I let it lie there in the middle of my palm, staring at it for a full five seconds before I look up and ask, "What's this?

I watch Joseph's smile loosen at the corners. "Birthday present," he says. He tries a shrug to go with the words but his shoulders fall a little too heavy and end up more like a sigh.

I let my fingers close around the deep blue velvet and flick the lid open with my thumb…Sharp, white lines radiate from a smooth band of deep silver lying inside the box. The brilliance is like pinpricks to his eyes. I shut the lid and look at Joseph. He looks at his hands on the steering wheel."What's this?'

"It's white gold."

"Yes, Joseph. But what is it?"

He seems to suck in all the air in the car before he looks at me and answers.

"I was hoping you'd tell me, Anne."

An hour later I watch his taillights disappear as he drives away. I don't want to walk the ten paces to our gate so I just sit on the curb in front of the house, hug my knees and look at the sky.

Happy Birthday, Anne. You are twenty-two, single and really, really lonely.

I keep my head up to balance the little pool of water in my eyes. I feel rotten. I feel rotten because I remember him trying to keep the smile on his face after I returned the ring. I feel so bad I just might page him later to tell him, if one of these days I grow a brain, I'll be sure to give him a call. I let my head fall with a thud on my knees.

"Anne?"

I look up and blink. "Oh, Fyke. Hey."

"You didn't have to wait up for me."

"Ha-ha, Fyke. Very funny."

His corduroys brush against my shoulder as he eases besides me on the sidewalk. I wince at the smell of smoke floating around him.

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