You Are My Sunshine

Chapter 52

"She just texted me again," Jay announces as soon as they get out of the car and stare at his phone frowning. 

"Calm down, she won't understand anything," Vanessa says calmly as she exits the passenger seat and begins to walk next to him. 

"How did your conversation with Herrmann go?" she asks him as they walk to the jewelry store on the corner of the block, and Jay smiles as soon as yesterday's events play on his mind. 

"It went really well actually. He was really happy and so was Cindy," he replies, and Vanessa nods with a huge smile. 

"I know that it no longer matters so much nowadays to ask permission from the father of the bride and that Herrmann is not even her father, but I know that Emma will be very happy that you thought of such a thing," she tells him cheerfully and Jay nods. 

"So you haven't seen it either?" she asks again as they arrive outside the store and Jay shakes his head.

All week he's been trying to decide the best option on the subject of the ring. His first thought was to give Emma his mother's ring as he knew she would appreciate it because of the sentimental value it has. But that thought quickly left his mind when he realized that this was the same ring that Will had given Natalie and that he intended to give Erin years ago. But no. He wanted to give her something new, something that was meant only for her and no one else.And when he told Vanessa asking for her help, he never in his life thought he'd see so many sites with rings. The young lady was touched that of all the people Jay asked her for help, so she had taken her role very seriously. Whenever she got a chance, she'd look for a new store, sending Jay the necessary pictures. While the young detective, at any time of the day, managed to be alone, whether he was in the station or at home, he was processing everything she had sent him. And while at first nothing seemed right, they finally managed to find the ideal ring together. 

"Let's just hope it's the way we want it to be," he says, opening the door of the store, waiting for the girl to get in first. 

Vanessa looks at him strangely trying to figure out what he means as she was with him when they placed the order, but without asking anything she walks into the store with Jay following her.

"Oh my God, Jay it's even more beautiful than I thought," Vanessa exclaims as soon as they open the little velvet black box given to them by the saleswoman. 

Inside, there's a solitaire ring with gold thin metal and a large diamond in the shape of an oval. Jay nods in agreement with the girl's words and gently touches the ring, trying to make himself realize that all of this is real. Vanessa smiles next to him proud of their choice, but as soon as she gets closer to take a better look, her eyes widen. Her attention now falls on the sweet detail that Jay had added without her knowing it. The phrase: "You Are My Sunshine" is engraved on the inside of the ring with calligraphic letters, while next to it the letter J makes it even sweeter. 

"Jay..." she says his name shocked enough to say anything else and turns to look at him, while Jay smiles with his eyes still pinned to the ring 

"I didn't know if it was stupid or not. At the time it seemed like a good idea," he tries to justify himself and Vanessa rests her hand on his arm. Maybe a month ago she couldn't even think about how the two of them would talk about issues other than work, and now she was helping him in such a state of his life as not only Emma's friend but also his. 

"She'll love it," she reassures him, and Jay smiles at her, thanking her silently.

Before they know it, they're at a crime scene before they even get to the station first. They stand near the body of the man murdered in his restaurant, with Jay standing next to Vanessa as they came together while Kevin is talking to Emma. The girl shakes her head as her colleague informs her of what he knows, and without being able to hold on, she looks towards Jay wondering why he asked her to come alone and where he was this morning.