Under Different Circumstances 185/?
Title: Under Different Circumstances
Chapter 185/?: The Nathalie Xavier Chronicles: Ring
Characters: Xavier, Nathalie
Genre: Romance
Rating for this chapter: K+
Pairings: XavierxNathalie
Summary: A series of short stories showing the evolution between Vincent and Jean-Pierre.
This chapter summary: Xavier looks for an engagement ring.
Under Different Circumstances
The Nathalie Xavier Chronicles
Ring
Inspired by something this summer
Under Different Circumstances
The Nathalie Xavier Chronicles
Ring
Xavier Leduc was not someone who could be considered rich. He wasn’t poor, he had some money to his name, at least now, but he did not have an astronomical sum. There were many reasons for this.
The first and most obvious one being the fact he had spent a large part of his adolescence and early adulthood, in the streets. When he got out of the streets, he did not have a cent to his name. Luckily, Jean-Pierre had given him food and shelter, free.
However, as he went back to school, and despite a small part-time job, Xavier fell into the addiction of gambling. It started small, but when his mood would change and things weren’t going well for him, he gambled large sums of money. He ended up with a large debt and Xavier was ready to return to the streets, the real world not the place for him, but Jean-Pierre gave him the money to pay it off, only wanting him to join a gamblers anonymous group.
Xavier did exactly that, and swore he would repay his friend every cent he owed him. Jean-Pierre refused, but he was adamant about it, and made sure he gave back a small portion of his salary - whatever he didn’t need, back to him.
Jean-Pierre begrudgingly took the money back and put it in a small bank account. His plan was to give the money back to Xavier, when the time would be right.
That time turned out to be when Xavier graduated and decided he wanted to live on his own, close to where he worked. Jean-Pierre gave him the cheque and the papers to the account. Xavier tried to give the money back to his friend, but Jean-Pierre threatened to end their friendship, if he didn’t take it. Xavier took the money back and used it to make a down payment on a car, and pay for a few months of rent, on his new apartment.
The third and final reason, to his lack of substantial money, was that he was a teacher, and not just any kind of teacher. He was a physical education teacher, at the high school level. The gym teacher. A specialist. One of the subjects, along with anything related to the arts, which often was cut back.
Luckily, he had a full-time position, with very good hours, but the pay wasn’t the biggest. Yet, it was still enough for him to pay his bills on time, put some money aside, and go out for dinner, every once in a while, when he didn’t feel like cooking.
Or take Nathalie out on nice dates. It was a lot more than he ever hoped he could have and much more than many people could say they had, considering he no longer had debts to pay off.
Xavier knew, the moment he met Nathalie, that he would marry her, at some point. She was perfect. He loved her and she brought out the best in him. He loved spending time with her and couldn’t imagine living without her.
After a few months of dating, he started looking at engagement rings, out of curiosity, to see what they were priced. What he didn’t take into account was falling head over heels, with a perfect ring, fit for Nathalie.
He was ready to buy it, right then and there, and even asked to see it. A salesperson took out the ring, showed it to him and it was even more perfect.
However, when he saw the price, his heart sunk. It was way over his budget. Even if he got a discount for it, he still couldn’t afford it. He thanked the woman and it was with a heavy heart that he left the store.
Xavier looked at other rings that were more in his range, but he didn’t like them. He kept comparing them to the one he liked. He knew Nathalie would understand and that she would be happy with a simpler ring, as well, but he didn’t want to. He did not want to settle for less. Nathalie deserved nice things, beautiful things. Therefore, he decided he would do anything, in his power, to buy that ring.
Every cent he could put towards the ring, he put into a small jar, he kept hidden, in his desk, at school. If he found money, on the floor, he put it in the jar. Xavier coached two hockey teams at school, one girls’ team and one boys’ team and the money he made from that went for the ring.
He kept returning to the store, almost every week, to make sure the ring was still there and to see if the price had gone down. The price remained the same and his progress towards reaching the amount he needed was slow.
The first sales-woman, the one who had helped him out that first time, noticed him returning week after week and understood that he really wanted to purchase the ring, but couldn’t. After a few too many people inquired about the same ring, she decided to put it aside, for him, without telling him.
