Rings
The sound of the heavy front door closing downstairs interrupted their kiss. Rather than being frustrated, excitement danced in Holtz’s eyes as she grabbed Erin's hand and pulled her down the stairs.
“Guess what, guess what, GUESS WHAT?!” she yelled, scaring the bejesus out of Abby, whose container of takeout clattered to the floor. Abby shot daggers at Holtzmann with her eyes.
“Jesus, Holtzmann! What? WHAT? WHAAAAAT?” she snarled as she gathered up her dinner. Erin stooped to help her.
“Sorry Abs, didn't mean to startle you! But I've got the best news. Wait. Where's Patty?”
Patty stuck her head out of the first floor office, looking annoyed. “Patty's right here, trying to balance the books for the month. What the hell you yellin’ about Holtzy? “
“This better be good, Holtzmann. The sanctity of my tacos has been compromised.” Abby moaned, shaking her head and trying to coax the fixings back into a taco with her fingers.
“I'll get you more tacos! And drinks! I’ll buy everyone drinks! We've got celebrating to do! “ she grinned manically.
“What are we celebrating this time?” Patty said with a roll of her eyes. The last time Holtz had gotten this worked up, it had been because she'd scored a quantity of cheap circuit boards on Craigslist.
“I've convinced Erin to marry me! Third time’s a charm for the proposal thing apparently. We're engaged! “ she wrapped her arms sideways around Erin and squeezed a little too tightly.
“Are you for real? “ Patty's eyebrows shot up as she looked to Erin for confirmation.
Erin nodded, smiling as her cheeks colored. “Yes, she's for real. “
“Holy shit! Congratulations! “ Abby dropped her taco and wrapped Erin in a hug while Patty picked up Holtz and spun her around.
“You crazy thing, good for you!” Patty said as she squeezed her friend. She turned to Erin.
“Show us the ring!”
“Oh, shoot…” Holtz smacked her forehead. Patty grabbed Erin’s hands and inspected her bare fingers, looking shocked.
“You didn't give her a ring? What the hell, Holtzy?”
“She didn't give me one either!” Holtz said stubbornly.
“Naw, that’s not how that works! The one who asks supplies the ring. C’mon girl. You know better than that!”
“Technically, we decided together,” Holtz said, folding her arms across her chest.
“You get this girl a ring ASAP! You hear me? Erin Gilbert is a saint for agreeing to put up with your ass for the rest of her life and she deserves some jewelry to show for it,” Patty shook her head. “Didn’t get her a ring,” she muttered.
“Well, technically, the lady gets the engagement ring. And I’m a lady too, y’know,” Holtz glanced at Erin, expecting her to roll her eyes. But rather than rolling her eyes, Erin looked thoughtful.
“I can get you a ring,” Erin looked her in the eyes, “If you really want one. I don’t have a problem doing that.”
Holtzmann thought for a moment. She wasn’t extremely feminine, in the traditional sense. In fact, traditional was not a word most people would use to describe her. But she did wear jewelry. She had a few pieces that meant something to her and she wore at least one of them every day. Like the ‘screw you’ necklace Dr. Gorin had given her to remind her not to worry about what others thought of her. She put it on every day as a pledge to be true to herself. In addition to that she had the watch her Dad gave her when she graduated from MIT. She didn’t wear jewelry because of how it looked. She wore it because it was meaningful. And what was more meaningful than being committed to the love of her life?
“I’d like that. If it’s not too much trouble,” she replied and Erin nodded.
“Of course not. It’s only fair.”
~~~
The following day, Patty pulled Holtzmann aside while Erin and Abby were getting lunch. She thought her friend might need a little guidance on the whole picking and purchasing of a ring thing, considering she’d proposed multiple times and had yet to produce jewelry of any kind.
“Hey, baby. So, I think we need to talk about this ring thing. Have you thought about taking Erin out to shop for rings? I know it’s typical for this kind of thing to be a surprise, but I think most girls would prefer to have some say in the jewelry they’re going to be wearing for the rest of their lives. My cousin works at Jangmi. She could show you some stuff.”
“Thanks, Pats. But for once in my life, I think I’m good,” Holtz said confidently. Patty was skeptical but didn’t want it to show.
“Oh, that’s good. So you’ve got a plan, huh?”
“I do. It just so happens Grammy Holtzmann left behind her gorgeous diamond engagement ring when she passed. I just need to call my parents and get a hold of it.”
