A Familiar Ring

When my wife-to-be, Cindy Morrison and I started to date I gave her my high school ring. Of course it was too large and she bought a metal band that fit inside to make the ring smaller for her hand. Our relationship grew and we talked about rings occasionally. Somewhere she’d read that an opal was the original engagement ring, not a diamond. I looked for an opal ring for a few months. Many looked so plain. I didn’t like them, so I kept looking. I finally found one I liked. The opal was on raised prongs with two small dark blue sapphires on each side. The sapphires seemed to make the colors of the opal sparkle.

When we went to a local baseball game and she passed my school ring to me, asking that I make the metal inside band smaller, wearing it, made it loose. I wanted to give her the opal ring, but the time didn’t seem right. I stuck my school ring on my pinkie and didn’t say anything else. When I didn’t return the ring, Cindy thought I was going to dump her, especially when I didn’t hand the ring back when she asked for it. In my car after the game, I asked, “Did you want this?” holding up my class ring. She said “Yes” with tears in her voice. Then I said, “Or would you rather have this?” and handed her the small box with the opal ring nestled inside. Shortly after that we went shopping for wedding bands. The salesgirl said I should be a hand model, but I think she was just trying to make a sale.

After we married, Cindy’s pre-eclampsia caused her hands to swell. She couldn’t wear her wedding bands and she said with her swollen belly and no ring, she felt ashamed. We went shopping for an inexpensive wedding band to make her feel comfortable.

Cindy read opals were a fragile stone. (That happens when a guy marries a gal who can read.) She was afraid to wear it, necessitating the purchase of a diamond. I made plans to surprise her at Christmas. Cindy was a snooper, only when the gift was wrapped. She’d shake, poke, and feel packages to figure out what was inside. I’d wrap gifts to thwart her. The diamond ring was in a velvet lined Lucite box. Tucking the box inside a Pringles can, I wrapped it twisting both ends and tying it with ribbon. As soon as it was wrapped, Cindy began shaking and loosened the ring. It rattled like the bee-bee of a cheap skill game. She tossed it back under the tree and was the last thing she opened. Her eyes flew open and silently mouthed, “Is it real?”