Jaymes didn’t answer straight away. Instead, he asked a question.
“Isn’t there some folk tale about which hand you need to wear them on? And which way up they should be worn?”
“There is, although I've seen a number of interpretations,” said Nathan, placing one ring on the bed before him and demonstrating with the other. “From what I understand, if you’re single and available, you wear the ring on your right hand with the tip of the heart facing outwards.”
Nathan placed a ring on his right hand to demonstrate the direction.
“Upside down?”
“Exactly. And if you’re in a committed relationship, you wear it on the same hand but with the heart pointed inwards.”
Again, Nathan demonstrated, plucking off and returning the ring the other way up. He continued doing the same for the last two positions.
“Once you’re engaged, you wear the ring on your left hand with the heart pointing outwards, and finally, once you’re married, you wear it on your left hand with the heart facing inward.”
“So what are you asking me?”
“I thought maybe we could wear the rings on our right hands, facing inward, to show the world that we’re in a committed relationship.”
Jaymes pondered the idea momentarily, his face serious, until he looked up into Nathan’s eyes.
“No. I don’t think I can do that, Nate.”
Nathan’s heart dropped, but he didn’t want to spoil the moment or the weekend, so he smiled bravely.
“Too soon?”
“Not at all. But if we’re both going to be wearing these, I think they should be on the left hand.”
“Engaged?” said Nathan, trying to mask his surprise.
“Give me your left hand, Nate.”
Nathan did as told, and Jaymes slid the golden ring into place.
“Now you. Place the ring on my finger.”
Nathan followed suit until they held their ring hands out to each other. After admiring the rings, Jaymes leant forward and pulled Nathan into a fierce hug.
“In case I haven’t already told you enough, Nate,” said Jaymes, his breath warm in Nathan’s ear, “You’re it for me. I love you. I love you so much.”
Nathan almost collapsed into the embrace, his heart overflowing.
“I love you, too,” said Nathan, something inside bursting, his arms tightening around Jaymes.
The rest of the weekend went by in a blur of happiness, making love, laughing together and helping prepare meals. Nathan couldn’t help catching the glint of the ring on Jaymes’ finger when he did innocent things like reaching for a milk carton or scratching his head. And each time he was filled with pride. Friday afternoon they took a refreshing country walk after finally getting out of the cottage, with Jaymes taking his hand as they strolled down a country lane. Inadvertently, their walk culminated in them stumbling upon the local village pub, where they decided to sample the local beers and home-cooked food, chatting about football and the news. But mainly, they enjoyed the simple pleasure of each other’s company.
For now, anyway.
Chapter Sixteen
Fingal
On Monday morning, leaving Jaymes to sleep a little longer after their late return on Sunday night, Nathan showered and dressed and crept down to the shop. He was greeted by Halina and Fingal, the latter who had offered to work the first half of the week. Displays of freshly baked goods had already been laid out, and Fingal was in the process of opening the door to their first customers. Nathan faltered a moment, feeling an odd mixture of pleasure and impotence.
Midmorning, Jaymes texted Nathan a photograph of his desktop computer at work with naked Nate as his new wallpaper. An hour later Polly sent him the same, but hers filled the display of her smartphone. After rolling his eyes, he mentally prepared himself to be in the spotlight for a short time. Just as well, too, because several people came into the shop that week, seeking out the famous naked baker. After giving them a smile and a nod, telling them the calendar would be on sale very soon, he watched them leave, wondering what they thought when they met this ordinary man, this true-to-life baker.
Five in the afternoon on a quiet Wednesday, Nathan sat in the small office at the back of the bakery, nursing a mug of cold tea, logging invoices and paying bills from his laptop. About to finish up, he hesitated, opened a browser and searched again for theFreshPostarticle on the calendar.
