The Ring

She was peering out the window, loose strands of dark hair brushing against her cheekbones, watching for the mailman as she did every afternoon.

"There he goes." She murmured, and as the white truck moved to the next mailbox, she rose from the ottoman and trotted into the yard to retrieve the mail. Surely there were bills to pay--there always were.

Evan, of course, was sitting at the kitchen table, coffee in hand. He wondered how many nights they would spend together before she would finally let him move in. He supposed that she would eventually, once he popped the question, but in order to do so, he would have to buy a ring. There was time for that later.

By then, Ellen had returned, this time with an ad for Ulta in her right hand and an envelope in her left.

"Looks like my aunt Judy finally got around to sending me a birthday card," she scoffed, tearing it open. "Two months late."

Evan got up from his chair and wrapped her in a hug from behind, burying his face into the top of her head. She smelled of strawberries.

"Better late than never."

"It's better than Grams, at least. She doesn't even remember my name," She set her card on the counter and grabbed her car keys. "I'm off to work, I'll call you later. Remember to lock the door on your way out." She brushed a kiss on Evan's cheek, and he raised a hand to the place of contact out of reflex. It still felt new, even though they had been this way for almost 2 years now. Certainly they weren't getting younger, and Evan knew that he would have to do it soon, before she lost interest.

"Bye, El."

"Love you." He heard her faint call from inside the garage. He stood there a few moments longer, listening to the car start up and chug its way down the driveway and onto the street. When all was quiet, he gathered his belongings.

On his way to his own car, an old Chevy Impala whose brakes squealed when it rained, his phone buzzed.

"This is Evan Meyer."

It was the boss. He wanted him to take a trip up to Milwaukee. The office there was looking forward to a presentation from their company.

"You're picking me? Sir, are you certain about this?"

"Of course, Evan. Don't make me regret this decision. Make Prism proud for me."

Before Evan could so much as thank him, he'd already hung up. That was just his style.

He had no time, really, so instead of driving down to the gas station like he had planned, he made a detour to his house, dressing quickly. In order to make it to the meeting on time, he would have to be on the train in 20 minutes or less. It took 12 minutes to get to the station if he sped.

Evan hesitated in the kitchen for a moment, deciding that whatever was being forgotten would not be missed if he couldn't remember it.

He made it--barely. Chicago was about 2 hours from Milwaukee, give or take, and somehow timing had worked in his favor, because he was able to get one of the last tickets for the train departing at 1:50. The meeting was at 4 p.m.

As he sat quietly, poring through a magazine, he thought of Ellen. He always thought of her, unfortunately even when he knew he had other things to worry about. She always looked lovely. He thought of her favorite dress, the one with the pink flowers all over it, that she liked to pair with a big, floppy hat and dainty pearls. The queen of vintage. At least, the modern version. Evan smiled to himself. The first time they'd kissed, she had transferred a smear of red lipstick onto his face, and when he got home, he had to force himself to wash it off before he went to bed. She'd smelled like greenery that day because she'd worked all morning in the garden; Ellen had always been a gardening fanatic. Especially tomatoes and rhubarb.

It took him a moment to realize that the train had stopped. Apparently, hours had passed and he was at his stop.

The meeting was just okay. They always were rather boring, in his opinion. Prism Commercial Print & Design was a boring company, and the clients were boring, too. Evan's only hope was that, eventually, someone more interesting would be looking to hire him. It wasn't exactly a joy to sit around designing banners and brochures all day. He thought designing buildings would be much better. Much more fun.

On his way back to the station, he noticed a flyer for a closing jeweler, stating that all of their products were currently on sale. The store was just down the street. Was it a sign? He was about to find out. Before he could stop himself, he was walking through the door, and immediately approached by a bald, middle-aged man wearing a suit and enough jewels to make the Queen of England jealous. He smiled brightly.

"Welcome, welcome! We are entering our final two weeks before we shut down, so everything in-store is 40% off today!"

"Great," Evan scanned the store cautiously before adding, "I'm looking for an engagement ring for my girlfriend."

"Oh, how lovely! We have a variety of these here-" The man scurried over to a counter against the wall opposite of the door. "-and also over in the corner." He pointed towards another glass case of rings near the cash register.

"I'm on a budget, but what're the nicest ones you have here?"

The man, whose name tag read "Manuel", replied:

"If you're talking about quality, and I assume you are, the best ones, in my opinion, are by the register. Princess cut seems to be the most popular lately."

"I don't know the difference, to be honest." Evan admitted. He felt his cheeks flush a light shade of pink.

"Not to worry, not to worry. I can tell you all about it. Follow me."

In about 10 minutes, Evan knew all about the pros and cons of the emerald versus the princess cut, along with what looked best with skin tone in terms of metal and stone color.

There was one particular near-colorless round stone on an ornate-looking band that he thought Ellen would like.

"How much?" He asked.

Manuel spoke in a hushed tone, and Evan's heart dropped into the pit of his stomach. Even with the discount, he would have to donate a limb to be able to afford it. He did want to please Ellen, but he also didn't want to be in debt for the rest of his life.

"I have to think about this." He pulled out his cell phone, and Manuel nodded.

"Take your time. I have to run this file to the back room, and when I come back we can talk about other options, if you like."

"Thank you."

It was at that moment Evan realized he was alone. In the store, anyway.

Surely he'd be alone emotionally, as well, if he did not take action soon. There was no time to think. He had the ring in his hand (Manuel had brought it out to show him and trusted him not to walk away with it), and he was about to disappoint him. Nobody was around.

