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Doug stared down at the glass case full of sparkling diamond rings. He felt wildly out of place amidst the other men in the store whose shoes were just as waxed and reflective as the floors. Doug looked down at his sneakers. Off-white, dull, and stained. The man behind the counter had looked him up and down with a displeased expression when he’d walked in, but Doug had learned to expect that kind of thing since he’d been introduced to Kate and thrust into the world of bougie rich snobs that surrounded her. They all looked at him like that, and he figured they always would. It didn’t matter that the daughter of the richest man in the bunch had chosen him. He was still an outsider, and they always managed to sniff him out. Although today, in his sweater, worn-out jeans, and dusty sneakers, it wouldn’t take a bloodhound to figure out that he wasn’t often surrounded by large sums of money.
But this wasn’t about him. Or those holier-than-thou snobs. It was about Kate. He needed to find the perfect ring because she deserved nothing less than the best. The ring Hale had gotten for her was too much. It was big, obnoxious, and flaunty, and Doug knew that Kate didn’t really want something like that. Well, he was pretty sure she didn’t… but he couldn’t afford that kind of ring anyway.
He focused back on the rings in front of him. They were all nice, but nothing stood out to him. He knew that Kate loved pearls. Her lucky earrings were pearls, and she almost always had a string of pearls around her neck. But a pearl ring? No, that wouldn't do. He also knew that she wore both gold and silver jewelry, but had a preference for silver. He also preferred silver on her, so he focused on the silver rings.
He moved from case to case, feeling defeated as the prices rose and his pockets seemed to feel emptier and emptier. He stopped suddenly, his eyes drawn to it. The ring’s silver band, embedded with tiny crystals, wove itself into two infinity symbols, one on each side of a perfectly framed diamond. It wasn’t flashy and obnoxious, but it was noticeable. And it was just her size. It was perfect. He took a deep breath, dreading whatever number he was about to see written elegantly on the price tag.
Oh boy. One thousand nine hundred and ninety dollars? He looked at the ring again. He’d been to store after store for weeks, and nothing had been good enough until this ring. He could technically afford it, not very comfortably, but there was no other choice. He had to get it, and he had to do it now. They had plans to go down to Minnesota in a few weeks, and he’d already told Walter and Jack that he wanted to propose to Kate while they were all there.
He called over the man from earlier, who gave him another displeased look, but unlocked the case and took the ring box over to the counter.
“That’s a nice one.” The man said blandly.
“Yeah, it is.” Doug nodded, shifting awkwardly.
He paid with card and thanked his lucky stars that it didn’t decline.
“Well, I hope she likes it.” The man said, offering Doug a small smile as he bagged the ring and handed it to him.
“Yeah, so do I.” Doug chuckled, taking the bag. The man smiled a little wider and wished him a good day. Doug thanked him and made his way out of the store.
~~~
Kate was outside on the stairs when he returned. He cursed under his breath, taking the ring box out of the bag and shoving it into his pocket as he got out of the car.
“Hey, babe.” He smiled, giving her a quick peck. “What are you doing out here? It’s cold.”
“I was looking for you. Where have you been?” She said, raising an eyebrow as he moved past her into the house.
“Just running an errand.” He shrugged, shutting the door behind them as she followed him inside.
“Oh, you should’ve woken me up.” She frowned. “I would’ve come with you.”
“No, it’s okay. I wanted to let you sleep. I left pretty early.” He said, smiling down at her and brushing her hair out of her face.
“Oh, I see.” She said, giving him a look that made it clear she was not satisfied with his answers. “What kind of errand? It doesn’t look like you brought anything back.”
Doug’s hand came up to the back of his neck, and he was afraid he'd blown it. He always did that when he was nervous, and she knew it. He quickly shoved his hands into his pockets.
“Uh, yeah. I didn’t find what I was looking for.” He sighed.
“Oh, what were you looking for? I’ve lived here longer than you, so maybe I can help you find it.” Kate said.
He could see by the look on her face that she was suspicious, and he just hoped she wasn’t wondering if he was hiding a ring in his pocket. He also hoped she wasn’t wondering if he was cheating on her or something, because he wasn’t making a very good case against any of those options.
