“The ring she’s wearing,” he said, voice shaking, “she showed it to me last Christmas.”
My stomach dropped.
“She said your dad picked it out. I saw the box.”
Last Christmas. While my mother was alive.
Mason sent me the order number from the jeweler — Ridgeway Jewelers. A handwritten note had been tucked inside the box: For our real beginning.
I didn’t cry. I drove straight to the store.
The clerk found the receipt in minutes.
December 18th.
My mother had still been baking holiday cookies that week.
I photographed the proof and returned to the reception.
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