I did not lose it on purpose.
Okay, so maybe I had gotten into a big fight with Lindsey the night before, but I promise I did not lose the engagement ring I had saved for the right moment right in the back of my closet hidden behind bags of old clothes long due to the donation pile. I knew I wanted to propose, and I had been acting weird in the past days, and of course my oh-so-observant girlfriend, Lindsey, noticed it all. Sometimes, I would thank god for that amazing gift she possessed. Other times, I would curse it. It had it’s perks and it’s downfalls. But that night, she made a humongous deal out of nothing.
“Michael William Smith, listen to me and sit down because I don’t know what you are thinking. Am I some kind of picture placed on the wall just for the mere adoration of a second or two? Every day for the past three months—Yes, Michael, three months! I have been sitting here like some idiotic lame housewife that does nothing and just waits on the man! For one, we aren’t even engaged…” and she kept rambling on and on as I sat on the sofa staring at her, quietly admiring the way her curls made their way around the frame of her face. First they would get in her eyes, and her hands would subconsciously move them aside, and then as she kept on talking, a small curl would stick to her bottom lip, and she would roll her eyes, before moving it aside. I just stared. I stared until I heard the word.
Engaged.
The ring.
I remembered it all, and I started to smile. She was just over-reacting, she most likely thought of the worst, thinking I no longer loved her and had found somebody new. She wanted to know what was going on, she wanted to feel that I still cared. And deep down, she wanted compromise too. So my smile grew, and grew, until I was grinning like the Cheshire cat, and when her eyes reached mine again, after having been frustratedly yelling at random places of my living room, she narrowed her eyes in deep anger.
“What are you smiling about? Do you honestly think this is funny? Because I’m not laughing, so enlighten me with your humor.” Her voice spoke cold like stone, and I stood up calmly walking towards her with an easy smile playing on my lips, as her brows furrowed and her face got darker with every step I took closer to her. Before she had the time to move away, I placed my hands on her shoulders and that was when she gave me the nastiest look I’d ever seen. Placing her hands on her lean waist, she then began to talk again. “Get your hands off me, Smith.” She said in a collected yet cold voice.
“Honey, you don’t understand. Nothing has been going on. Everything is fine, it’s actually more than fine, my love!” I said with a big smile on my face, and I saw the doubt on her eyes, as her face went from very angry, to simply confused.
“What-” but I didn’t let her finish, as I held a finger up, and backed away, dashing into my room. I ran straight to my closet, furiously moving away the old bags of clothes that had the long over-due to a trip into the donation charity box. As I moved the last bag away, I felt my heart stopping.
The small box that held the ring was no longer there in the place I’d left it.
I felt as if the world had stopped. Just put yourself, in my shoes for a second… you would have been flabbergasted. I started to move things in and out of my closet all around. Shirts went flying across the room, pants fell of their hangers. Everything was a mess. It was ludicrous. It was impossible to have lost a ring just like that. It’s not like it grew tiny little white-gold legs. That would have been cool though. Okay no, focus Michae!
“Michael, what are you doing?” I heard Lindsey’s voice behind me. Turning around her I saw how confused and surprised she looked by the mess, I’d managed to make in under two minutes. Well, ladies, those are the powers us men posses.
“Lindsey, did you clean my closet? Lately, have you been here?” I ask hoping for some answers or at least what I hoped she’d tell me would help me find out what was going on. Maybe last night I just misplaced it or something. Surely, that happens.
“No, I haven’t cleaned your closet in like 2 months, and I guess now I’ll get to it…” she said confused with a shrug. Dear… no wonder my closet looked like a raccoon had been making a secret nest for it’s babies, in there. Not that I’d have anything against that, I love animals. Lindsey does too, don’t get me wrong, but I don’t think she’d appreciate them living in a nest of my clothes. Seriously Michael, focus! Eye on the prize! The ring, you idiot!
“Do you remember me calling you last night or any weird behavior?” I asked suddenly, a light bulb going bright on top of my head. I think I had an idea of what may had happened.
“Well, I got a random phone of your phone call at three in the morning, but I just saw it this morning.” She said with a raised brow, leaning over to grab a red button from the ground and palce it on a hanger, until it got stuck to my black jeans by the buttons. Well, I do feel bad for her. I’ll definitely give her a hand, you know… once I find the ring! I scowled at myself.
“Shoot!” I said sitting on my bed, and passing my hands over my face, letting out a frustrated yell. I had definitely sleep walked last night. How bloody amazing.
Slowly standing up from my bed, I stood in the middle of the room trying to remember something, anything, from what I could have possibly done last night. I got closer to my bed again, and sat down, thinking hard. Maybe I’d flushed it down the toilet… obviously it wasn’t the most enlightening thought, but it could have happened. Besides, I was nervous, frustrated, annoyed, and confused. Maybe even a little angry. Okay, well, scratch that. I was seething angry, but trying my hardest not to let it radiate into the atmosphere. Otherwise, Lindsey and I would be able to raise the dead with our argument.
