. If she wants something smaller, I will get her something she likes.
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