Patty’s brows lifted. “Are you serious? You’ve got heirloom jewelry for Erin?”
“Yes. Does that surprise you?”
“Yeah, it does. I didn’t think you’d have a plan, let alone one as thoughtful and sweet as that. I’m proud of you, Holtzy.” Holtzmann shrugged her shoulders like it was no big deal, but truthfully, she was pleased- and relieved -that Patty had reacted so well to her plan. She’d been excited when it had come to her. She was pretty sure she had been Grammy Holtzmann’s favorite and that the woman would have been thrilled at the idea of her passing it on to the love of her life.
~~~
Holtzmann hung up the phone and sighed, rubbing her hands over her eyes in frustration. She’d been trying to track down her grandmother’s ring for a few days with no luck. She’d made a series of phone calls to family members and had determined that she was probably not going to get it back. Her mother told her she had given it to her brother James when he had proposed to his ex-wife Cheryl. Holtzmann was a little frustrated that she hadn’t saved the ring for her, but her mom explained that she’d been torn. James had asked for it for Cheryl and at that time, Jillian was single and gay marriage was illegal. She could tell her mom felt bad about the whole situation, especially since Jamie and his wife had split up. Jillian told her not to worry, she’d talk to James and get the whole thing figured out. So she called her brother to see if he had gotten the ring back when they’d split up a few years ago.
“No, Jill, I did not ask for it back. That would have been SUPER tacky. I gave it to her-”
“Yeah, yeah, as a sign of your undying love. So much for that. Well, do you think she’d give it to me if I asked for it? I’d be willing to pay her.”
“God, I don’t know. She never really, well…” James paused, too polite to say what both of them were thinking.
“Jamie, I’m not an idiot. I know she didn’t really like me. I’m fine with that. I like Kelly much better than I ever liked Cheryl anyway. But do you think she’d sell it to me? It’s kind of important.”
“You can try but I can’t make any guarantees. Her number hasn’t changed, as far as I know.”
“Cool. I’ll try that. Thanks for the help, bro.”
“Hey, sorry I didn’t have better news for you. And congrats. Seriously, I’m really happy for you. Erin seems like a really good fit for you. I’m confident you guys will do MUCH better than Cher and I did.”
James and his ex-wife had not been a good match. She was the first girl he met when he went off to college and Holtz thought that maybe he didn’t have the confidence to realize there was better for him out there. She wasn’t a very kind person, which opposed the Holtzmann family values. Cheryl had successfully changed her brother some, stuffed him into a box he didn’t really fit into. He’d followed her to London where she tried to begin a career in modeling. It hadn’t gone well. James began working at a law firm and absolutely hated it. He’d expressed a desire to return to school to study counseling, which Cheryl had balked at. After all, she needed his financial support in order to keep afloat while trying to kick start her career. The final straw had come when she refused to have kids because it would “ruin her body”, despite the fact that James wanted kids very much, a desire he’d been clear about before they married. When they split up, he moved back to the states and crashed at the firehouse while he was getting back on his feet. He had recently finished a degree in Marriage and Family Counseling, work that he found extremely satisfying. His new wife Kelly was wonderful and hilarious and Holtz was glad they had each other. Kelly was expecting their first baby in a few months.
“Thanks Jamie, that means a lot. I love her so much. I feel like we really balance each other out, y’know? She’s my best friend.”
“That is awesome. That’s how it has to be. You’ll have to let Kelly know if you need any help with the wedding planning thing. She’s really good with that stuff. I’m sure she’d love to help.” It was true. Holtzmann’s sister-in-law was extremely organized and creative. Their wedding had been beautiful. Erin and Holtz had not yet talked about what kind of wedding they wanted, but Holtz was glad to know she had someone who could at least point her in the right direction.
When Holtzmann called Cheryl, she was kind and polite as always. Just because she couldn’t stand her didn’t mean she didn’t deserve respect. That’s what her parents had always said. Treat everyone with respect because you never know what’s going on in their lives. So she did. Cheryl wasn’t exactly rude, but she was pretty short with Holtz and Holtz could tell she wanted to end the conversation as quickly as possible. She no longer had the ring, she’d sold it after the divorce. Holtzmann was frustrated by this but was also pretty sure Cheryl wouldn’t have pawned it if she hadn’t really needed the money. It was a beautiful ring and she had been quite proud of it.
