The Ring By
Eli A. Susman
We were fine, until it fell off the side of the boat. A perfectly romantic moment, a precious diamond ring, ruined, gone. I practically fell off the edge myself while looking down at the rough water. I stuttered out a little bit of nothing.
“I….I…”
“You dropped it. Harold you...”
Before she continued I forced myself to interrupt.
“Sonia I’m sorry! Oh gosh I’m so sorry! The boat rocked and I was balancing on my knee, it slipped from my fingers! Please forgive me Sonia...ah screw it, I don’t need the ring.”
I rebalanced myself down on one knee, and spoke to the woman I loved.
“Sonia Janken, will you marry me?”
“So typical of you Harold, I should’ve known you’d drop my engagement ring off the side of a cruise ship.”
She sat down on the bench next to us, crossed her legs, and looked the opposite direction of me.
“Is that a yes?” My voice cracked.
She scoffed.
I stood up.
“Sonia, are you serious?”
She looked at me, and her piercing eyes made me feel cold. She didn’t have to speak for me to understand that she was being dead serious.
“But, I can buy another ring. Is this about the ring? I’ll buy one twice the size, babe. Anything for you.”
“Oh come on the big ring is just compensation for you know what.”
She nodded her head down and looked up at me.
“Anyways, you dropping the ring is a sign.”
“A sign? For what?”
“That I shouldn’t marry you.”
“Three years of love and because I dropped the ring off a cruise that I took us on, it’s over?”
“Well, this whole situation just reminds me of how I never really loved you…”
I couldn’t speak.
“...So honestly, this is a blessing in disguise.”
“A blessing? What? You never loved me?”
She shrugged her shoulders, then looked down at the expensive Cartier watch I bought her.
“Is the bar open right now for happy hour? I think it is.”
She stood up, her dark black hair swinging across her back. She strutted away, wearing the dress I got her for our anniversary the year before.
“Wait, Sonia! Sonia come back!”
Either she didn’t hear me, or she didn’t love me, but probably both. I’ll never understand how our relationship went from good to nonexistent so quickly. I guess even before the ring fell off, we weren’t fine.