“Well, I wanted to get something nice for you, just as a surprise, but nothing was good enough.” He said. He felt bad about lying to her. But it wasn’t exactly a lie, he supposed. It just wasn’t the full truth. “I was gonna try again later, but I guess you know now.”
Her face softened. “Oh, well, you don’t have to do that. I mean, that’s very sweet, but I don’t need anything special.”
“I know you don’t need anything, but I love you, and I wanted to give you something that would show you that,” Doug said shyly, taking her hands in his.
“I love you too,” She smiled up at him. “And I know you love me. You make it very clear. So, really, don’t buy me anything.”
Doug chuckled. It was far too late for that, but she didn’t need to know that yet. Her lowered his face to hers, gently kissing her cheek. “No promises, sweetheart.”
Kate giggled, pulling him in and kissing him.
~~~
Doug wiped his sweaty palms on his pants for the third time in the past fifteen minutes. His heart was racing, and he felt like he was going to be sick. Who knew proposing to the love of your life would be so stressful? He and Kate had been madly in love since their gold-medal performance two years ago, and it was pretty much guaranteed that she would accept his proposal. He had nothing to worry about, and yet he couldn’t stop freaking out.
“Dougie, breathe.” Walter chuckled, smoothing down Doug’s suit jacket. “It’s gonna be fine.”
“I know, I just… what if this isn’t how she imagined it? I don’t want to let her down.” Doug sighed heavily.
“I have a feeling you could propose to her in the parking lot, and she’d still be over the moon, as long as it was you who was proposing,” Walter said, smiling gently at his little brother.
“I just want everything to be perfect,” Doug said. He knew Walter was right. Kate didn’t seem to care where they were or whether he was in a suit or in sweats. She always looked at him the same way. Mostly with love, but also a dash of irritation. He wouldn’t want it any other way.
He pulled the ring box out of his pocket and opened it. The diamond at the center glittered in the dim light.
“Damn fine ring,” Walter said, patting Doug’s shoulder. “She’s gonna love it.”
Doug nodded, Walter’s words calming his nerves just a little.
“You ready to go?” Walter asked.
“Yeah,” Doug said, closing the ring box carefully and placing it back into his pocket.
Kate had been curious about why they were going to a fancy restaurant for dinner, so Doug told her that Walter had insisted they do something nice since it was the first time Jack had been able to come with them to visit. His explanation seemed to satisfy her, and she didn’t bring it up again.
A waiter led the four of them to their reserved table. Doug took Kate’s hand in his, pulling her chair out for her.
“Oh, thank you.” She giggled.
Doug kissed her cheek and took his place across from her. Jack sat next to Kate, and Walter sat next to Doug.
“There’s a fifth chair,” Kate noticed. “Are we expecting someone else?”
“Well, I was asked to come, so I hope so.” Anton chuckled, approaching the table.
Kate gasped, jumping up to hug him. “What are you doing here? I thought you were in Russia.”
“I was, but it’s been so long since I last visited, I figured it was time to come back.” He smiled, kissing her cheek before making his way over to his seat.
Kate sat back down, glancing over at Doug. He pretended not to notice, keeping his eyes on Anton as he greeted Walter and Jack. If he looked over at Kate, she’d read right through him. He figured she was already starting to realize what was happening. There wasn’t much he could get past her.
They talked and laughed for hours. Kate was pleasantly surprised at how well Walter and her father got along, but she supposed both of them felt the same way when it came to her and Doug. By the look on Doug’s face, she could tell he was thinking the same thing. She realized suddenly that almost everyone else in the restaurant had left.
Walter cleared his throat. “I think I’m gonna try to use the bathroom before we go.”
Anton and Jack muttered their agreements. Kate’s heartbeat quickened as the three of them left her and Doug alone at the table. His fingers drummed nervously against the tablecloth, and she knew her suspicion had been correct.
“Kate,” Doug said, his voice wavering slightly.
“Doug,” She said, her wide eyes already glistening with tears.
