The Hit List - The ring - The Tarot Lady

I married my husband twenty-four years ago. We had been together for six years at that point and in the process of buying our house when we decided it would make good sense to tie the knot.

My ring was a slim gold band, simple and clean. I didn’t want anything fancy because we didn’t have a lot of money at the time, plus I work with my hands, so a large bauble would only get in the way and piss me off.

That ring sat on my index finger ever since. I’ve never taken it off.

Throughout the years, we’ve gone through many tests and ordeals, good times and bad. We’ve traveled together extensively for book tours and our annual sojourn to San Francisco, the one city we could agree on (he hated New York, my fave playground). My ring never came off, even as my weight went up and down, making it snugger at times, and looser at others. But recently, an unwelcome change came knocking. My arthritis has gotten so bad the knuckle swelled and the ring couldn’t come off. The pain became so great I had trouble sleeping.

I’m a Gemini. Hands fall under the realm of Gemini, so as you can imagine this caused me great stress. Because I write for a living, the anxiety was multiplied tenfold. I began to try in earnest to get that ring off, which only seemed to make the knuckle angrier. I tried cold water, olive oil, moisturizer, ice packs, and a trick with a piece of floss. The ring wouldn’t budge. It was here to stay, like my marriage.

Finally, in desperation, I walked into a jeweler’s shop on Monday. The kindly gentleman behind the counter looked at my bulging knuckle and assured me he would get it off. He said this was something he did about three or four times a week.

He brought out a little instrument and in his calm, deep voice told me to relax my hand. In less than a minute, he sawed through the ring, pulled it apart with pliers, and slipped it off my hand. I looked at my finger and saw an indention where the ring was strangling my finger.

The jeweler gently patted me on the hand and said the finger would heal in time. He asked me if I wanted to resize the ring and get it fixed. I’m a sentimental type and this ring means a lot to me. It represents twenty-four years of devotion, so of course, I want it back on that finger.

Once it’s healed, I’ll be getting it repaired and on it goes. The jeweler said it will need to be much bigger to get over that knuckle – so it will be looser around the base. I don’t care about that. I just want the ring back where it belongs.

It’s funny how something so simple can evoke so much emotion. In fact, I’ve been constantly rubbing the finger, mindlessly searching for the ring, so I could twist it like I often did when I was nervous or bored. I’ve also wondered out loud if that indentation is ever going away. It is so strange not having it on my hand because it’s been a part of me for almost half my life, just like my husband.

But soon, it will be back, for another twenty-four years or more, a gentle reminder of the man I love, the commitment we made, our intimate connection, and everything we shared. In the meantime, I guess this dent will suffice.

xo
Theresa

VOTE BABY VOTE!

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