Tiffany & Co.

        Teddy Donnovan had realized that seven years of relationship could take another step further. He had started dating Fiona Carroll in the year 2007 when he was twenty-five years old. It had been a lovely Autumn night after working in Blockbuster, where Teddy took Elisa Pearmann, one of the prettiest girls in town, to a cinema. Teddy thought she had agreed to the date because they had things in common. Elisa truly dated him because she felt pity for him. They watched 'Lars and the Real Girl'. Elisa was disappointed with Teddy's poor choice of movie and immediately left her seat. She never talked to him again.     

        Sad and embarrased, Teddy decided to sit down, eat his popcorn and watch the movie he had paid for. In one of those moments, he placed his elbow on the armrest to the left and knocked another arm off. Teddy turned to apologize and noticed a fair lady with her orange hair in a clean bun tied with a ribbon. The lady arched her eyebrows and knocked his elbow off to put hers. Teddy laughed and the lady covered her mouth and giggled. The lady wasn't as gorgeous as Elisa, but Teddy felt an instant connection. She had a straight, small nose, thin lips, small, green eyes and freckles below he lips and eyes. She was thin with high cheek-bones.

        After the movie ended with Bianca's death, Teddy waited for the credits to end but as soon as he saw the lady from before leave with two other friends. He felt an urge to talk to her. And so he did. He pushed through the crowd and ocean of people, and tapped on the lady's shoulder. She turned around with a smile, and so her friends did, too.

        "Excuse me, miss," Teddy managed to say with a nervous smile.

        "I have crossed oceans of... people, to find you," He tride quoting Bram Stoker's dracula. "And I would like to know your name."

        The woman's friends giggled and playfully pushed each other's shoulder. The lady extended her hand and replied, "That's a smart quote. I'm Fiona Carroll."

        Teddy shook Fiona's delicate, pale hand and said in a dull voice, "Theodore Donnovan, but call me Teddy."

        Fiona's friends said, "Okay, girl, see you at Andy's." And they left.

        Teddy and Fiona talked for a few minutes before walking out, where Teddy escorted her to her house. They chit-chatted, exchanged numbers and said good-bye. A few weeks later, they happily started dating.

        

        Teddy stood in front of Tiffany & Co's shop. He glanced at the engagement rings and wondered, 'Am I ready? Is she ready?'. He went inside where a man greeted him with a big, Cheshire-cat smile. 

        "How can I help you, sir?" He said.

        "I'm looking for an engagement ring."

        "Any model in particular?"

        Teddy shook his head, and the man escorted him to the section where they kept engagement rings. The man walked away but stayed close.

        Teddy looked at all the shapes, sizes and colours. 

        'What would Fiona like?'

        He glanced at a ring with a tiny, ruby in the center with two cubic zirconians at the sides. The band was simple, made of platinum and normal-sized. He smiled and thought about how the ruby would match Fiona's hair. 'But did Fiona like the colour red?', he thought nervously. 'I think she likes the colour blue, because her ribbons are always blue. Or are her ribbons green?'. He frowned and decided not to pick the ruby ring.

        Teddy's attention was drawn by a yellow-diamond ring. It was platinum and the diamond had a cushion cut held by a golden claws. It was very simple and Teddy liked it. But another thought war started inside his mind. 'Will Fiona think it's too simple? Will she despise me for choosing a plain ring which her friends will make fun of? What if her friends have more complex rings circled by diamonds?'. Teddy sighed and forgot the yellow-diamond ring.

        A heart-shaped diamond shone in Teddy's eyes. It the band was made of silver and seemed like it would fit Fiona's pale hands perfectly. The white diamond had a clean, precise cut in a perfect heart. It was gorgeous, but his ideas would not stop. 'Is it too romantic? What if she laughs about the heart? Will she decline it for being too cheesy? It's so beautiful, but what if Fiona's too embarrassed to use it?'. He closed his eyes to ignore the imperfect beauty in the stand and chose another one.

        Teddy chose a yellow, gold band ring with a pavé cut. It was filled with diamonds of all sizes. The band was thick and big. He scratched his short beard and checked the price: $24,200. His eyes widened at the price and bit his lip. 'Will Fiona be bullied at work for having such a expensive ring? What if she declines my engagement proposal? If she declines it, what will I do with the ring?'. With a sigh of relief, he turned away.

        A pretty ring caught Teddy's eyes as if it was a light in the dark. The diamond was white with a princess cut. The band was platinum with a tiny cubic zirconian at each side. He inspected it and noticed the size of the band. And his inner demons started, 'Will Fiona's finger fit? Will it be too small? What if the ring falls off? What if the ring doesn't fit?' He panicked and declined the offer. 

        After many rings of many sizes, colours, cuts and models, Teddy decided that he didn't know Fiona that much to pick a ring for her. He thanked the man who attended him and walked out into the street. He pulled out his phone and called Fiona. He asked her to meet him at the park.

        After hanging up, he pulled out a green, plastic and small bag from his pocket. It has a hard candy he had bought at the 7Eleven. It was strawberry flavored, Fiona's favourite.

        "This might do for the time being."

        And being said that, Teddy walked away.