"Okay, are you ready? One... two... three... Open your eyes!"

Livia removes her hands from her face, but it takes a couple seconds for her to adjust the focus. When she does, her smiling mouth drops open in shock as she sees my beautiful Tiffany ring.

"What is that?"

Before I can answer, her expression turns confused as she grabs my hand and notices the six empty prongs sticking up from my diamond and platinum band.

"Wait a minute, what is that?"

I pull my hand back out of a purely instinctual reflex. Running my right hand protectively over the band, I tell her, "It's only a setting."

Liv still looks lost. "But whose is it?"

Hmph. "What do you mean 'whose is it'? It's mine."

"Yeah, but where did it come from? It looks like an engagement ring."

I figure now is as good a time as any to test out my story. "It is an engagement ring. It was my grandmother's, but she gave it to me."

Liv isn't buying it. She grabs my hand again to get a better look. "What happened to the diamond?"

I can't help it. I start smirking at the thought of what my reveal will do to my friend's brain. "Tommy hasn't bought it yet."

She actually shakes her head, trying to make sense of what I just said. "Tommy's going to... Wait, what are you saying? Are you guys..."

"No! Well, not yet, anyway."

"Yet?"

I feel bad pulling the wool over my friend's eyes and decide to fess up.

"Okay, look," I start in, unable to keep from laughing. "I bought it at the gift show last weekend, but don't tell Tommy! I saw it and just had to have it. I'm just going to let him know it's here, safe and sound, for whenever the day comes when he decides he needs it."

"But you... You mean to tell me you bought your own engagement ring? Shane, that's a little..."

"What do you mean?" I cut her off before she can finish her pessimistic sentence. "Think about it. What if Tommy goes out and buys me something on his own? I won't like it, and it will cause a big stupid fight during what should be a happy occasion, right?"

Livia is looking at me with that same, impatient face she's been shooting at me since I showed her my new ring. Her disapproving expression is really getting on my nerves.

"But he's going to think you're crazy."

"No, he won't," I defend. "He knows how picky I am. I just thought I'd save both of us the aggravation of unmet expectations."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean? You guys have only been dating a few months! He's going to freak out and run screaming for the hills. Shana, you cannot let him know you did this."

Oh, really?

"You know what, Livia? I can do anything I want. I don't see how it's any concern of yours."

"Hey, snotrag, my 'concern' is for you!"

"I'll bet."

"Don't do it, Shane. Seriously."

You know, this is exactly why I wasn't even going to bother showing Livia my ring in the first place. I would have been better off letting her see it for the first time after Tommy put it on my finger himself.

But I've been holding off on telling him about it until just the right moment, and so far, that moment hasn't really come.

He's been a little off all week, ever since giving me crap on Sunday. I'm sure he's still feeling guilty for the way he blew me off that morning. I decided it was best to just let sleeping dogs lie and not discuss it. Why rub salt in the wounds? But there is definitely a bit of unresolved tension between us. I didn't want to spring my little surprise on him under those circumstances.

But in the meantime, the thing has just been burning a hole through my brain. My ring is way too pretty not to be seen. I tentatively decided to trust Livia to keep my secret until Tommy and I can make an official announcement. So I invited her over here, telling her that I had something wedding-related to show her. Ha! She probably thought I meant her wedding.

I wish she would just be happy, smile, and admit that the ring is gorgeous. But Miss Soon-To-Be-Mrs. just can't share the spotlight. It's not like she's the only girl in the world that has wedding plans.

"Look, Shane, I'm not trying to rain on your parade here. You're obviously all pumped up about this and I guess it's good that you're being so... proactive."

I put my hands out palms up and say, "Well, exactly. Who says I have to sit around waiting for him to propose? You waited around for five years before Jack finally made with the ring. I don't feel like wasting that kind of time."

"I don't consider my time 'wasted,' thanks."

"Well, I do. God, I would never have waited as long as you did."

In the past few minutes, I've seen Livia's face go from shocked to condescending to appeasing. Right now, she just looks pissed. Oh, well. Too bad for her if she can't handle a little truth.

"Shana, In the first place, Jack and I were broken up for nearly a year during those 'five years.' Between his brother's wedding and my sister's wedding and my mother getting sick, we 'waited' for our own reasons, none of which I should have to justify to anyone outside of Jack and me. So, did I miss something here? Did I do something to piss you off? Just why is it that you're trying to pick a fight with me about this?"

"I'm not."

"Coulda fooled me." She breathes a heavy sigh and checks her watch. "Look. I told you before I came that I'd only have a few minutes. I really don't want to leave like this, but Jack and I have an appointment with a reception hall and then Tommy's showing us a house. Can I call you after?"

I say, a little too brusquely, "Tommy's coming over after. I'll call you tomorrow."

She rolls her eyes, shaking her head in frustration. I guess there really isn't any point in continuing this conversation and I honestly don't know why I'm allowing myself to feel so slighted.

She must be wondering the same thing, because she's taking her sweet ol' time heading out the door. Liv's only this quiet when she's really thinking hard about something. I start to feel a little guilty about some of the things I've just said as she trudges down the front steps.

I'm also starting to feel like she might have a case of the guilts going on, too. The clincher is when she stops at the bottom of the front steps and turns to me, stifling a laugh. "By the way, I'm sorry for calling you a snotrag."

She's always been the peacemaker. As long as we've known each other, this has been the pattern. I hold the grudge while Liv lets it eat away at her insides. She's never been strong enough to withstand any sort of prolonged battle. No matter what, I can always count on her to offer the olive branch. That's a good thing, because ending an argument is easier for me when she does it first.

I pull a handful of begonia out of the urn at the top step and wing it at her, unable to hold back a laugh of my own. "You should be, you bitch!"

That cracks her up as she walks back to her car.

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