He stood slowly, “I know you told me a few weeks ago not to buy you anything…”
She gasped as he pulled the ring box out of his pocket.
“Oh my God.” She breathed, her hands coming up to cover her pounding heart.
“...but I did say ‘no promises.’” Doug chuckled shakily.
Her eyes followed him down as he kneeled in front of her. He took a deep breath.
“Kate–”
“Yes!” She cried, quickly covering her mouth with her hands. “Sorry, please continue.”
Doug half-laughed, half-sobbed, wiping tears from his own eyes before starting again.
“Kate. From the moment that I realized I was in love with you, I knew I didn’t want to do anything without you by my side. I didn’t want a gold medal unless you had a matching one around your neck, and I especially didn’t want to share the rink with anyone other than you. You are the other half of me, and I didn’t even realize there was anything missing until I met you. But once I figured it out, I knew I couldn’t let you go, and I never want to.” Doug said, smiling softly.
He opened the ring box and held it up to her. She gasped softly as she admired the sparkling silver ring. Doug couldn’t pull his eyes away from her. All of the diamonds in the world couldn’t outshine the shimmer in her eyes at that moment.
“Kate, I want to be with you for the rest of my life,” Doug said, his voice shaking as he desperately tried to hold it together. “Will you marry me?”
She nodded quickly, tears streaming down her face. “Yes! Yes, of course I will.”
He laughed, sliding the ring onto her finger. She held it up to get a closer look.
“Oh, it’s perfect. It’s so beautiful.” She sniffled. “I love it. I love you.”
Before he could respond, she leaned down, holding his face and kissing him deeply. He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her out of her chair and spinning her around. They broke apart at the sound of footsteps and laughter.
“Congratulations, you two.” Jack smiled, kissing Kate on the forehead and hugging her.
Walter wrapped Doug in a big bear hug, “See, I told you everything would be fine.”
Kate giggled as Anton kissed her and Doug on the cheek.
“Now, let me see the ring.” Anton chuckled, adjusting his glasses and holding Kate’s hand up to the light. “Ah, gorgeous! Very, very nice!”
Doug watched as her smile grew bigger, her laughter filling the room like a cool breeze on a hot summer day. He was so overwhelmingly happy, more than he’d ever thought possible.
“Doug,” Jack said, placing a firm hand on his shoulder.
“Jack,” Doug said, straightening himself up.
“I want you to know that this is the last thing I imagined would happen when I first met you. Actually, it wasn’t something I imagined at all.” Jack chuckled. “But you make her happy, and you gave her everything she ever wanted… which is more than I can say about myself. I know you’ll be good to her, you always have been, even at the beginning. I’m glad you two found each other. Welcome to the family, Doug.”
Doug smiled. “Thank you, Jack.”
“Thank you,” Jack said. “But if you ever prove me wrong, I will hunt you down.”
Doug laughed, “I would expect nothing less.”
“Good.” Jack smiled back.
They both turned to look at Kate just as Walter released her from a hug. She giggled and grabbed Doug’s hand.
“Alright, now let’s go have some fun!” Walter chuckled.
~~~
After a couple of hours at the bar, Kate and Doug managed to sneak away to the back porch. They sat on the stairs, his arms wrapped around her as she leaned into him. His head rested atop hers, and he gently swayed them back and forth. The silence was comforting. Crickets chirped as the branches of the nearby trees softly brushed against each other in the breeze. Every now and then, a car would drive by on the other side of the building, the faint hum of the engine paired with the tires grazing the asphalt just barely reached their ears. The stars were out tonight, as if just for them.
“I love you, Kate,” Doug said softly.
“I love you, too,” Kate breathed. “Tonight was wonderful.”
“Yeah?” He asked. “Was it everything you ever dreamed of?”
“Much more.” She said, sitting up to face him. His arms stayed loosely around her as he met her eyes. “I could never let myself dream of something so perfect.”
“Well, now you won’t have to, because you’ll have it,” Doug said, kissing her deeply. “Forever.”
“Forever,” Kate smiled through her tears. “Sounds good to me.”
He kissed her again.