Jake leans his head around the corner of the kitchen and smiles.
“I thought we’d have a picnic. Take a seat. I’ll be there in a sec.”
I feel dazed as I settle onto a corner of the blanket. Stare out the window as I wait for him to join me.
Outside, the sun hovers just above the water. Lavender clouds streak a sky the same pink as the inside of the conch shell I found on the shore today. This—all of it—is enough to take my breath away.
“You’re just in time,” Jake says, gesturing toward the sunset as he carries over a box of pizza and two bottles of wine. He fills my glass before taking a seat across from me. Doesn’t mention how long he must have had to wait for me as he holds open the box, waiting for me to take a slice before putting one on his own plate.
As the first bite of cheesy goodness fills my mouth, I can’t help moaning. I don’t know if the pizza’s that good, or if I’m just that hungry, but, in this moment, it’s the best thing I’ve ever tasted.
We eat in silence, eyes locked on the sun as it slowly sinks below the horizon, the clouds backlit with an ethereal glow as the last of the light shimmers off the water. I feel myself gasp as there’s one last startling flash, igniting across the sky like a hungry flame.
In the blink of an eye, it’s gone. The show’s over. It’s only then that I notice the tiny box half concealed in the center of the blanket.
“What’s that?” I ask, pointing at it.
“Why don’t you open it and find out?”
Jake’s face is uncharacteristically blank as I reach out and take the small black velvet container in my hand. My fingers shake as I open it. My heart leaps up into my throat as I see what’s inside.
“What is this?” I ask, so quietly it’s almost a whisper.
“It’s a ring.”
“I know that. But what’s it for?”
“To wear.”
I’d roll my eyes, but I can’t seem to tear them away from the piece of jewelry.
“Where’d it come from? Did you buy it?”
“Yes.”
“For me?”
“Yes.”
I feel dazed as my mind struggles to make sense of what’s happening. I inspect his face for the answer, but it’s still curiously neutral as he studies me back.
“Is this? I mean. Why?”
Jake shrugs. “I saw it in a shop while I was waiting for the pizza. I figured since we might be staying here for a while, you should have a ring. So people won’t have questions about us staying in the honeymoon suite.”
The lump in my throat is so large I can barely speak. “So it’s not…?”
“It’s just a cheap trinket.”
Only, it’s not. It might not be a diamond, but it’s beautiful. A trillium cut stone, a Ceylon sapphire, I think, held in its setting by waves made of tanzanite. Maybe it’s not what some women would want, but to me, it’s perfect. And to hear him call it a trinket, to learn that it’s not what I thought it was—though I expected to be relieved, I’m not sure that I am.
Over the course of my life, I haven’t spent much time thinking about getting married. My career always came first. There was never anyone who made the idea of giving up my independence seem worthwhile. Until now. I swallow hard, not sure what to say.
“You don’t have to wear it,” Jake says.
The box trembles as I hold it out to him. I’m not sure if it’s my imagination or not that it still trembles as he takes it from me. My left hand darts out, hovering above it.
“Are you kidding? I love it. Put it on me.”
