Superintelligence Sequel

Proposal

"Oh man, these all would look so good on her" George said, looking around Weir and Sons. He was picked up by a Lyft that was requested by that uh... What was it called again? The AI? It took him straight to Dundrum Town Center, which was a lot bigger than what he was imagining.
"Excuse me, but can I help you?" A gruffy voice sounded from behind the display, with a standard British accent mixed with a little Irish twang.
"Ah yes, I am looking for Dermot Callaghan. I was referred here by a friend, and he told me Dermot can help me pick a ring?"
"Oh, you must be Mr. George Churchill. We received an inquiry from one of your partners and asked us to prepare items of a particular size."
"Great. I was wondering where I can check out the size 9 rings?"
The man, wearing a crisp black-blue suit gestured his hand. "Right this way."
George followed the man to the back as he got out a display of three rings
"Here we have our best designs, with platinum bases and all natural diamonds in various cuts."
George let out a deep breath he didn't know he was holding. He was overwhelmed with the selection and some of the tag prices he'd seen.
"Wow, all that huh?" George asked.
"One of our most sought-out rings is our platinum three and a half carat solitaire diamond ring." The guy opened the case and with his gloved hand, he picked up an opened velvet box with a bright, dazzling ring that seemed to glitter in the light.
"That is stunning," he almost shouted.
"We also have here," a gloved hand pulled out another opened velvet box, "a three-stone diamond platinum engagement ring. Each gem is one carat natural diamond."
George whispered to himself, "I wonder how much all of these cost."
"The first one is worth 74,500 Euros, while the second is only about half the price."
"Excuse me?" He gulped with sudden extreme nervousness. Suddenly, his phone sounded with a new message.
"Let me check that, sorry. Please give me a minute."
Don't bother. You have enough in your account to pay hundreds of those rings. For your info, 74500 Euros is 89,400 US Dollars.
Right, when did I amass so much money again?
You sold bitcoin and invested in your youth. Sometimes, deregulation can do wonders.
I can work with that. Sure.
"Everything okay, sir?"
"Ah, yes. Sorry about that. Right, I have a question. Is it possible to have the rings replaced in case it's too big or too small?"
"Sir, your partner informed us of the size you will need to purchase and those I've showed you are ones with size O."
"I see. Did they say anything about the payment arrangements or...?"
"No worries, your partner has informed us they will shoulder the full amount that you are to purchase and it'll be wired to us after you have chosen a specific one."
"Great! Oh my god," he let out a deep breath. "Alright, so I'd like to get the first one please."
"Good choice! Please come with me and we will have this wrapped up."
"Thank you so much," George said smiling, excited to show the ring and imagined places and scenarios to propose to.
Wrap it up, you are supposed to meet with Carol in 30 minutes.
George picked up the paper bag. Though it wasn't just a paper bag, its embossed logo and shop name glinted in the light. He nodded his thanks to the jeweller and headed out to the door with a ride waiting to pick him up.
"Alright lover boy, let's get you back to your class and then you will propose to our little lady." The simulated Buscemi voice said from his device.
"My lady? No, she's my queen!" George said back, smugly.
____
"Murphy! Come on, we're gonna be late." Carol picked up the dog that refused to walk any further. She enjoyed a BLT melt with a tall glass of lemonade while she gave a small piece of carrot muffin to the puppy. She told Murphy it'll be their tiny secret.
"Awww, your dog is so cute!" Two girls piped up who were walking near her side.
"Thanks, he is! Aren't you, you little baby. Oh yes you are." She gently scratched the soft fur behind the dog's ears as she walked in a faster-than-normal pace.
Unfortunately, she didn't notice a tall, distinguished looking guy about to bump into them.
"Oh my god, I'm so sorry!" She looked up after almost dropping the dog from the impact.
"No worries. It's Friday, everyone is in a hurry." He gave her a polite smile and stood awkwardly. "Ah, what a cute puppy. Didn't know we allow pets here now."
Carol's smile disappeared as she thought of an excuse. James's voice spoke up in her ear. "Tell him a new memo came from the board. The college has transitioned into a pet friendly place as long as people with allergies declare it in the clinic."
Her eyes wandered towards his and gave an embarrassed smile. "No, I think they changed it. Just recently, I believe. He's not-- it's not really my dog. He's my boyfriend's and just walking him around."
"Alright. Fancy meeting you. See you around." He smiled a little bigger and eyed her from head to toe. He seemed to be a little awkward but gave her a nod and walked away towards the opposite direction.
"Ooh, may god strike me down but I think he totally thought you were cute and just let it slide." One of the girls said, teasing Carol.
"Nah, I already have a boyfriend. He's a visiting professor here--Mr. Churchill. " she said back, smiling.
"Oh, you're Mr. Churchill's girl? Good for you! He mentioned you to us."
