Just a Piece of Jewelry?

“I was going to tell you to take that off before you left for the shower. But I forgot because of that ridiculous face you made from being so sleep deprived,” Brianna said as I walked back into our room after my shower. 

“Oh, it’s no problem,” I replied, remembering that I was still wearing it, “My mom used to wear it in the shower all the time and it is gold.” I said to her, as I fingered the gold cross with the tiny diamond in it. The delicate, gold chain is smooth under my fingers.

I began to put away the things from the shower. Thinking about my mother wearing the necklace. She literally never took it off. It wasn’t until a year ago that I even inherited it. She gave it to me in a box of junk jewelry that she wanted to get rid of.

“This? Really? You are giving this to me? You always wore it, I don’t even remember seeing you without it,” I say as I hold up the gold necklace between us.

“Your dad gave it to me years ago, I think it is time for you to have it,” my mom explained, “After all, we are divorced, after 12 years of being married to your step-dad, I think I should get rid of it.”

I look at her, slightly perplexed. “Why did she wear it all of those years?” I wonder to myself. I guess it eventually became just a piece of jewelry after a while.

I start to dig through the box again. A tiny gold ring surfaces under the big earrings and bracelets. I pick it up.

My mom looks at it.

“And that,” she sighs, “is my wedding ring from when I got married to your father.”

I almost drop it, like it all of the sudden has become red-hot.

“Oh,” I say casually as I drop it back into the shoebox, trying to play indifferent.

“You don’t want it?” Mom questions.

“No, I think you should see if Lizzie wants it, I think it would mean more to her than me,” I say as I continue to dig through the box of jewelry.

“Honey, it is just a ring. I thought you would want it to keep or something,” she says.

I see more ridiculous earrings, things that I kind of remember her wearing when I was a little girl.

“No,” I reply, as I drop the silver cat earrings back in the box, “I really do not have a use for it.”

“But you want the necklace right?” she asks, as she watches me paw through the rabbit earrings and old watches.

I almost forgot that I was still holding it.

“Oh, right. Yes, I want it,” I say as I begin selecting the earrings I want to keep.

“But, you don’t want the wedding ring?” she asks again.

“No,” I say as I think in my head…

“Of course I don’t want that ring. It caused so much pain to you and I and Lizzie. Why would I want to keep a symbol of all of that mess? Give it to Lizzie. After all, she still thinks her daddy walks on water. Me, I just think he is an asshole who cannot let go of the past.”

She looks at me. I think she knows that I feel like the ring is poisoned or something. “Well,” she says, “okay. I am going to go finish the laundry now. Justin has a baseball game at 3 and we are going to leave for that in an hour or so.”

“Alright,” I say, not meeting her eyes as she walks out of my room.

“I’ll see if Elizabeth wants this,” she says, holding up the wedding ring.

My mom always uses our full names. The infrequent times when she says Lizzie or Abby always startles me.

“Okay,” I say as I look up, “I’ll be ready to go to the game in an hour.”

She walks out. I look at the gold necklace again.

The diamond in it is so small. Part of it is bent in, probably from traveling or something like that.

I take off the necklace I am wearing and hang it in my jewelry box. I open the clasp of the cross necklace and fasten it around my neck.

It is a little odd seeing it on me. It was always my mom’s. The funny thing is, even though I refused the wedding ring because it reminded me of my dad and mom’s failed marriage, this cross he gave her does not seem to bother me.

The gold is cool against my neck. I touch the cross.

“Wow,” I think, “what is Dad going to say when he sees me wearing this next weekend?"

In all honesty, I don't really care. I look back down at the box.  "Ugh," I think as I shudder, "Thank goodness she took that ring. I don't even think I could deal with that being anywhere close to me."