Leaving the House Where We Grew Up

Hazards

The soft trebled tunes of Muzak danced over Dipper's right shoulder before tumbling into the counter through which he was staring intently. It was his fourth or fifth trip down the richly carpeted walkway and he knew it wouldn't be his last.

"What do you think about that one?" he asked Wendy, bringing the screen of his cell phone in closer to the specimen securely imprisoned beneath glass.

"I don't know. She doesn't strike me as an emerald kind of girl," his friend considered before replying honestly.

"Yeah. And opal is out, I assume?"

"Who wants an opal engagement ring?" Wendy asked, sounding a bit more particular than he would have expected.

"Sir, I'm happy to take anything out you might want to have a closer look at. It could make things easier for your partner to see," the shopkeeper offered, which gave both the in-person and over-air customers a start.

"Oh. No, she's just a friend," Dipper explained, hoping Wendy didn't see it as a slight.

"Yeah. It's not like I can just walk out of a maximum security prison and help a friend go ring shopping, am I right?" she dryly posed to the now-thoroughly unsettled store clerk. Deciding the displays up front were in desperate need of dusting, he excused himself, leaving the convict to her friend.

"You are a delight," Dipper said, continuing to look over the offerings, hoping that the police wouldn't be showing up in short order.

"Aren't I though?"

The school year had ended and the twins were soaking in the heat of a glorious summer. Without school to interrupt their lives, when they weren't working, they were inseparable. They still remained vigilant around the home, as always, but not having endless school activities meant their dating options were limited, and forced their mom and dad to back away from the topic somewhat.

For the first time in ages, there would be no extended vacation to Gravity Falls. Dipper and Mabel were both too busy with their jobs to break away for long enough to make it worthwhile. Relaying the disappointing news to Wendy was actually what spurred her demands to help him ring shop. The three all yearned to stay connected and Wendy was happy to play the role of a quasi-demented fairy godmother.

From their prom onwards, Dipper never diminished in his burning desire to marry his sweet Mabel. He didn't know how it would happen or if it even could, but just as trying to deny his feelings for her didn't make them disappear, neither would the challenge they would face in tying the knot. Once he finally got the time to run some errands on his own on the last weekend of June, having saved up the amount he aimed for, he headed to a jewelry shop in San Jose and prepared himself mentally to lay down a sizable amount of hard-earned dough.

"Ohhh, how about that one?" she asked quickly.

"Which one? The giant diamond that costs twenty-five 'k'?"

"Oh. It looks smaller on the screen," she realized disappointedly.

"Yeah, that one's out," he signed, hoping his price range wouldn't exclude everything he saw.

"Between you and me," she whispered, which caused Dipper to automatically bring the speaker to his ear.

"...what is your price range?" she asked.

"Ummm...I have about twenty-two hundred saved up," he replied, feeling rather proud. Putting in extra hours and scrimping over the past few months had rewarded him greatly. Sure, it meant not taking Mabel out as often to grab a bite and shorter drives away from the watchful eye of their parents. She didn't seem to mind, although she did seem curious as to why his spending habits seemed to shift.