"He did? Wait, sorry for asking but who are you girls?"
"Hi, I'm Sienna. This is my girl, Siobhan. We're currently taking a few credits of creative writing and under his class."
"Aw, so wonderful to meet you. You seem to be lovely students!"
"Until when are you going to stay here?" Asked Siobhan.
"Oh, there's not a lot of us in class, you can probably sit in some day." Sienna, the girl with the short, pixie cut piped up.
"Actually, I'm here for a week. The admin graciously let me stay with George but I didn't want to impose by offering to rent myself a unit here. I think that's too much, don't you?" She wondered, looking at the two students.
They shrugged.
"I have no clue."
"Yeah, me neither. But," Siobhan raised her arms to gather up her red, frizzled hair into a bun, "I don't think there's anything wrong with staying here longer."
"Yeah, who's gonna take care of the puppy?"
"You girls have a point but this seems like something that needs to be discussed further. Alright, nice meeting you both."
"Bye."
"See you around."
----
Carol soon made it to his class that seems to have just ended, and brought him a icy cold bottle of juice.
"So how do feel, Mr Churchill? Excited?" Carol said, startling him.
"Excited for what?" His forehead scrunched up as he placed his left hand on the edge of the desk for support.
"You know... " She looked up at him and grinned. "Buying groceries and this cute little fellah his baby bjorn! Don't tell Murphy," she playfully covered the dogs ears, "but I think I lost at least a hundred calories on both my arms carrying him around."
"That's today? I forgot about it!" He pretends to be shocked and covers his mouth dramatically. "I was planning to just head back to the unit, catch up with baseball in my underwear while pounding a couple of bottles of Guinness."
"Some routine you're going through. Do you also snack on tiny bits of mature cheddar with saltine crackers?"
"As any sexy professor does whenever he's alone." He winked at her and placed a hand to her shoulder as he gently nudged her out. "Alright, let's go. Meet me outside, I'll just go lock the door. Don't pee on Mommy again, Murphy. That's my hoodie she's wearing."
"Your hoodie?" She asked as she headed for the door. "I thought you bought this for me?"
"Oh, well, that's too big for you. Let me get you a medium tomorrow."
"Great, he's getting me a medium. Does it have a new yorker accent and tells me about my dead relatives?"
"Murphy, you know what? I changed my mind. If you have diarrhea, much better."
"Hey!"
"Wait outside. I'll be right there."
A new message came through his phone.
It's time, George. Hide the ring in your pocket and propose to her right now.
What?!
You have eyes. You can backread.
No! I thought you said I can propose to her in Paris?
Trust me, you'd want to do it as soon as possible. I am giving you the opportunity to do this as there is a brewing global problem that will likely prevent you from even leaving the house.
Okay.
He puts his phone back in his free pocket and grabs the keys on his desk. His mind was suddenly swirling with thoughts and images of what could possibly be the issue the Superintelligence is talking about.
"Hey Carol..I uh.." George stumbled on his words.
"Yeah? Anything wrong, honey?" Carol worried, resting a hand on his arm.
"I am trying to figure out how to say this..." he said, holding her hands.
"You better not be breaking up with me.." she teased, and half not joking.
"Oh, no. Quite the opposite actually," he said in a nervous tone, but he still managed to smile at her.
"What do you mean?" Confused, she placed the leash back on the dog and placed it down.
"Carol Vivian Peters..." This was it. He let out a long, deep breath and got down on one knee.
Carol gasped, both hands covering her mouth. "This isn't happening."
"It is." He pulled out a small box from his pocket and opened it.
"Oh my god." Carol felt her eyes starting to water and fanned her face with one hand.
"I know we've been apart for quite a while and what happened during that wasn't exactly our proudest moment. But this past two weeks, I've never felt more sure about something," he paused and looked at her with full adoration. "Carol Vivian Peters, you made me realize that each day is a blessing and I wouldn't want to spend the next ones of the rest of my life without you. Will you marry me? "
Carol began to weep in joy and manage to nod, "Yes George! Of course!"
She immediately leapt into his arms wrapping her legs around his waist as George, who almost lost his balance, held on to her and kissed her as they heard the applause of witnesses.
Proposing in the hallway wasn't exactly the ultimate scenario that George had in mind, given how the thing he was talking to offered to book Paris penthouses and five star restaurants. But then, it wasn't exactly the place that made the moment. It was who he shared it with.
"Oh my god, I feel like I'm dreaming. George, this is beautiful! How did you know my ring size?" Carol said, sniffling and gazing at the ring.
George got up to kiss Carol's face, wet with snot and tears. Somehow it made her look more adorable and full of love.
"I have a friend who helped me get this thing ready."
"He's talking about me." The Superintelligence in James Corden's voice sounded on her phone.
Carol's eyes widened as she looked at George suspiciously.