Her original plan ruined, Holtz had to figure out what was next. She didn’t want to buy Erin any old ring at a chain store. She wanted her ring to have meaning. She wanted it to be something special. She twisted a piece of loose wire with her pliers and thought. Where could she find a ring that would be special enough for her best friend, the love of her life?
Suddenly, the idea came to her. She grinned as she picked up the phone to make one last call.
~~~
Erin was a little stumped. She knew that Holtz wouldn’t want anything flashy, and everything she’d looked at in stores was just that. A gaudy diamond ring just wasn’t Jillian’s style. She didn’t wear much jewelry anyway and Erin wondered if she’d even like a diamond. She didn’t think so. She knew of three pieces of jewelry that Holtzmann wore. The “screw you” necklace her mentor had given her in college and the watch her father had given her as a graduation gift were the two she wore daily. Erin had seen a third necklace pop up occasionally, but hadn’t heard the story behind it yet. She was sure there was one though. She knew that Holtz would be grateful for whatever she decided on but wanted to get her something she’d actually like, since she was going to wear it for the rest of her life. So she asked her friends for advice.
“God, I don’t know. You could probably get her a plastic ring from inside a cereal box and she’d love it. Or a Ring Pop. You know how she is about sugar,” Abby advised. Erin nodded. She did know how her girlfriend was about sugar. Obsessed. A Ring Pop might make a good joke but Erin felt that this may not be the appropriate circumstance for a prank.
Patty was more help. “Girl, you gotta get on Etsy! They’ve got all kinds of unique shit on there. My cousin got this kick-ass vintage birthstone ring from the 1920s at a decent price.” Erin had never bought anything from Etsy before.
“Do you think they’ll have something that would fit Holtz? Not size-wise, but like...who she is as a person?”
“I’m tellin you, the internet caters to every niche you could imagine. Holtzy is one-of-a-kind for sure, but you know the things she loves. Just type in some keywords and see what pops up. I guarantee you’ll find something.” Erin nodded and thanked Patty before sitting down in front of her laptop to begin the search. First, she had to think about what Jillian liked.
Her girlfriend loved snack foods. She loved taking things apart. Creating new things. She loved clothes from thrift stores and items that had been repurposed. She loved turning trash into treasure. She loved science. Physics was obviously her favorite branch, but she loved science in general. She loved tinkering. Erin started entering keywords and phrases and before long, she had an idea.
~~~
It was four in the morning and a loud crash woke Abby from where she’d fallen asleep on the couch. She bolted up the stairs to see Holtzmann flipping up her welding mask, dusting herself off and gathering a haphazard mess of silver wires, pliers, and pieces of metal into a box. A blowtorch lay on the table.
“What the hell are you working on at 4am?” Abby was relieved that Holtz was ok but mad that she’d been woken up.
“Shhh, it’s a secret,” Holtz said, holding a finger to her lips.
“You woke me up and you’re telling ME to keep quiet? Why the fuck are you soldering shit in the middle of the night?”
“It’s for Erin. I have to work in the cover of darkness. I promise I’ll show you before I’m done.” Holtzmann waved her hands in front of her friend’s grumpy and exhausted face. “This conversation never happened.”
“Whatever, Holtz. Don’t burn the place down. Or wake me. Ever again.” Abby rolled her eyes and relocated to an upstairs bedroom to hopefully get some rest.
~~~
It was a Tuesday afternoon a few weeks later and Erin had just figured out a particularly perplexing problem. She threw down her dry erase marker and let out a loud whoop, spinning a circle in place. She danced in place a bit then slapped on the radio and was secretly delighted to hear “Firework” by Katy Perry playing. She began singing along, dancing with grand movements and the satisfied enthusiasm of being completely finished with something challenging.
Holtzmann stopped in the doorway, grinning ear to ear at the sight of her girlfriend singing and dancing by herself. She danced over to her and spun her around. They laughed and smiled as they cut loose.
When the song ended, Holtz turned the radio down and asked, “So, just a random Tuesday afternoon dance break?”
“I’m celebrating!” Erin said, wiggling her shoulders up and down. She gestured to the white board, “I finally figured out this problem I’ve been working on forever! I win! HA!” She punched a fist in the air.
“Nice job, Gilbert. I knew you’d get there eventually.” She was quiet for a moment, thoughtful. She nodded her head once and pulled something small from deep within the pocket of her overalls.
“Can I piggyback on this celebration?” she asked innocently, hands quickly darting behind her back.
“Are you proposing again? Because I thought we’d already said yes…” But Erin’s eyes were smiling and she was curious.
