Rubies and Diamonds

Response to Prompt #8

By Helen Sadler

Back in the 1970's I lived in a high rise apartment building. One day I was in the elevator with another young woman about my age. I noticed she had a beautiful emerald ring on her finger.  I complimented her on it, and she told me that she liked emeralds more than diamonds, and so her fiancee had gotten her this ring for their engagement. I thought that idea was pretty wild and cool and unconventional. I had never heard of anyone doing anything like that before.
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When Jim and I got together in the early 1980's, we vowed we would never marry. We were just going to live together until the end or until it didn't suit us anymore. Yet, we were very much in love and saw a future together, one we trusted, even with the pronouncement against marriage.

The year 1985 was a good one for us, and that Christmas found us together with stacks of gifts for each other.  Our Christmas mornings were special -- just the two of us, our dog, coffee, and lots of surprises. We usually hosted Christmas at our house, so the morning was our alone time.

This was the year Jim surprised me at the end of all the gift opening with a small box. In it was a ruby and diamond ring.  36 rubies and 18 diamonds in 18 carat gold, to be exact.

This ring seemed gigantic to me!  At the time, most of my jewelry was pretty conservative.  I did not even see me wearing this ring but on special occasions. But Jim made it clear that he wanted me to wear it all the time.  So I got it sized and began wearing it every day.

The ring is unique in its design -- it is like the Woolite symbol, if truth be told -- but I have never seen anything like it.  Jim had purchased it from a local independent jeweler.

Fast forward to the summer of 1996 when we decided to marry. Our decision was prompted when Jim's son was almost killed in a motorcycle accident on June 21st. Throughout the time Scott was going through his operations and such, and there were meetings with doctors, I could feel that my "position" wasn't respected -- I wasn't Jim's wife.  It had a strange effect on both of us. On the way back from the hospital one night I told Jim I was thinking we should get married.  He said he was thinking the same thing. 

I told him right away that the ruby and diamond ring had to be my wedding ring -- I simply didn't want to wear any other ring in its place. A woman I worked with thought I was nuts. She said I should "demand a rock." But this ring represented all I needed; it contained my favorite jewel - the ruby -- and it was unusual, inspired by the girl in the elevator.  I purchased a ring for Jim that had three diamonds in it, keeping with our "multiple of three jewels" theme. 

This ring has had a few jewels replaced, and the band mended and reinforced after it cracked through. The ring itself symbolizes the immense love Jim and I share, and the intangible essence it brings to my life. It has been with me now for thirty wild and cool and unconventional years.  And it will be with me until the end...and who knows, I may just take it with me.