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“So what should I expect from this event tonight?”
I’m standing in our closet completely dressed and ready. While I was out this week taking care of some errands and checking on my house, I ran into a boutique and picked out the dress I’m currently wearing. It’s a full length bright red dress with the hem just hitting the floor. The front dips between my breasts and there are gold chunky pieces of metal that wrap around my waist. It’s fun and beautiful at the same time. I decided to wear my hair in an up do so it doesn’t get a chance to cover the major cleavage that I’m rocking tonight.
“It’s just your typical charity event. There will be drinks, dinner, schmoozing, and ass kissing. Probably everything that you don’t like. But don’t worry,” Nathan comes to a halt when he walks into the room. “Holy Christ, Laney, you look gorgeous.”
“I clean up well, huh?” I wink.
“There was never a doubt in my mind. Wait though, I think I have something that will look amazing on you.”
I can hear him down the hall as he tells the girls they look like real life princesses. I just pray they still look that way by the time we leave. I have instructed them no more eating because nine times out of ten one of them spills and that means a wardrobe change. Wardrobe changes are not an option since I only bought them each one dress for tonight. They do look adorable though. They are both wearing long dresses with empire waists that fall straight down. Amanda’s dress is cream while Adele’s is a dusty rose color. I put Amanda’s hair in a slicked tight bun and Addie’s short bob is tucked neatly behind her ears. Natalie came by yesterday, delivering a hot pink, top of the line wheel chair. I shook my head when she wheeled it in, stating that her brother wanted Addie to have the best. She then proceeded to glitter and bedazzled just about the entire chair. Natalie told her that every lady, young or old, always needs to have a little sparkle in her life. After Amanda had seen the flashy wheels, Natalie had to bedazzle the rump of Amanda’s favorite pony.
“Here,” Nathan comes back into the closet holding a long gold necklace. The end of it is adorned with diamonds and a tassel made of the same gold design as the actual necklace. The gold is brighter than today’s gold; there is a different shine to it, so I know it’s vintage.
“That’s beautiful, Nathan.”
“Let me put it on you. I would like for you to wear it tonight.”
“No, I couldn’t. It looks too old.”
“Well, it belonged to my great-grandmother. It’s extremely old. But I thought it would look nice with your neckline. The tassel will probably lie perfectly between your breasts.”
“Will it now?”
“Here, turn around.” I turn about while he clasps the necklace around my neck. “See.” He rubs my upper arms as we both stare into the full-length mirror. “It looks perfect.”
“Thank you. I’ll make sure to give it back to you at the end of the night.”
“No need, it’s yours. I want you to have it, and then when the girls get older we can decide which one gets it. I have plenty others so don’t worry about one of them being left out.” He kisses the side of my head.
“Nathan, your sister should have things like this, not me and not my girls.”
“Do you actually think that Natalie doesn’t have every piece of jewelry that she wanted? That was one of the first things that I did after my mother passed. I made sure Natalie got everything she wanted. But she also hoped that one day I’d have a wife of my own and my own children to which I could pass these things down. She has some of our grandfather’s pieces as well but made sure I got enough to spread throughout the family as it grows."
“Well, thank you.”
“Okay, I have something else.”
“Nathan, no way. The necklace is enough. I’m going to start to feel self-conscience if I wear any more jewelry. I have my ginormous wedding ring already and then this necklace. That’s enough.”
“This isn't ginormous or flashy in any way.”
He brings out a golden ring that has both rubies and diamonds embedded within the band. There aren’t any center stones, just a band of red and white. I can tell that this is a newer piece. “It’s so pretty.
It looks delicate.”
“It was my mother’s. This was the first piece of jewelry I bought her. When I entered the military, I used almost my entire first paycheck to buy it. I never felt right about buying her something like this with the money I had growing up. It felt like I was using her money to buy her something.”
“Wow, it’s beautiful. I bet she loved it.”
“She never took it off. From the moment she put it on until the moment they closed her casket she wore it.”
“Why wasn’t she buried with it then if it meant that much to her?”
“She told me that she didn’t want its beauty to be wasted on the dirt of her grave. She wanted its elegance to continue to shine on the finger of the woman who I would spend the rest of my life with.”
“And, that’s me?”
“And that’s you.”
