"Okay, your turn, Beulah, truth or dare?" Without a second thought, "Truth", I snapped back. I watched Rookie smile as she fixed her gaze on my necklace. "This is beautiful. Tell me why you wear a wedding ring as a pendant on your necklace?"
"Oh, no! I'll pass." I was caught off-guard, as I wasn't even ready to start the history behind this pendant on my necklace.
"Don't break the rule, girlfriend; truth is what you've chosen, and truth is what you shall spill." I watched her fill my shot with tequila, and I was already feeling tipsy from the last one I had. I either chose three shots of tequila or spilled the beans, as Rookie wasn't even going to let this pass.
"Oh no!!! Are you sure you are ready for this?", I asked Rookie, who was about to dig into the memories I treasured the most in my life. "Yes, please", and then she adjusted her sitting position, which meant "Shoot!"
My eyes were already teary, and I hated to talk about it, though I loved how I felt. I adjusted my sitting position and began to spill.
Well, I still remember how pretty I looked on my 23rd birthday when my mom gifted me this beautiful ring after asking me to introduce her to the love of my life. I was wearing a silk black dress, and she sat on the sofa right next to me, placed her hands on mine, and looked right into my eyes. "Beulah, who's the man in your life? She was so keen to know who I was seeing, but my response surprised her: "Mom, I am not seeing anyone; I don't think I ever want to get married".
" Why?" She was left gobsmacked, and I guess it took her about three minutes to close her mouth.
"Haha, you mean you counted the minutes, Beulah?" Rookie jokingly asked.
"Well, maybe I did." I gave a silly grin. "Beulah, that's so silly of you." Rookie nudged me, and we both chuckled.
Hehe, So I told her how much I hated the alarming rate of separation and that I was too scared to be married to the wrong person, and the next thing I noticed was my mom taking off her wedding ring.
"Here Beulah, take this. It should be your Eminado henceforth. I and your dad were imperfect, but our bond was almost perfect until the day he took his last breath. It should be our little gift to you to find a bond as blissful and enjoyable as ours." Those words my mom said to me were the loveliest I've ever heard.
I at once picked up this beautiful ring from my mom, because my parents had a very beautiful bond, though the society I lived in made it hard to find something beautiful out there. "Mom, if I ever get married, I will be rocking this as my wedding ring, because I'll never treasure another one even if it's more beautiful or expensive than this". I watched my mom nod in affirmation, and then she held my hands and kissed them.
Three days later, Mom passed away, and at that moment, I treasured this ring even more, simply because it was more than a ring; it's not just a good luck charm to find love and bliss, but a reminder of how much I was loved by my parents after she was laid to rest. I couldn't wait to wear the ring, and since I wasn't married yet, I picked up that favourite dress I wore the day she gifted me this ring and ripped it apart. I made straps out of my black dress and secured them with a hand stitch, and then I fixed the ring in it as a pendant, and then I tied a knot to secure it.
I stood right in front of my mirror and wore the necklace that represented my endless love for my parents, to always feel my mom's and dad's presence around me and to carry their aura everywhere I went, so that is why I wear a wedding ring as a pendant on my necklace. "It's my treasure, Rookie."
Before I could finish telling the truth about the pendant, Rookie was already crying. "Oh, I thought I asked you if you were ready for this." I hugged her and said, "You took me down precious memory lane today, and I loved it, though it made me so mushy."
"Cheers to finding someone worth wearing this ring for Beulah," Rookie managed to utter after sniffing about twice. "There I go again, I just counted how many times you sniffed".
"Silly girl", she poked me by the nose, and we both laughed it off and continued our game.
