Having re-dedicated themselves to the search for the perfect engagement ring, Nick and Sarah headed for Denver, Colorado.  They would be staying about an hour from there, in Breckenridge, Colorado, because Sarah’s best friend from childhood lived in nearby Frisco.  Sarah had been promising to visit for years, but hadn’t ever gone.  She was excited to see Karen after over 5 years, and she and Nick were both excited to check out the City Park Jazz concert in Denver.

“This country is fun”, Sarah noted as she researched the goings-on in and around Denver.  “Did you know that Denver was the first city in the US to make private use of less than an ounce of marijuana legal?”

“I did not know that,” Nick admitted.  “Good information to have.  Did you call Karen?”

Sarah reached for her phone and speed-dialed her best friend.  “We’ll be at the hotel in another half-hour or so.  Are we going out?”  She listened.  “Okay, we’ll call you when we settle in”. 

They arrived at The Village at Breckenridge, at 535 South Park Ave, Breckenridge, Colorado 80424 in the late morning.  Although the hotel was more expensive than some of the others, Nick and Sarah loved the idea of being on South Park Avenue in Colorado.  They checked in and brought their bags upstairs.  They wanted to explore the town a bit.  Neither had ever been there, and they knew the area had great bike trails, too, so they were anxious to get out and about.  They planned on going to Denver the next day since City Park Jazz was only on Sunday evenings, so they had today to try to see all that Breckenridge had to offer.

After looking online, however, Sarah found something she knew she couldn’t resist, so she made a quick call, and then called Karen.

“Dude, how many of your friends can you get together in the next hour?” She asked.

“How many do you need?” Karen responded.  She was used to this kind of thing from Sarah.

“At least five”, Sarah told her. 

“Okay.  Why?”

“Just get your people and meet us at Breckenridge Paintball.  The Woods course is available this afternoon.”

Karen laughed.  “In that case, no problem.”

Karen, always coming through when Sarah needed her, showed up at the “Premier Paintball Destination in Summit County” with six people, all very Colorado-looking—sort of woodsy and red-cheeked.  They split into teams and proceeded to go to war.  Sarah’s newly-honed shooting expertise from the rodeo came in handy.  She finished the game by shooting a blue paint ball straight into Karen’s back.

“Bitch”, Karen said, without turning around.  Then they walked back to their friends.

“Beers at the ODI?” Sarah offered.

Karen and her friends exchanged glances. “It closed,” she said sadly.  The Old Dillon Inn was a local landmark, and Sarah had been hearing about it from Karen for a decade.

“Where am I going to have a chance to meet Goose Gossage then?” Sarah asked.  She had been a fan of the former Yankees closer for years, and he had been a regular there.

Nick put his arm around her.  “I don’t want to have to watch some middle-aged Major-Leaguer hitting on you anyway.”

Instead, the whole crew hit the Breckenridge Brewery and Pub and washed the taste of paint away with the restaurant’s microbrews.

The next morning, Nick and Sarah drove check out Denver, Colorado engagement rings.  Sarah had been hoping to find a place that carried diamonds from the Mine at Kelsey Lake, which is the only operating diamond mine in the US.  They found a really nice place with a great website and a really happy, family vibe.  As they went up in the elevator at 910 16th Street, Denver, Colorado 80202, Sarah announced that she would be speaking with a Spanish accent.  She sounded more like Chris Kattan from Saturday Night Live imitating Antonio Banderas, but it usually fooled people well enough. 

They walked in and Nick asked to see some engagement rings.  The salesperson asked if they knew what they were looking for, or if they wanted some suggestions.

Nick smiled, to put the woman at ease. “One or two carats, platinum or white gold setting”, he told her.

Sarah spoke.  “Emerald or princess cut, maybe, and please, no pearrrrrrrrrr shaped diamonds”, she said, rolling her ‘r’ maybe a little too much.

The woman led them to a case full of beautiful rings.  Sarah tried on several of them as she chatted away, rolling ‘r’s left and right as she told the woman about meeting Nick in college and traveling with him around her ‘adopted’ country.  She left out the details of how they met, however.  She was trying to be more dignified than the girl who did the best keg-stands at the University.

“Are all of these diamonds,” she looked at Nick, “How do you say…certified?”

The woman responded.  “Of course, they are all GIA certified.  And we have GIA graduates on staff if you have questions.”

Sarah spent over an hour examining ring after ring.  She got Nick involved, and he tried on some tasteful-yet-elegant diamond wedding bands.  After explaining to the woman that they needed to sleep on it since it was such a major purchase, they left.

Once again, Sarah failed to leave her accent at the jewelry store.  She kept it with her all afternoon.  She called Karen, and, in her best Antonio Banderas, asked: “Would you like to meet us for dinner before the…how do you say…concert?”

“Where?” Karen asked, unfazed by her best friend’s behavior.

Sarah looked down at her guidebook.  “Bastien’s Steakhouse, 3501 East Colfax Ave, Denver, CO, 80206,” she read directly from it.  “They’re supposed to have this ‘Sugar Steak’ thing that sounds fantastic”.

After an amazing meal that left the three of them virtually waddling out of the restaurant, and with the slight buzz of several microbrews they sampled there, they stopped at a liquor store, where they filled a cooler with several of Colorado’s finest native beers.  Acting like a tour guide, Sarah told Nick and Karen that Colorado ranks 1st in the US in beer production per capita.  Karen rolled her eyes.

They made their way to City Park to relax on a blanket in the warm evening with good beer and great jazz. 

As Sarah opened a Hibernation Ale from the Great Divide Brewing Company, she leaned back and said: “This is a perfect night.”

Karen put her arms around her best friend.  “So perfect.”

Nick smiled.  “Absolutely,” he said.

And all three wished the night would never end.

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