“Well, let me tell you something, Ghost Girl,” Holtzmann began, hopping up on the table next to where Erin was standing. “I wanted to give you this special ring of my grandmother’s...but Jamie’s ex-wife pawned it and we couldn’t track it down. So, I decided to make something just for you.” She opened her hand to reveal a small velvet pouch, which she opened. She took Erin’s hand and gently placed a silver ring in Erin’s palm so she could examine it. An oval diamond was surrounded by several glittering green stones and affixed to a twisted silver band.
“The diamond is from a necklace my grandfather gave to my grandmother when they started dating. He loved her from the time they were 18. They were married for 60 years and he never stopped loving her. He cherished her, always took care of her, even when she got sick. He never left her side.” She flicked her eyes up to meet Erin’s gaze, “I’ll always take care of you, Erin. When you’re sick with the flu or when you let tequila get the best of you.” She grinned and went on.
“So the emeralds were my mom’s. My dad gave her these beautiful earrings for their 20th anniversary, but she lost one of them and wasn’t able to wear them anymore. My parents have this incredibly deep relationship. They’re best friends and I love the way my dad respects my mom as a person. He’s so proud of her and he’s always wanting her opinion of things, even though they work in different fields. You are one of the smartest people I know and I look up to you so much. I love that we can share our passion for science and talk physics together,” She slipped the ring onto Erin’s finger and squeezed her hand gently. “I’d always hoped I could marry my best friend one day, just like they did.”
“I made the band myself. It’s supposed to be the infinity symbol, I just looped it a few times. Cuz you’ll never get rid of me Gilbert. You let me put this ring on your finger and now you’re stuck with me for good.”
Erin examined the ring carefully, eyes wide. “Wh-what are those markings on the outside?”
“Oh. That’s where I didn’t wait long enough for it to cool before picking it up. I accidentally left some fingerprints behind.” She bit her lip. “Sorry. I wanted it to be perfect.”
“It is perfect. I love that you left your mark on it. I can’t believe you went through all this trouble...And that your family was willing to give their jewelry away for me. It’s amazing. I don’t feel worthy.” Erin shook her head as she looked at the beautiful ring wrapped around her finger. She hadn’t realized how sentimental Jillian could be until this moment.
“They were thrilled to do it, Erin. Of course you’re worthy. I love you,” Holtz brought Erin’s hand to her lips and kissed her knuckles gently. Erin squeezed back before letting go.
“Well, I wasn’t sure when to give this to you, so I don’t have anything planned,” Erin walked over to her desk drawer and pulled out the small black box and rubbed the velvet with her thumbs, feeling a little insecure about her choice. Holtzmann had made her a ring, using heirloom gems. She wasn’t sure the ring she’d chosen was good enough, but she placed the box in Holtzmann’s hand anyway. She gently opened the lid and her eyes widened.
“I didn’t think you’d want a diamond. I mean, I knew you’d wear whatever I gave you, but I wanted you to love it. I wanted it to be you. I hope it’s ok that this isn’t a diamond. It’s Tungsten Carbide, so you don’t have to worry about scratching it or melting it or ruining it while you work. It’s made to last.” She looked at her fiancee’s face, where a huge smile was stretched. She thought she saw wetness in Holtzmann’s eyes and she gained confidence in her choice.
“Just like us. We’re going to be together forever, I have no doubt in my mind. I had it etched with the gears because I feel like we keep each other going. I know we’re going to continue working and inventing and busting and just chugging along together like a well-oiled machine.” Erin removed the ring from the box and slid it onto Jillian’s finger. “I hope...I hope you like it,” she said shyly as she looked up at Holtzmann’s face. A single tear escaped and rolled down her cheek, even as her dimpled grin widened. She took Erin’s face in her hands.
“You are the most brilliant person I’ve ever known. This ring? It’s perfect. It looks like something I could have chosen for myself. I love how well you know me,” she shook her head as one more tear spilled out. “I love you so much, Erin. I can’t believe how lucky I am to get to spend the rest of my life with you.”
Erin wrapped her arms around her fiancee and felt her own eyes fill up, but then a laugh came out. “I'm the lucky one. Lucky that you're persistent. Thanks for proposing all those times." She shook her head, smiling. "I’m so glad we found each other.”
“Thank God for ghosts, huh?” Jillian said, pressing her forehead against Erin’s until their lips were centimeters apart.
“Thank God for ghosts,” Erin repeated, and she closed the distance between them.