She stares for a long time, areallylong time, until finally with shaking hands, she takes it with the tips of her fingers and spins in my arms. “Thank you.”
A full minute of silence passes before I ask. “That’s it?”
She pulls back, though her eyes remain on the navy box. “What do you mean?”
“Aren’t you going to yell at me? Are you mad?”
“Do you want me to be mad?”
“Well, no. I want you to accept my gift and love it. I just thought maybe you wouldn’t make it easy on me.”
She shrugs coyly. “I know you better now. You seem to get off on making me smile. So, sometimes I laugh at your jokes even when they’re not funny.”
I narrow my eyes. “I defy you to name a joke I shared that wasn’t funny.”
“The pineapple joke…”
My eyes flare. “You laughed! We were lying in bed and you laughed, then we had sex. Really good sex.”
She shrugs again.
My eyes slit at her betrayal. “You’re an emotionless monster. You have no funny bone if you thought that wasn’t funny.”
“But I got a bonebecauseI laughed, so… who won?”
“Open your damn gift, Catherine. Then never patronize me again. I’m a man. You need to laugh at my shit, but only if it’s legit funny.”
“So, never?”
“Baby!”
“Opening!” She snaps the lid open on the long box, and her silliness turns to a genuine gasp of pleasure. “Oh, Bobby…” She strokes the intricate gold with shaking fingers. Her hesitant gaze comes up to mine. “Is this an everyday bracelet, or a formal events bracelet?”
I cock my head in question. “What do you mean? You can wear it whenever you want.”
“I just mean, I’m scared that I might lose it. I’d be devastated if it were a vending machine bracelet and I lost it, but if it was super expensive and only intended for fancy events, well, that would make it so much worse.”
“Don’t worry, babe, it’s for everyday wear.” I take the chain from the box, and like an ape with huge hands, work to secure the gold around her delicate wrist. “That’s exactly what I want you to do; wear it every day and think of me.”
She twists her arm this way and that, and watches the small diamonds twinkle. “Thank you, Bobby. It’s beautiful. Truly.” She steps up onto her toes and presses a kiss to my lips. “I’m sorry you were scared of my reaction. I love you.”
I laugh at her apology and kiss her back. “I love you, too. So, what do you wanna do today?”
She continues to twist her arm to study the bracelet. “What are our options?”
“Well, we could have sex…” I waggle my eyebrows when she laughs. “Or watch a movie. We could go out to lunch, or order in. More sex is always an option. I heard Monopoly’s awesome for couples deciding if they’re compatible for the long term. What time’s Jack due home?”
“Later. He’s due back much, much later.” She drags me toward the stairs. “Let’s start with the pineapple joke and see where we go from there.”