Chapter Sixteen: Tying Up Loose Ends

Jamie stood in the kitchen feeling dizzy, and considerably weaker than he had the first time around. He saw Nick and figured now would be the best time to do what he had been planning ever since Christmas. “Nick I’ve been looking for you.” Jamie said with a small smile.

Nick returned the smile and walked over, “What’s going on?”

“Nothing much wanna take a drive with me?” He asked.

Nick looked a little bewildered. “Uh yeah sure.” Nick replied following him out to the truck. Both got in and Jamie started the car backing it out of the driveway and out of the neighborhood. The entire drive was silent for the most part further scaring the hell out of Nick. Jamie is a lot like Alyssa very talkative and when there was silence it usually meant one thing....that they’re angry with you and trying to be polite. The car stopped by a restaurant and they both got out.

Jamie motioned for Nick to sit at one of the patio tables, still more silence, but Jamie didn’t seem mad, he seemed to be gathering his thoughts. “So is my daughter a good kisser?” He stated figuring the blunt approach would be best.

Nick did a double take, “What?”

Jamie smiled, “I’m not going to kill you relax, what I asked was is my daughter a good kisser?”

Nick sighed a little embarrassed by the situation. “Yeah, she is.”

“Good, now that you know that I know about you and my daughter I’ll get to my point.” Jamie said trying to act protective by using ‘my daughter’ instead of Alyssa’s name. “That’s my baby, my youngest, if you so much as harm a hair on her head, Clark has a nice plot of land up North, I doubt anyone would look there.” Nick got a scared look on his face and Jamie laughed making Nick even more nervous. “I’m kidding I know you won’t hurt her.”

Nick relaxed a bit, “God you scared me there for a second.”

Jamie laughed harder, “Ali’s right it’s easy to read you.”

“Did she put you up to this?”

“Hell no, Mary did. I’ve known about you and Ali since her graduation last December. There was no way that it was anything other than you and her. The way she looks at you is the way I look at her mother.”

Nick relaxed, at least now he didn’t have to worry about her father never finding out about them. “Problem is she won’t say what she feels.”

Jamie sighed, “That’s my girl, she used to be completely open with her feelings. Until she met you. Not that it’s your fault. Just that she never thought you’d give her a second glance. So she just began to hold back her feelings, and then Collin, which by the way she only dated him to get over you.”

“What?” Nick asked completely oblivious to that fact.

“Collin was the complete opposite of you at the time, she wanted to move on but his death pushed you and Ali closer together. So in a sense Collin got you two together. Albeit unconventional and tragic but he did.”

Nick was astonished, “So is all of this why you said all that stuff at Christmas?”

Jamie smiled, “Yes, you’re family. Lord knows that she loves you, has since she first came home from spending the summer with your sister in Florida. Now the real reason I brought you out here today, was to go shopping.”

Nick gave him a weird look, “Shopping?”

“Yes, but a different kind of shopping, but before we go I need to know something.”

“What?”

Jamie smiled, “Now don’t think I’m pushing this on you it’s just I want to know that my baby will be taken care of when I’m gone.”

“You know I’ll take care of her no matter what.”

Jamie smiled, “I know that but I just want to know if you plan on taking the next step with her anytime in the future.”

Nick looked at him immediately assuming her father didn’t know that they had been together. “Umm, I’m not sure I understand what you’re saying.”

Jamie laughed, “I know you two live together, she’s a grown woman and I’m not concerned about my daughter’s innocence I knew that would eventually be shot to hell when she moved in with you.” He paused laughing a little. “What I’m getting at is that I’d like for sometime in the far off or not far off future, your choice. But I’d like for you two to get married…when the time is right.”

Nick laughed causing Jamie to look at him suspiciously, “Sorry I laughed, but it was so funny watching you try to put those words together and not come off like you’re telling me to marry her now.”

Jamie laughed, “See now I know that’s my daughter’s personality you’re channeling. Only she would make a joke like that.”

“We’re a lot alike weird as that sounds.”

“But anyways, you do right?”

Nick smiled, “Plan to marry her? Hell yeah I do, when the time is right though I don’t want to rush into it. It freaked me out the first time I knew I could spend the rest of my life with her. And as much as I think marriage doesn’t work, I know it’ll work with her and I.”

“I remember when I knew I could spend the rest of my life with Mary, it was our first date. I was late and she almost didn’t go out with me a second time. But seeing her stand up to me, when before I’d never had that happen, was amazing. I know everyone says that Ali is like me but in a lot of ways she’s her mother. Always making sure all of us are healthy and happy.”

