Jack dodged in between cars and carriages taking last minute visitors across town. Carol singers stood on every corner. Jack ran across the road when he had the chance, being careful not to slip. The snow had cleared for a while and had turned to mush, which squished under his feet. He had awoken early and had been discreet about leaving the house so as not to wake Rose. He knew that she would sleep late, so he had headed into the city. It was Christmas Day and Jack didn’t know if any of the shops would stay open past midday, so he knew he would have to be quick about it. This would be his first Christmas with Rose, and he wasn’t about to let it pass without event. People were out and about, buying last minute gifts, and generally everyone was in the spirit, nodding small hellos and well wishes as they passed.
Passing through the borough’s center, Jack saw that centered in the middle was a large brass band playing traditional songs such as Away In A Manger. It was late morning and young couples stood watching the band, hand in hand and obviously in love. Jack stopped for a second to watch them. He watched as a young woman beside him held hands with two young boys, both under the age of five, he would guess. He saw how their faces lit up with the magic that was Christmas Day. Christmas candles lit up the windows of the shops and houses. It was like something out of a fairytale. Jack felt as though he had no feeling in his hands, so he shoved them into his pockets before darting into a small grocery store to pick up some dinner essentials. He wasn’t a great cook, nor had he had a proper Christmas dinner since his ma and pa were alive back in Chippewa Falls when he was a boy. They would all chip in to serve a massive feast, even though it was just the three of them, and they would leave the table overly stuffed. He purchased some meat, potatoes, and such, even though he knew he had cut it fine and couldn’t expect miracles. He knew he wouldn’t find everything he needed, as it would have sold out the day before.
“Merry Christmas!” Jack called as he carried his brown paper bag from the grocery store. He wanted to purchase some sort of gift for Rose, though he knew that material possessions meant nothing to either of them. They were just happy to be together again after such a long time apart.
Jack whistled as he walked along. Several young families nodded greetings to him and children built snowmen. Today felt like such a special day. He had lived in New York for eight years and yet he hadn’t noticed just how happy they people were, perhaps because he hadn’t really opened his eyes to just how magical this day was for everybody. Each Christmas he had kept himself busy, finding some work to do on the house, or set out for a long walk, away from the busy goings on in town just to escape the carol singers.
He sounded like Scrooge. He couldn’t help but smile to himself, remembering just how miserable he had been. He knew it wasn’t a laughing matter, but now that he had Rose, he couldn’t remember his life without her.
Turning the corner, he came across a man stood gazing into a small shop window. The shop bell rang and a young couple walked out, grinning ear to ear at each other. The girl was around twenty, with long blonde hair and flushed cheeks. She gazed at her left hand lovingly before joining hands with the man. Jack saw something sparkling and realized that it was a ring. The couple walked straight past him and he looked around, seeing how the man put his arm protectively around his new fiancée.
It was then that something inside Jack clicked. He approached the man looking into the shop window, seeing what he was looking at. Trays upon trays of rings, some large and gaudy, some small and delicate.
“Thinking of proposing?” the man asked. He smoked a cigarette and at his side was a small Jack Russell, faithfully seated at his master’s feet.
Jack didn’t know how to reply. Marriage, of course, was something that had crossed his mind for years, but he hadn’t actually thought about proposing. What if Rose wasn’t ready? “I…um…maybe,” he said. “How about you?”
The man curved his lips sadly and shook his head. “No, my friend. I am recently widowed.” A flash of sadness came into his eyes and Jack’s heart sank. “I bought my Martha a ring just last Christmas from this very shop.” He spoke and Jack could hear the distance in his voice. “We were married eight months before she was taken from me in October.”
“I’m so sorry,” Jack spoke. What else could he say? His heart ached for this man. Even though he hadn’t married Rose, he had still spent years grieving for her as though they had married.
“Don’t be.” The man tossed his cigarette on the ground. “I was just going to say…if you were thinking of asking someone special to marry you, then go for it. You don’t know how much time you have with them. I thought I had forever with my Martha, but they always say God takes the best ones first.”
“Never a truer word,” Jack agreed. For a second, he became lost in the window. He didn’t know if Rose had pictured them marrying, but he knew that he wanted her to be his wife.
His eyes settled on a small but pretty ring that sat at the back of a tray. Something about it attracted him, almost as though it was meant to sit on Rose’s finger.
Jack opened his mouth to speak to the man, but then realized he had gone, leaving behind two footprints and a still lit cigarette butt on the ground. Sighing, he realized that he felt slightly haunted by his words.
He bit his lip a little like he always did when he thought hard about something. His eyes traveled to the window once again as he contemplated purchasing the ring. Throwing caution to the wind, the shop bell rang as he entered.