Adventures with Kisses

Long, long ago in a Big City far away, My First Wife lost the diamond from her wedding ring set. She was broken hearted, to say the least, but she stood strong. We made plans to get it replaced just as soon as “my ship came in.” (Trouble is, ships don’t come to the desert all that often.)

Luckily, about that time a young man proposed to Our Oldest Daughter and slipped a ring on her finger. About a week later she slipped it off and those two went their separate ways. “I don’t want that ring back,” he told her. So my first wife said, “I’ll take it!” So that mismatched set is what she’s worn for a long, long time. And she never complained a moment.

Today is a new day at our house, and it started last night (Friday).

Yesterday was the second anniversary of My First Wife’s time at her job. So I thought it would be nice to take her to a nice Chinese bistro for dinner. You know, show her a little appreciation for all her hard work. Well, between the lettuce wrap and the cashew chicken, I said, “You know, I should have bought you a card or something, but I just didn’t get a chance. (Typical of me.)

“Oh, that’s okay,” she said, “You didn’t have to. (Typical of her.)

“So here’s something I’ve been wanting to give you for quite awhile.” I handed her a small jewelry box, which I casually withdrew from my coat pocket.

“Oh? What’s this? I hope you didn’t go out and spend...[she flipped the lid off the box]…[gasp] Oh!…” She saw a new wedding ring set and she began to cry.

She kept staring. She just kept staring. The waiter came with our entrées. He had been pretty chatty, but seeing My First Wife's sudden mood swing, he just put our food down and left. I got kissed a couple of times.

“Well, put ‘em on!” I said. I got kissed a couple of more times. My First Wife kept crying, although she was trying not to. Lemme tell you, the rings look a whole lot better on her finger than they did in that box. And they fit! She stared and stared. They sparkle real nice, too.

A couple of waiters came by to say “Cool,” and a couple of managers came by to offer a glass of bubbly and to take our picture. I still kept getting kissed and she kept staring at her finger.

After dinner, I drove My “New” Bride to a couple of girlfriend’s houses so they could see “…a surprise that Paul gave me…” At home she was on the phone for a couple of hours. “…and they’re just perfect for me. He couldn’t have found a more beautiful set. They’re perfect. Oh, I’ve gotta go get my nails done now.”

At the end of the night, she quietly said to me, “I feel normal. I have my own rings. I feel complete.”

[This story continues in a few days.]