“I realized it when she was in the hospital. I knew I couldn’t live without her that night.” Nick admitted.

Jamie smiled, “You know that this is going to be a huge test for you.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m not going to sugarcoat it for you, I’m dying, slowly, yes but I’m not going to last much more than six months maybe less.”

Nick looked down, he hated hearing that Jamie was dying, it hurt him just as much as it did Alyssa. “But I thought you were going to be fine, the doctors…”

Jamie interrupted him, “The doctors have all said the same thing that I’ve got six months maybe more maybe less. But the cancer has spread everywhere. Mary and you are the only other ones that know.”

“But why tell me?”

“Because I need you to be there for Ali, she’s going to really need you when I go. I know it’s very hard to talk about but I need to know you’re going to take my place as the man in her life.”

Nick sat there thinking, “I can’t imagine you not being here. God she’d probably start cutting again.”

“That’s why I need you to be around, so she won’t have a reason to.”

Wanting to change the subject Nick replied, “So why shopping?”

“We’re going to Shane Co.”

“Isn’t that a jewelry store?”

Jamie smiled getting up slowly as Nick rushed over to help him up, “Thank you, but we’re getting her an engagement ring…I know you aren’t going to ask her now. But since I might not be here very much longer there’s no time like the present. Plus when you do give it to her it’ll make for a great story.”

“Yeah she’d love it knowing we got it together.”

“Alright then it’s right over this way.” Jamie replied as they walked across the street to the store. It was definitely different than any other jewelry store Nick had ever been in, no pushy salesman greeting you at the door. “Tom, longtime no see!” Jamie exclaimed greeting the owner Tom Shane.

“Jameson it’s so good to see you, what can I do to help you today?”

Jamie smiled back and looked over at Nick and said, “We’re looking for an engagement ring, for my daughter.”

“Olivia tying the knot?”

Jamie laughed, “Nope, for my younger daughter Alyssa, this is her boyfriend Nick.”

Tom extended him his hand shaking it, “It’s very nice to meet you Nick, Alyssa’s a fine young lady you have good taste.”

Nick smiled, “Thank you.”

Tom walked them into the back, “Now were you looking for anything in particular?”

Jamie looked at Nick, “This part is all you.”

Nick thought a moment, “Something that fits her personality, she’s beautiful, funny, and very intelligent.”

Tom thought a moment and then pulled out the ring settings, “Now what kind of metal would you like for the band.”

“Platinum, that and silver are the only things she’ll wear.” Nick answered quickly.

“Yeah she’s always said gold reminded her of Mr. T from the A-Team.” Jamie added making all three of them laugh.

Nick looked through the different settings seeing one that would be perfect for her that had two-one and a half carat square diamonds on each side of the center. “This one.”

“Yeah, that’s nice.”

“Alright do you know what she’d choose for a center diamond?” Tom asked.

“Rectangle shape.” Jamie added. Nick looked at him weird. “Kellie and Lori did some reconnaissance for me. They said she wanted a rectangle shape diamond with the long sides going up and down.”

“How did they get that information?”

“Kellie and Lori tricked her into picking out what she would want on the diamonds are forever website.” Jamie replied.

“Damn I wouldn’t have thought of that.”

“Well it’s sort of how I got Mary’s ring, I had her friends get the information for me and then I went and bought it.”

“And he came here and it’s lasted how long?”

“Over thirty years” Jamie replied. “So what carat size do you want?” Jamie asked.

Nick sat back, “If this were me on my own I’d probably go for the biggest possible, she deserves it, she’d kill me for spending money on her but she deserves the best.”

“Well the biggest for this setting is 4 carats anything bigger would look bad with the smaller diamonds on the sides.” Tom explained.

“So total amount of carats in the ring would be ten.”

“Ten?”

“Yeah four one and half carats, two on each side, and then the center that’s ten.”

Nick laughed a little, “You’re right I wasn’t thinking right.”

The waited while the ring was made and cleaned before paying and heading back out to the car. “You think she’ll like it?” Jamie asked.

“Yeah I got it engraved with our nicknames.”

Jamie looked at him curious for a second before turning his eyes back to the road, “What are they may I ask?”

Nick smiled, “Jack and Sally, like from Nightmare Before Christmas it’s her favorite movie and she called me Jack one day and so I started calling her Sally and the names stuck.”

Jamie laughed a little, “Interesting names, I’m sure she’ll love that.”

“She will.”