18 Ring Shopping

After taking a moment to recover from her fluster, Jade turned to the next customer. While a hint of confusion still on her face, she asked, "Hello, what can I get you?"

…

At the end of the rush, as the crowd filtered out to return to work, Jade was surprised to see Alan still in his seat.

'What's he doing here…' Halfway through thinking that question, Jade realized the answer. 'Ah… he's probably waiting for Harry to finish. Aww, that is sweet. I guess I really did misjudge him.'

Harriet was still serving a tableful of customers, so it seemed Alan would be waiting a while longer. Thus, as Harry was walking back to the counter to pass on their food order to Bernie and make their drinks, Jade sidled over Harry and asked, "Do you want me to take the order? You can leave early with Alan if you want."

Harriet hurriedly waved her hands. "No, no. You'll be working for quite a while longer, so you should take the opportunity to rest. It won't even take five minutes to finish this, so Alan can wait."

As touched as she was by Jade's offer, she could not just leave work early because her fiancé insisted on waiting for her.

"Hmm… Well, I'm not serving anyone at the moment, so at least let me help with the drinks."

Harriet relented, and the two prepared the drinks side by side, chatting.

"So, Alan's waiting for the end of your shift? How long has he been here?"

"Umm… he arrived shortly before you did, so… about two hours?"

"Two hours? Does he not need to work?"

Harriet chuckled. "No, he doesn't… not today at least. He and his brother alternate who tends the farm."

"That's nice. So, what are you going to do? Wedding shopping?"

"Yes." The smile on Harriet's face became even brighter. "We're actually going shopping for the wedding rings."

"Cute! What are you looking for in the ring?"

"Gold and diamond, obviously, but only a small stone. We don't want to break the bank on a fancy piece of jewelry. You might not agree, but I think wedding rings are too expensive for what they are. Personally, I would rather spend the money on a better honeymoon."

Jade frowned in thought. "That is interesting. I'd never thought of it like that."

By this point, the duo had finished preparing the drinks, but they were still waiting on Bernie to finish the food. Harriet took the drinks over to the table and told them that their food would be with them shortly.

"So," Jade said as they waited behind the counter, "what do you plan to do after you're married? In terms of work. I can't imagine you being a housewife. Will there be any work that's suitable for you, given that you now have a bachelor's degree?"

Jade had shot of a string of serious questions that Harriet had not properly considered before, and noting the confusion on her face, Jade sighed. "Don't worry about it. I was just making conversation."

Harriet laughed awkwardly. At that moment, Bernie placed the sandwiches that they were waiting for through the hatch, so Harry took them over to the table of customers.

Then, after cleaning up and checking on her remaining few customers, Harriet clocked out to go ring shopping with her fiancé.