Evan slipped the ring in his pocket and left the store silently as a shadow.

On the train ride home, he fingered the slender velvet box in his coat pocket. It was so wrong, but hadn't so many others done the same? Surely he was not going to be the last to steal something, either. But an engagement ring?

He was going to get caught. He must.

He arrived at home in a flurry of panic. Evan shoved the box under his mattress just as the landline rung, and the blood in his veins froze. He let out a sigh of relief when he saw that it was Ellen on the caller ID.

Right, Ellen. The only reason he had gotten into this dilemma in the first place.

"Where have you been?! I've called your cell phone like, 12 times." She sounded irritated. He had forgotten to tell her that he was out of town.

"I'm sorry, baby, my boss called and sent me to Milwaukee for an important meeting with a client. I forgot to call you. I'll make it up to you tonight, okay?"

"You better. Don't you know what today is?" Evan paused to think for a moment. Clearly it was something important, and if he didn't figure it out in the next three seconds, there would be trouble.

"Of course I do. That's why I said I would see you tonight."

"Good. We wouldn't want to miss our two-year anniversary." She snapped. Before Evan could defend himself, the line was dead. Maybe this was a hint that he was supposed to do it tonight--but how? There was no way he could give her a stolen ring. No way.

She arrived 3 minutes past 8, in a red dress that clung to her figure in such a way that Evan couldn't help but notice. Her lips were just as red, and she carried a sparkly silver clutch that he thought looked new. Upon locking her eyes with him, she made a jagged path through the maze of tables, watching her feet the entire time to ensure that she did not trip. She was wearing heels.

"You look nice." He offered with a lopsided grin, and she shot him a cold smile.

"Thanks, and you as well." She perched herself on the chair and began to mull over the items on the menu. A well-dressed waiter promptly approached their table, a notepad in his hand.

"Good evening, may I start you off with something to drink?" They both ordered champagne; it was a tradition every time that they came here. "Very well. I will be right back with those."

He walked away, leaving them alone.

"Ellen, are you upset with me?" He gazed at her face until she finally caved and met his eyes, her lips pursed.

"It just seems to me that you forgot today was our anniversary," Evan stared at the tablecloth with guilt, but only for a moment. Not a moment too short, however. "You did, didn't you?" Her eyebrows were now furrowed; her cheeks were flushed.

"On the contrary," He said, "I wanted to make it a surprise, so I neglected to talk about it until tonight. Though I did have a work thing earlier, which was why I didn't contact you this morning."

She still seemed skeptical, but gave him a shrug of dismissal. They began to discuss other unrelated matters--until the main course was served. Ellen had ordered a fancy lobster dinner, and it was brought to her on a silver platter, complete with a dome lid, just like in the movies. The problem, of course, was that the lid was normally not a part of it.

"What's this?" She lifted it curiously. The waiter hovered over her, smiling in anticipation. In front of her laid a lobster, as per usual. Along with a small velvet box. Evan immediately got up from the table and got down on a single knee. It seemed to him that the entire restaurant was watching with awe. A cold bead of sweat trickled down the back of his neck and into his dress-shirt. Ellen put her hand over her mouth.

"Oh, my God."

"Ellen Faye, will you marry me?"

She said yes. That was what mattered. He slipped the ring on her finger, and in that moment, all else was forgotten. As far as his new fiancé was concerned, he hadn't forgotten their anniversary, after all.

Still, Evan couldn't help but worry. Surely they would be hunting for him. Would they? Over a ring? 2 hours away? It was possible that they could track him down, even though he hadn't presented an ID or even told the man his name. There was always A Way.

Ellen was admiring the diamond on her finger. She was tearing up, smearing the winged eyeliner she had put on for the occasion.

I-It's beautiful, Ev," She choked. "I'm so sorry about earlier."

He moved his chair closer to her and pulled her face into his chest.

"No worries. I told you I'd make it up to you."

"I'm the luckiest woman alive." She blinked away the tears, smiling at him.

"I think I'm the lucky one."

And maybe he was. The wedding band was purchased without a problem. Nobody even questioned where he had gotten the engagement ring (although he had mentally decided on telling whoever asked that it was from an family-owned business, so it couldn't be tracked). It didn't feel right. He was sure he couldn't tell Ellen, but there must have been someone he could confide in.

Evan decided to tell his therapist.

"You don't need me to tell you that stealing is wrong; you know this." Dr. Matthews was peering at Evan over a pair of horn-rimmed glasses. Though he was supposed to be objective, it was definitely a judgmental look that he was receiving.

"I know I should come clean, but then Ellen would be mad at me, and even worse, I couldn't be with her because I'd be in prison or something. She wouldn't want to be married to a criminal." He put his face in his hands. It was quiet except for the rhythmic ticking of the clock. Evan excused himself. He had to get away.

He was pulling into the driveway when a squad car parked next to him. A tall, mustached officer got out and approached Evan's window. He rolled it down, swallowing a lump in his throat.

"Are you Evan Meyer?"

"Yes, sir."

"Can you please step out of the vehicle?"

He complied. The officer brought out a pair of handcuffs.

"You are under arrest for retail theft...you have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to speak to an attorney, and to have an attorney present during any questioning. If you cannot afford a lawyer, one will be provided for you at government expense."

As the cop told him to lower his head and step into the car, he stole one final glance towards the window of the house. Ellen was standing there, watching him, holding the phone in her hand.