“Would you hurry up?”  Steven Nelson, the only real friend Andy had made in the academy, poked him in the ribs.
           Andy snorted and shot him an irritated glare from the corner of his eye.  “Give me just a minute, will ya?”
           “I’ve given you a minute.”  Steven checked his watch.  “Hell, I’ve given you twenty minutes.  Just pick one and let’s go.”  His sky-blue eyes flickered with irritation.
           With a shake of his head, Andy turned his attention back to the well-lit jewelry case.  He scanned the selection for the tenth time and pointed to yet another ring. “Can I see that one?”
           “Sure.”  The woman’s smile grew, indicating he was getting into the more expensive pieces.  She removed the small gold band and quickly explained its attributes.  Andy nodded, he had no idea what she was talking about, but it looked nice.  She placed it on a velvet-covered holder, next to the others he already selected, and held it up so he could view the rings side-by-side.  “She’s a lucky woman.”
           He grinned, even though he knew she was complimenting in the hopes of making a sale.  It was still a nice little ego stroke.  She is lucky, but am I?  His resolve momentarily faltered.  What if she was cheating?  Did he want to be married to that kind of woman?  Or perhaps, she wanted a commitment, like he’d made to the police department.  He’d taken an oath, sworn to protect.  Isn’t that a lot like getting married?

“Have you been with the police department long?” the sales woman continued.
           Andy shook his head.  “No, just graduated the academy today.”  His grin widened.  “I thought this would be icing on the cake, you know, to surprise her this evening.”  And maybe she’ll understand how serious I am about being with her.  Thank God the old-bat had decided to start beating on the floor in the middle of those cops questioning me.  A smirk slipped onto his lips as he thought about how irritated the officers had been at some old lady telling them to keep it down–from the apartment below.
           “Ah, I’m sure she’ll be overjoyed.”
           “I hope–”
           “Andy.”  Steven’s harsh whisper, along with the painful rib poke, drew his attention.
           He jerked and turned to unleash a tongue lashing that Steven wouldn’t soon forget.  “What the hell–”
           Steven shot him a glare and thumbed over his shoulder.  He spoke out of the corner of his mouth, “Check out the guy near that case over there.”
           Andy shifted his weight, peeking around his uniformed friend at the man on the opposite side of the room.  His eyes took in the details.  The man wore a torn, dingy black leather jacket, the kind favored by those who rode motorcycles.  His jeans weren’t in any better shape and the harness boots on his feet showed the same level of abuse.  Braided, brown hair reached to the center of his back.  A black riding glove adorned the only hand that was visible.  Andy shifted again and frowned.  Granted, the guy looked like trouble, but he was surprised Steven would make such a judgment call based on a stereo-type.  He leaned closer and whispered, “So?”
           Steven balked for a second before shaking his head and whispering in Andy’s ear, “He’s got a gun.”
           Oh shit.  Andy turned back to the sales woman.  “Ma’am, could you please go to the back room?”
           She blinked and looked from one to the other before she leaned to the side and spotted the man at the other counter.  Her eyes widened to saucer-size as her delicate fingers flew to her mouth.  She gave a soft gasp.  Andy winced, hoping the man hadn’t heard.  He jerked his chin towards the back door.  The woman nodded, turned on her heel and walked as quickly as she could to the rear of the store.