Unfortunately, on Xavier’s following visit, she wasn’t working and no one else knew she had put the ring aside. Xavier was devastated, when he couldn’t find the ring and even more so, when another sales-woman told him that it had been the last one, in stock.
Xavier had taken a picture of it, on his phone, and he went to other jewelry stores, to see if he could find a similar looking ring, or if he could have the ring made, in another store. Both options were even more expensive and he would be forty, before he could propose.
He stopped looking at rings, for a good two weeks, too discouraged to even think about starting over. However, halfway through the third week, he happened to pass by the store and decided to have a look, maybe to look for a new ring.
When the original sales-woman saw him and noticed his saddened expression, she retrieved the ring, before waving him over. Xavier was shocked when he saw it. He couldn’t believe she had put it aside, for him, and that all this time, his ring had been there.
He asked the woman why she had done this, for him, and she explained that of all the people who had looked at the ring, he was the only one who looked serious about wanting to buy it. She also admired him for coming back, week, after week, to check up on it, as he saved his money, and she figured, whomever was going to get this ring must be very special to him.
The woman asked him how much he had, so far, and Xavier admitted the small sum he had. He still needed many more dollars, which would take him many more weeks, but the woman waved him off. She told him he had more than enough, gave him a thirty-five percent discount and then knocked off another one hundred dollars, telling him to do something nice, for his fiancée.
Xavier almost cried, but held back his tears. He paid for the ring and left the store, feeling very lucky.
When he got home that night, Nathalie could tell he was in a good mood, and he almost proposed to her, then and there. However, he saved that for a week later, when he took her out, for a nice night out.
And when Nathalie found out, many years later, the story behind how the ring came to be, she found it even more special to her, and more endearing.
OWARI 185
I do accept anonymous reviews.
Started writing: October 3rd 2013, 12:53pm
Finished writing: October 3rd 2013, 2:21pm
Started typing: December 16th 2013, 7:13pm
Finished typing: December 16th 2013, 8:21pm
Chapter 185/?: The Nathalie Xavier Chronicles: Ring
Characters: Xavier, Nathalie
Genre: Romance
Rating for this chapter: K+
Pairings: XavierxNathalie
Summary: A series of short stories showing the evolution between Vincent and Jean-Pierre.
This chapter summary: Xavier looks for an engagement ring.
Under Different Circumstances
The Nathalie Xavier Chronicles
Ring
Inspired by something this summer
Under Different Circumstances
The Nathalie Xavier Chronicles
Ring
Xavier Leduc was not someone who could be considered rich. He wasn’t poor, he had some money to his name, at least now, but he did not have an astronomical sum. There were many reasons for this.
The first and most obvious one being the fact he had spent a large part of his adolescence and early adulthood, in the streets. When he got out of the streets, he did not have a cent to his name. Luckily, Jean-Pierre had given him food and shelter, free.
However, as he went back to school, and despite a small part-time job, Xavier fell into the addiction of gambling. It started small, but when his mood would change and things weren’t going well for him, he gambled large sums of money. He ended up with a large debt and Xavier was ready to return to the streets, the real world not the place for him, but Jean-Pierre gave him the money to pay it off, only wanting him to join a gamblers anonymous group.
Xavier did exactly that, and swore he would repay his friend every cent he owed him. Jean-Pierre refused, but he was adamant about it, and made sure he gave back a small portion of his salary - whatever he didn’t need, back to him.
Jean-Pierre begrudgingly took the money back and put it in a small bank account. His plan was to give the money back to Xavier, when the time would be right.
That time turned out to be when Xavier graduated and decided he wanted to live on his own, close to where he worked. Jean-Pierre gave him the cheque and the papers to the account. Xavier tried to give the money back to his friend, but Jean-Pierre threatened to end their friendship, if he didn’t take it. Xavier took the money back and used it to make a down payment on a car, and pay for a few months of rent, on his new apartment.
