Chapter 11.03

That weekend, I wanted to look at clothes for my girlfriend and check out a few stores. After exchanging a few messages, I found out Brian was still in town, but Mayoko had gone home, so I went over to his place.

“You guys went home separately?” I asked, surprised.

“We rarely travel home together,” Brian said. “After Amber’s wedding, you’ll understand,” he smirked.

“How do you know? Even Paul doesn’t know,” I said, surprised.

“Who do you think let the workers and housekeeper in?” he teased. “I have the spare key—Dr. Cox gave it to my dad.”

“Does Mayoko know?” I asked.

“A few weeks ago, she saw me and thought I had a mistress,” Brian laughed. “I had to tell her—sorry.”

“No problem, as long as she doesn’t tell Jenny,” I laughed.

“She never would.”

“Knowing your girlfriend, she must have lost it,” I burst out laughing.

“You have no idea,” Brian laughed. “When she’s angry, she switches to Japanese and rants. But after I explained, I had a very pleasant week,” he smirked.

“Let’s go—I want to see it,” I told Brian, and we walked over.

The apartment was smaller than Paul’s, about the same size as Brian’s, newly renovated, and beautifully furnished. It had a similar color scheme to Paul’s—blue, gray, and white—but while Paul’s place was dominated by gray, this one leaned more toward blue.

The entrance led into a small hallway, which opened into a stylish living room.

Opposite the entrance, the living room connected to a blue-gray kitchen counter, with a matching dining table in front of it.

To the left of the entrance, a gray couch faced a wall-mounted TV, which was visible from the dining area as well.

The living room led to a spacious blue-and-white tiled bathroom with both a bathtub and a shower.

Next to the kitchen was the bedroom, also accessible from the living room.

In the bedroom, a large bed sat under the window, with two wardrobes positioned opposite it.

“I’ll pick up a few things today—can we bring them over tonight?” I asked.

“Or tomorrow. Mayoko won’t be back until the evening.”

“But Jenny is in a hurry,” I noted.

“Then make sure she can’t rush,” he smirked. “She’s with your sister, right?”

I got the hint and quickly called Amber.

We went shopping, picking up a few essentials since we wouldn’t have time to buy or unpack anything after the wedding.

“You guys are coming home the morning of the wedding?” I asked.

“Or Friday night—we’re not sure yet.”

“I’ll send you a list—can you get everything before we get back? If I buy them now, they’ll just go bad.”

“You definitely inherited your mom’s planning skills,” Brian teased.

That afternoon, we visited a few jewelry stores, but Brian wasn’t interested. I quickly scanned each one before leaving—except for the last shop, a small jewelry store next to Amber’s boutique.

There were only a few counters arranged in a semicircle, with rings displayed in the leftmost one near the entrance.

“You already got yours?” I asked as we walked in.

“Yeah, here—but a long time ago,” he smirked. “Back when you were still at your other school. It’s in Frankie’s room—he guards it like his life depends on it,” he laughed.

“You picked it alone?” I had a feeling I knew the answer.

“Could you pick one alone?” he laughed. I shook my head.

“This is the one she liked,” he pointed to a ring I had already spotted.

It was a gold ring with a medium-sized blue stone in the center, flanked by small white stones. It was beautiful—neither flashy nor ordinary. Unique, just like her.

“She just showed it to you?” I asked, surprised.

“Your girlfriend is trusting,” Brian laughed. “If you ask the right way and she doesn’t have a boyfriend at the time, why wouldn’t she show it?”

“What did you ask her?” I questioned.

“She was in her dating phase back then,” he explained as we stepped out of the store. “She wasn’t too enthusiastic, but we encouraged her. Mayoko wasn’t around, so I asked Paul and her to come with me.”

“You asked her what kind of ring she’d like from one of the guys?” I was slightly annoyed.

“Jay, relax,” he said. “Your girlfriend is reserved and smart. Let me finish the story.”

“Go on,” I said, sitting down on a bench, a bit impatient.

“On the way to the store, Paul was teasing her, wondering how many more dates it would take before she found someone worthwhile,” Brian continued. “Then he jokingly told her that if she got tired of dating, she should just buy herself a ring—then no one would bother her anymore.”

He sat down next to me.

“Creative suggestion,” I laughed.

“Jane liked it too,” he chuckled.

“So we walked into the store, and just like with Daryl, she showed me three rings and asked me to pick one,” he continued. “While she waited for me, she started looking around. Paul jokingly asked if she had found something she liked—something she’d buy if she decided to follow his advice.”

Brian laughed as he recalled the moment.

“And Jane smiled and pointed to that ring—the one you saw. She said she liked it but was still saving up for it.”

“Not long after that, she stopped dating,” Brian finished. ““She considered it again after hearing about you and Helen, but she said you weren’t worth that much.

“I’ll have to thank Paul for that question,” I laughed.

“We all realized that traditional methods wouldn’t work with her,” Brian continued. “Daryl tried asking which ring you should give her—to let you crawl back to her,” he laughed “and the girls tried their own approaches—but all of them failed. She never gave an opinion or tried on jewelry—until Paul asked that question.”

“Paul really is her best friend,” I noted.

“Yeah, he is.”