Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Ruby Tuesday--What happen to the Ruby Ring?

Hi all. Looks like I am going to have a meme kind of week. After I decided to join the SSS (Shadow Shot Sunday) meme I got an email from one of my cousins suggesting I join the Ruby Tuesday meme and tell my ruby ring story. Since it is a great story I decided to give it a go. Plus, it will give me another reason to get busy with that new Christmas camera looking for great ruby shots.

On my sixteenth birthday my godmother (also my Aunt) sent me a note stating that she had a special gift for me but I would have to wait awhile to receive it. She explained that I would have to stop biting my fingernails before she would give it to me.

Naturally, I assumed it was going to be a ring (my first ever) so I worked hard at sitting on my hands each time the urge to chew a nail happened. By spring I had short but well manicured nails and proudly wrote to my Aunt announcing my success.

Unfortunately, it was almost the next year before my Aunt was able to come for a visit and I was presented with the most beautiful birthstone ring I had ever seen. It was a gold ring with four rubies. I was so proud of the ring I wore it constantly, only taking it off to do the dishes.

That summer my godmother's daughter(my cousin), who was my age came for an extended visit and during her stay told me why I had to wait so long to receive my present. She said my aunt was a housekeeper for a gentleman who owned a pawn shop and she purchased the ring in his shop on layaway. She was a widow raising four children on a meager salary and there were many weeks when she could only spare one dollar for the payment on her gift to me. It took her almost two years to pay off the ring. She invented the nail biting ruse hoping it would give her enough time to complete the purchase. It failed so she resorted to making excuses to postpone her visit.

I had been wearing my beautiful ring for about a year when I started dating a guy named Buddy. By Christmas the relationship was getting rocky so I was surprised when he invited me to have dinner at his house and meet his parents. After dinner I volunteered to wash the dishes for Buddy's mother. I put my ring on the window ledge above the sink. By the time I finished washing the dishes (all by myself) I realized it was getting late and I had promised to be home early. In the rush to get home on time, I forgot to get my ring from the window ledge. When I realized I had forgotten my ring I called Buddy and asked him to bring it to me the next day. Buddy said the ring was not on the window ledge. The ring had disappeared even though Buddy and his parents were the only ones living there and it had only been a short while since I had left. We argued over what could have happen to it and Buddy promised to ask his parents about it and search the entire house for it.

I'm sure by now you have figured out that the ring never turned up and Buddy and I broke up a few days later. I was so distressed over the loss of my ring that I never had the courage to tell my Aunt about losing it.

Almost two years later I was working part time in a local cafe. One night, two women came in and took a seat in the corner. I went to wait on them and as I handed the menu to the younger lady I noticed my ring on her finger. I told her she was wearing my ring and asked where she got it. She said it was a Christmas gift from her fiance. I quickly told her that I could not only name her fiance but, could tell her which Christmas she received the ring, and preceded to do just that.

The lady turned nine shades of red and the other woman who happened to be her mother said "Well, I declare". Lucky for me, Buddy's fiance was a lot more honest than he deserved. She took my ring from her finger and gave it back to me. I am sure she would consider the ring a fair trade for discovering Buddy's true character before she married him. That was forty-two years ago and I have never taken it off my finger since unless I was placing it in my jewelry box.

To join the Ruby Tuesday fun visit http://workofthepoet.blogspot.com/

7 comments:

  1. What a neat story. I'm glad the fiance was honest.

    My RT is up. here, if you get a chance to stop by.

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  2. Holy cow, what a narrow escape both you and that young lady had! Do you think the conversation would have gone differently if her mother hadn't been sitting here? I bet her momma already didn't like Buddy! Momma's know these things.

    Great story, thanks for sharing it!

    Tink *~*~*
    NEW at My Mobile Adventures *~*~*: RED Signs at Disney’s Animal Kingdom

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  3. Hi!
    That is an awesome story to go with your RED ring! Glad you got it back! Have a great day!!

    Sherrie

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  4. What a beautiful ring! All the more beautiful for the love your aunt put into giving it to you. And how wonderful that it came back to you - and in such a justice/kismet kind of way. Cool.

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  5. I love objects that have stories attached to them - makes them all the more special

    welcome to ruby tuesday! keep enjoying the christmas camera

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  6. Well, that's an incredible story and photographs to start your story with! I'm so glad you got the ring back! Welcome to Ruby Tuesday! Can't wait to see more posts! Happy Valentine's Day too! :)

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  7. A-may-za-zing!!!!

    I've never heard that story before;)

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