Not A

My friend, Rose, was just a bit older, but a great deal wiser and an inspiration to me in so many ways.

She knew the ferry would be arriving for her in the foreseeable future on the winter afternoon we lunched and when she told me of her plans.

“I have already begun to distribute my treasures, Anne,” she said when I noticed she was no longer wearing her exquisite diamond solitaire.

I thought about that conversation as I drove home later that afternoon but then forgot about it until recently when I gazed at my own small collection of jewelry.

It is not significant in monetary value, but irreplaceable in memory. And I am reluctant to dispose of those magic moments in time even though I know my friend was wise and astute in her decision.

My wedding band is not jeweled nor from a famed collection.

We bought it the day before our wedding in Lambert Brothers on the corner of 60th Street and Lexington Avenue.

The store stood at the northeast corner of Lexington and 60th, and was memorable because of the magnificent four-faced clock advertising the store. It was quiet without other shoppers on the Sunday afternoon we entered.

I had seen the ring in the window earlier in the week when I was en route to Bloomingdale’s, and my lover was still in the nation’s capital awaiting his final interview with J Edgar.

I remember asking the dignified salesperson to “hold it” and promising I would return with my future husband for the purchase.

He agreed, but I saw the doubt in his eyes and realized he wasn’t certain I had a future husband or any concrete plans to return. However, he agreed the ring would be removed from display for 48 hours,

And I have been ever grateful that it was there waiting for us before the week was over.

My ring is a simple band, white gold, with orange blossoms cut into the metal and dotted with tiny diamond chips. And is exactly all I ever wanted, never craving the solitaire, or precious gems that are still traditional and chosen by most young brides.

Now almost a century later, if I heed my friend Rose’s advice, it is time to give this small band to another.

And yet I cannot, or will not, because whenever I gaze at the third finger of my left hand, I recall all the blessings God granted two young people in love a very long time ago,

And allowed us to have so many dreams come true.