Christmas Wish

Chapter 4

Ciara and Ben walked into John and Marlena's and were surprised to see Stefan, Gabi, Justin, and Kayla sitting there with them. Ciara and Ben looked at each other curiously before looking at John and Marlena.

Ciara chuckled nervously, "What's-what's going on here?" Gabi stood up, "This... is your wedding shower." Gabi pointed to two chairs next to each other, "For the guests of honor." Ben and Ciara chuckled and walked over to the chairs and sat down. John and Marlena sat down on the couch.

John asked, "So Ben, what's the story with the ring?" Ben chuckled and held Ciara's left hand up. "I knew Ciara deserved more than a regular ring and I wanted her to have something as unique as she is." Ciara kissed Ben's cheek and Ben continued, "Stefan called his jeweler and..."

FLASHBACK:

Ben sat in the living room as Stefan walked in with a man in a three piece suit. Ben stood up, Stefan and the man walked over to him. Stefan gestured to the man, "Ben, this is Francois." Ben shook Francois's hand.

Francois spoke with a thick French accent, "Mr. DiMera tells me you are in need of an engagement ring?" Ben nodded, "Yes, sir. But not just any old ring. My fiancée deserves nothing but the best and exceptional because that's just what she is." Francois nodded, "That is my bread and butter. Please sit."

Ben sat back down on the couch and Francois sat on the chair and pulled a medium-sized notepad out of his briefcase. "Now, tell me about your fiancée." Ben smiled bashfully and Stefan chuckled, "This could take several hours." Ben glared slightly at Stefan. Stefan raised his hands up and chuckled, "I'll go, I know when I'm not wanted." Ben shook his head, "Nah man, you can stay." Stefan sat in the chair across from Francois.

Ben sighed, "Ciara... she is the most incredible woman I've ever met. I honestly can't believe I get to marry her. I never believed in 'meant to be' or soulmates before her. But I truly believe we were meant to love each other. The love that we have for each other has only grown since our daughter was born."

Francois made a notation, "And when was your daughter born?" "May of last year." "And when did you two meet?" Ben sighed, "June 2018."

Francois pursed his lips and nodded, "When were you and your soon-to-be Missus born?" "I was born March 1989 and Ciara was born July 1997."

Francois pulled a larger notebook and several colored pencils out. As he sketched he said "Since you don't want a typical diamond ring for your fiancée, I'd like to incorporate birthstones into it. Yours, Ciara's, your daughter's as well as the month you met." Francois sketched intently for several minutes before turning the book to Ben.

"You see the center is Emerald which is your daughter's birthstone. The stones on each side of that are ruby and aquamarine: your and Ciara's birthstones. And then the band will be covered in Alexandrite, one of June's birthstones. Alexandrite is considered an Emerald by day Ruby by night so the perfect combinations for your women. And I recommend doing a silver or white gold band and setting since the yellow gold could contrast too much."

Francois ripped the page out of his book and handed it to Ben. Ben looked at it and brushed his fingers over it. "I-I love it. It's perfect for Ciara but..." Ben sighed heavily, "Ho-how much is this going to set me back? I-I'm kinda strapped for cash right now."

Stefan shook his head, "It's already paid for." Ben raised his eyebrows, "Stefan...? I-I can't ask you to-" Francois said, "It's true. Mr. DiMera has paid in full for my services as well as covering the cost of the ring." Ben nodded and walked over to Stefan wrapping his in a hug, "Thank you, man. I-I don't know what to say."