Good Neighbors Ch. 165

It was around eight in the morning when we both woke up. We spent a little time pillow talking before we rose from bed and walked into our bathroom to share a quick shower. It took every ounce of control to avoid anything distracting while in there. That day was majorly important. We had a little trip planned to take care of a few errands almost a week prior to the "engagement party". I put that phrase in quotes because unbeknownst to many of the folks we invited, we were going to make it our wedding day.

Before we started any of those activities, we needed to get the rings. My friend Pierre, who designed her engagement ring as well as her necklace and a couple of her collars designed them for us based on his inspiration. There were also a couple other things I wanted to check out while we were there. We also had an appointment with Mike's father. He was the one who would officiate the wedding. He wanted to have a counseling session with us prior to the actual event. We figured that if he decided not to do it, we would still have enough time for a back up plan.

The first act of the day after our shower and getting dressed was coffee. My fiancée doesn't function well without a cup or two. As she operated the machine, I worked on making us toast with peanut butter to get some nutrients inside us before we went on the road. We had a quicker breakfast than usual only because we wanted to make it to Pierre's right before he opened. As we walked out the door, we both had car keys in our hands. I looked at my bride-to-be and nodded my head.

She chose to drive. I put my keys back in my pocket and slipped into the passenger seat. As we pulled out of the driveway, she honked her horn at Aubrey who was sleepily picking up the paper from the doorstep in her pink fluffy bathrobe. We headed towards the Interstate where she smartly exited and merged before we started to talk about what Pierre could have created for us. Pierre is a talented jewelry maker. I made friends with him years before when I was still with my late wife, and we started to explore the lifestyle. Besides being a talented jewelry maker, he was also a dominant and taught me some of the things I use. We became better friends though. When he moved his shop to its present location, I was bummed just because it was so far away. We still stayed in touch though, even when Missy passed. He was my first call.

We arrived at his shop a few minutes after opening. As we exited my fiancée's car, we saw his front door open and his smiling face looking at us. We walked forward before I reached out my hand for a handshake. He looked at my hand and shook his head before grabbing it and pulling me into one of his huge bear hugs. He then let me go before opening his arms for my fiancée. We then entered his shop where we went straight to his back room. As we sat before the counter, there were two boxes in front of us. We waited until Pierre took his position behind them before he smiled again.

"You two are such a beautiful couple. I hope these rings satisfy you."

He reached forward and opened the box before my fiancée. He chose a rose gold with a ring of diamonds. She looked at it before she looked him in his eyes.

"It is perfect, Sir. I love it."

"I thought you would. Leo helped me design it after he proposed. He told me he wanted something that connects your past with your future. The diamonds form a collar like ring. Inside, I inscribed two dates. The first was your anniversary with your late husband with his initials because he will always be apart of you. The second is the date of the wedding. Leo let me in on the secret. I hope you love it, Bella. Would you try it on for me?"

She presented her hand before Pierre looked at me. I took the ring out of the box and slipped it on her finger. It felt a little loose. Pierre noticed it also.

"I can have it adjusted and will bring it to the party if that's okay."

"I would love that, Sir. May we see what you designed for Leo?"

"Of course."

He opened the box in front of me. Inside was a black band. There was a little housing of gold in the center with smaller diamonds. I smiled because I always preferred more subdued jewelry. My fiancée was also enamored with it.

"Is there a story behind this one, Sir?"

"There is. I know Leo always like more subdued jewelry. I decided to match the ring he had when he first married Missy with a few changes. First of all, I inscribed both dates like with yours, Bella. I did double the diamonds inside the gold housing because his heart has double the capacity that it did when he was with his late wife. This is why he has changed so much because of you. It's a testimony to you because you alone have tamed the Lion."

I smiled. Man, he was good. We tried it on, and it fit well. However, he had me place it back in the box.

"I will bring both with me. There is one more present I have."

We watched as he pulled out a small box. He opened it and it looked like a necklace. He presented it to me before I grabbed it and put it around my fiancée's neck. It turned out to be a choker necklace. It was black velvet and had a turquoise stone in the middle. She looked in the mirror and had a bigger smile than she did before.

"Leo, did you..."

"He didn't, Bella. I thought you'd like it. I figured that the gaudier necklace was not as appropriate anymore and this one would feel a bit better. Was I right?"

"Yes Sir. It's beautiful."

She hugged him again as I watched. As we were heading back to the car, she left the choker in place. We were hoping to make it to Mike's father's office right before lunch.