Chapter 91: How Much?
“What?” That question is so far out of bounds he doesn’t
even know what to start doing with it.
“Ziva knows how much you spent on the stones, so I can’t get
her a ring that costs less than that.”
“What?” He’s still stunned Tony is asking about this.
“Engagement ring for Ziva, I can’t get her less of a ring
than you got Abby.”
“This is how you tell me you’re going to ask Ziva to marry
you?”
Tony shot him a see,
that’s what it feels like look. “I thought the fact that I’d do it sooner
or later was pretty obvious.”
“Okay, yeah it was, still something other than, ‘Hey, I
intend to outspend you,’ would have been nice.”
“Fine. I’m going to
ask Ziva to marry me, so I need a ring, and because you had the brilliant idea
to take her gem shopping when you got Abby her ring, and because C.I.Ray
already whipped out a huge stone for her, she’s got expectations now, and I
can’t fall short of them. So, how much was Abby’s ring?”
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| "Your main engagement ring goal is to out romance me?" |
“No.” Tony thought about it. “Yes. If I don’t, then this is
just routine for her, something she’s already seen.”
Tim laughed. “First off, taking her along was Gibbs’ idea.
Secondly, you’re screwed, $15,300.”
“For a ring!?!” Tony’s eyes just about fell out of his head
at that idea, and he pulled over and stopped the car.
Tim shrugged. “Gems came in at a little over 7,000 and the
custom design work and materials on the ring was a bit over 8,000.”
“You spent three months of your salary on a ring?”
Tim grinned at Tony, enjoying this way too much. “Five after
taxes.”
“What the hell is wrong with you?”
“Nothing. I had the cash. I wanted to get her the perfect
ring. That’s what the perfect ring cost.”
Tony looked to the sky and said, “Why?”
“I did, however, get some intel for you.”
Tony’s eyes narrowed; he looked interested. “What?”
“She likes sapphires. But she wouldn’t tell me what sort of
proposal she wanted.”
“Hmmm...”
“So, besides determining you want to get her a ‘better’ ring
than I got Abby, do you have any ideas?”
Tony sighed. “Shooting you in the head for spending so
goddamn much.”
Tim snorted. “I wasn’t aware I was setting a ring budget for
you. And if I had known that... I would have done exactly the same thing. She
loves that ring. It is absolutely perfect for her. And she is going to wear it
every single day for the rest of her life. So, get over how much it cost. Abby
helped Palmer pick out Breena’s ring, and I didn’t feel any need to compete
with that.”
“Because you blew it out of the water by a mile before you
even got one of your stones picked out.”
Tim shrugged. “Really wasn’t thinking about it at all. What
I was thinking about was spending months searching online looking at pre-made
rings and thinking that none of them were right for Abby. But you aren’t
marrying Abby, you’re marrying Ziva, who likes classic, elegant, beautiful
things which you can just walk into a jewelry store and buy.”
“There is that.”
“And I highly doubt Ziva cares at all how much her ring is
going to cost.”
“I care.”
“Why?”
Tony shrugged. “I just do. And I don’t want my dad looking
at it and smirking about it. Man’s bought more engagement rings than Gibbs has,
so he’s got ideas about what they should look like.”
“I can take you to where I got Abby’s gems, and the guy
who’s making our wedding rings seems to know what he’s doing. The guy who did
her engagement ring took three times as long as he said he would, so unless you
do want killer filigree work way late, I don’t recommend him. So, besides
expensive, what do you want to get her?”
Tony was facing in Tim’s direction, but not really looking
at him. “It should be smooth and strong. She works with her hands, fights with
them, so it can’t have soft, easily snagged bits on it. But it should still be
beautiful and delicate.”
“Were you thinking diamonds?”
“I was, but if she likes sapphires, I should probably look
at them. Plus sapphires would have the advantage of not looking anything like
the ring C.I.Ray got her.”
“Good plan.”
“Yeah.”
Tony thought for a moment, then he looked at Tim, curiously.
“You just had fifteen thousand dollars lying around?”
Tim shrugged, watching traffic speed by. “Yeah.”
“Why?”
He turned his eyes back to Tony and squinted a little, the
sort of gesture that means, I’ll answer
this, but don’t get to deep into it, okay? “First off, it took me almost half a year to
even get the stones. That’s a good chunk of time to save. Secondly, I do have
another job.”
Tony was staring at him, looking a little suspicious.
“They actually pay me to write mysteries. It’s not just a
hobby.”
“Oh. Right. Gemcity. Does that pay well?”
Tim shook his head dismissively, this is what he doesn’t
want to get too into. Sure, he hadn’t been subtle about the cash on the first
book, but after losing everything he’s been a whole lot pickier about how he
spends his money. Tony’s probably noticed he’s got a good watch and wears
expensive stuff when they aren’t at work, and that their apartment is awfully
nice, but it’s not like he’s bought a new Porsche recently. “I’m not Rick
Castle, but I do okay. So, you given any thought as to what to do with the ring
once you’ve got it?” he asked, turning them into more comfortable territory.
“Yeah.”
“And?”
“And, besides the fact that our year anniversary is coming
up, I don’t know. Hard though this might be for you to understand, McWordsmith,
some of us don’t have an easy time coming up with poetry and spilling out
perfectly formed verse about why we love our girlfriends.”
Tim smiled. “I asked if she still had the Marilyn dress,
talked about the two of us going out for Halloween as Monroe and Miller, she
looked at me and said, ‘Weren’t they married?’ and I just grinned, whipped out
the ring and said, ‘Will you marry me?’ I left the poetry for other days.”
“So, wait, you write her love poems, but didn’t to ask her
to marry you?”
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| $15,000 designed for her ring. |
“You’re an asshole.”
“Oh come on, Tony! How often do I get to do this to you? If
Palmer was here, he’d be smirking at you, too.”
“He would. I should ask him what he said to Breena. At least
that way I’ll know where the outer lines of way too sappy are.”
“That’s not a bad idea. You wanna borrow Abby for ring
help?”
“I might. Or maybe not. I have a feeling she’d think
anything I’d like for Ziva would be boring. Breena probably has closer jewelry
taste to Ziva than Abby does.”
“Might be true. Still take one of the girls, they talk to
each other, so she might have more information about what Ziva wants than I do.
And even if she doesn’t have specific information, she’ll probably have a better
feel for what Ziva wants.”
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