Suddenly, it hit me. The cupboards. It had to be there somewhere, because last night before bed my kitchen was completely clean, and this morning when I woke up, it was like a tornado had passed through my kitchen alone. Treacherous sight. I honestly believe that I should take some classes or something on organization. My apartment alone is bad enough, you do not want to see my office at work. Now that is a piece of art.
Upon entering my kitchen, in long strides, I finally reached the mess. I threw open all the cupboard doors and drawers, and I got to looking for it. It had to be here somewhere. I know it did, because where else could it possibly be? If not here, I was doomed. I didn’t even buy insurance for the ring because when you buy your girlfriend a ring, the thought of you losing it doesn’t even cross your mind! I mean, maybe if anyone were to lose it, surely it would be her, right? The one who will be wearing it for life, not me! But maybe that is just payback from karma for not giving it to her the second I got it, and waiting like a chicken.
As I continued to search throughout the drawers and cupboards, I’d continue to turn out empty handed. I was losing patience, I mean, once again, it could not have magically grown legs and left the kitchen! But perhaps, it wasn’t even in the kitchen to begin with. My mind was swirling with ideas and thoughts. If not in the kitchen, where else could it even be? In my room’s balcony? In the dirt of one of my mom’s beloved potted plants that she kept in my other small balcony from the living room by “accident”, but really I know it was just so I could “Take care of something that was living, and have practice for my future children to not be hopeless with me as a father”, I really do have a lovely mom, don’t I? She’s a darling. She was very excited about the whole plants thing, too. Well, I was too, because I mostly didn’t mind, until I killed Carla. The peach plant. Then I had to replace it and hope my mom never noticed.
For Christ’s sake! I need to find this ring before I go crazy! I’m thinking about everything except that ring!
After searching and searching not only in the kitchen, but throughout the entire apartment, the balconies, and all the plants (including the new Carla), I still had no such luck. I sat down on the kitchen floor staring at the wall, with my hands on my chin, well aware that Lindsey, was still in my room, cleaning up the mess. I wanted to get up and go help her, but I couldn’t. I felt glued to the floor. I just wanted to find the ring, but it was long gone from what I could see. I let out a strangled muffled sound, and laid my body back, hitting the cold tiled floor. Closing my eyes, I felt my body being taken over by sleep, and fighting it over, I managed to pry my eyes open once again.
But as I turned my head for a second, I saw something bright out of the corner of my eyes. It was in the bottom cupboards of my kitchen, in the very back. I felt myself just stare at the small luminous object. If I had been insane, I’d say I heard angel’s sing Hallelujah right in my ear with trumpets and piano’s nad violins’s and harps. But no, I just stared for a few more seconds relishing on the view, and making sure I was not asleep. And then,I rapidly stood up, and let my hands wonder over to it, grasping the small object into my hands.
The ring.
By that point, I almost cried of happiness. I quickly ran out of the kitchen, and into my room where I found Lindsey fast asleep on my bed. Maybe it was the nerves, maybe the excitement, or maybe the thrill, but something inside of me, pushed myself to wake her up, and soon enough I found myself on one knee staring up at the love of my life, with a ring in hand, and her eyes wide like a deer caught in headlights.
“I don’t know what to say. I always know what to say, and I promise I had this big speech planned out, and it was perfect. You were going to love it. But I forgot it… I have it written down somewhere, and I could go and get it, but I think I will fall and break a bone, quite possibly a rib, because of the nerves. I just know that I love you, and that I want my whole life with you. I may not be good with plants, and I may have killed Carla, but I know that I will take care of you, and our children, however many you want. Lindsey, my love, I’m out of words here and I can only just think about how amazing everything is with you in my life, and will you marry me?” my whole brain betrayed me as I said all those words. I’d wanted to make this perfect and romantic… well, too late now…
Looking up, expecting a reply from her, my body at the brink of almost turning into shaking leaf, I saw tears in her eyes. More nerves filled me. Oh dear god, she’s going to think it’s too soon! We have only been together for 6 months! Maybe it was too soon for her, I should have waited… well, I had waited, that’s why I lost the ring! Did she not want this? Did she—but then I saw her smile, her dazzling breath-taking smile. Then and there, with that small detail I knew what her answer was without her even saying the words.
“Yes! I will marry you!” she said, and planted a quick kiss on my lips, but breaking apart quickly to study my face, with a serious one. “If you’re joking I will kill you.” She said and I shook my head kind of scared. Never get in the way of a woman or proposals, those things are pretty serious, you don’t joke about that! “And I want four kids, by the way!” she said giggling and I nodded.
“I love you!” I said, and she kissed me with all the love in the world. I knew then, that whatever I lost, even if I lost myself, I would always find it, with her here.