Which one? They’re both flashy and expensive! But only one is correct.
Jenson can’t decide which engagement ring to choose.
Emily has no real preference and would be happy with either.
He picks up the small ring on the left.
Princess cut. White diamond. 1.1 carat weight. White gold band. Elevated setting. A very pretty ring.
“A very beautiful ring,” offers the jeweler. “Sure to make any girl proud.”
Jenson smiles, trying to hide the frustration from his face.
Why do they always accost? All salesmen are professional annoyances.
“Yeah,” he says. “But I want to pick out the perfect ring, y’know? My girlfriend doesn’t know I’m getting this, so I want it to be special.” He holds the ring up to the light and looks at the prism of colors refracting off the tiny stone.
He tries to picture the look on Emily’s face. She’s shocked. She’s smiling. She’s crying. She’s holding the ring in her hand and tentatively sliding it on her finger.
He picks up the other ring. It’s smaller in every way. In its simplicity, it is beautiful. A single, round stone, blue-white in color. It sparkles even more so than the princess cut.
Jenson agonizes over the decision, trying to justify his choice.
The jeweler’s eye twitches slightly, his brain calculating the smaller profit from the cheaper ring. “Also a beautiful ring,” he says crisply. “Perhaps you’d like to look at these over here?” He’s moving to a side case.
“No, no. It’s going to be one of these definitely. I just can’t decide which one, though.” Jenson painfully laughs, shaking his head at his indecisiveness.
The salesman nods. “Hmm. Well, what do you like about each of them?” His voice is excited at having the possibility of the more expensive ring back on the table.
“This one,” Jenson says, holding up the first ring, “is very nice and I’m sure Emily would love it. It’s the kind of ring she could show off to her friends. Make ‘em jealous, y’know?” The salesman smiles wide, knowing exactly what Jenson means. “But it’s a little out of my price range.”
He holds up the other ring. “This one looks simple at first, but there’s something, I feel silly saying it, but there’s something almost magical about this one. The brilliance in its reflection just draws my eyes back to it.” He laughs again. “Does that make sense?”
The tight smile is back on the jeweler’s face. “Yes. That ring does command you to look at it, doesn’t it?”
“Yeah.”
The salesman sighed. “I can’t choose for you, son. I’m sure the girl will be happy with either one.”
“Yeah. Ha, it’s not the ring that’s the most important part of a marriage, eh? If I pick the wrong one it’s not like God’s going to strike me down or something.” He laughs again. “But…” Jenson sighs heavily. A sigh of finality.
Jenson pays on a payment plan, signing his life away, as it is. I see it happen all the time. The wrong choice. It’s almost comical, really. Some of the choices I’ve seen are absurd. Sometimes the consequence is immediate; sometimes it’s a lifetime of regret and a slowly breaking heart. The boy has just made the single most important decision in his life, and he chose incorrectly. A shame, truly.
Jenson steps out of the mall, holding the ring box tight, and hears a strange, whistling noise piercing through the afternoon air. He looks up just in time to see the wayward space rock barreling towards his body. He doesn’t move. His hand opens and the jewelry box falls. His pupils shrink in fear. He gasps.
The meteorite tears through his body, burning up as it collides with the sidewalk. I pick up the ring and shake my head.
Word Count: 635
*I wanted to write a story with a weird and unexpected ending. The narrator thinks in italics. I’m sure there’s some sort of metaphor in it, if you look hard enough, but I’m still trying to work out exactly who the narrator is.