The third and final reason, to his lack of substantial money, was that he was a teacher, and not just any kind of teacher. He was a physical education teacher, at the high school level. The gym teacher. A specialist. One of the subjects, along with anything related to the arts, which often was cut back.
Luckily, he had a full-time position, with very good hours, but the pay wasn’t the biggest. Yet, it was still enough for him to pay his bills on time, put some money aside, and go out for dinner, every once in a while, when he didn’t feel like cooking.
Or take Nathalie out on nice dates. It was a lot more than he ever hoped he could have and much more than many people could say they had, considering he no longer had debts to pay off.
Xavier knew, the moment he met Nathalie, that he would marry her, at some point. She was perfect. He loved her and she brought out the best in him. He loved spending time with her and couldn’t imagine living without her.
After a few months of dating, he started looking at engagement rings, out of curiosity, to see what they were priced. What he didn’t take into account was falling head over heels, with a perfect ring, fit for Nathalie.
He was ready to buy it, right then and there, and even asked to see it. A salesperson took out the ring, showed it to him and it was even more perfect.
However, when he saw the price, his heart sunk. It was way over his budget. Even if he got a discount for it, he still couldn’t afford it. He thanked the woman and it was with a heavy heart that he left the store.
Xavier looked at other rings that were more in his range, but he didn’t like them. He kept comparing them to the one he liked. He knew Nathalie would understand and that she would be happy with a simpler ring, as well, but he didn’t want to. He did not want to settle for less. Nathalie deserved nice things, beautiful things. Therefore, he decided he would do anything, in his power, to buy that ring.
Every cent he could put towards the ring, he put into a small jar, he kept hidden, in his desk, at school. If he found money, on the floor, he put it in the jar. Xavier coached two hockey teams at school, one girls’ team and one boys’ team and the money he made from that went for the ring.
He kept returning to the store, almost every week, to make sure the ring was still there and to see if the price had gone down. The price remained the same and his progress towards reaching the amount he needed was slow.
The first sales-woman, the one who had helped him out that first time, noticed him returning week after week and understood that he really wanted to purchase the ring, but couldn’t. After a few too many people inquired about the same ring, she decided to put it aside, for him, without telling him.
Unfortunately, on Xavier’s following visit, she wasn’t working and no one else knew she had put the ring aside. Xavier was devastated, when he couldn’t find the ring and even more so, when another sales-woman told him that it had been the last one, in stock.
Xavier had taken a picture of it, on his phone, and he went to other jewelry stores, to see if he could find a similar looking ring, or if he could have the ring made, in another store. Both options were even more expensive and he would be forty, before he could propose.
He stopped looking at rings, for a good two weeks, too discouraged to even think about starting over. However, halfway through the third week, he happened to pass by the store and decided to have a look, maybe to look for a new ring.
When the original sales-woman saw him and noticed his saddened expression, she retrieved the ring, before waving him over. Xavier was shocked when he saw it. He couldn’t believe she had put it aside, for him, and that all this time, his ring had been there.
He asked the woman why she had done this, for him, and she explained that of all the people who had looked at the ring, he was the only one who looked serious about wanting to buy it. She also admired him for coming back, week, after week, to check up on it, as he saved his money, and she figured, whomever was going to get this ring must be very special to him.
The woman asked him how much he had, so far, and Xavier admitted the small sum he had. He still needed many more dollars, which would take him many more weeks, but the woman waved him off. She told him he had more than enough, gave him a thirty-five percent discount and then knocked off another one hundred dollars, telling him to do something nice, for his fiancée.
Xavier almost cried, but held back his tears. He paid for the ring and left the store, feeling very lucky.
When he got home that night, Nathalie could tell he was in a good mood, and he almost proposed to her, then and there. However, he saved that for a week later, when he took her out, for a nice night out.
And when Nathalie found out, many years later, the story behind how the ring came to be, she found it even more special to her, and more endearing.
OWARI 185
I do accept anonymous reviews.
Started writing: October 3rd 2013, 12:53pm
Finished writing: October 3rd 2013, 2:21pm
Started typing: December 16th 2013, 7:13pm
Finished typing: December 16th 2013, 8:21pm