she lied. There was no real reason to lie. But it felt good. Like she and this woman had something in common � mystery.
�Can I have the ring, please? I must be on my way.� She had places to go. Were people expecting her? Or was there no one? Perhaps it was possible that even a place was capable of missing such a person. That time expected her to be somewhere at a particular time, and if she was absent, it would pause to find out what happened. Harriet never noticed time pausing, but then again, it never did for her.
�Miss, would you give me the ring, please?� the woman asked. �I can describe it to you if you would like. Would you like that?�
The question struck Harriet as somewhat odd. �Sure,� she said. �I think I would like that.�
�Well, it�s a ring, first off. A circle, you know? Golden with a loopy pattern on the outside. The inside had something engraved on it, from what I remember; oh, what was it? Some phrase. Something like �I�ll always love you,� or something like that. That it? Does that match the description?�
Indeed, the woman had described Harriet�s ring, for the most part, but somehow it did not satisfy her like she had hoped it would. The woman hadn�t worded it quite how Harriet would have, and this made her suspicious. Had she gotten lucky? Perhaps there was another ring out there just like this one, and that was the ring this woman was looking for.
�Hey is that it?�
Harriet pulled the ring from her pocket and studied it as ran her index finger across the engraving on the inside. �Yes. I guess you
got it right.�
�Great, can I have it back?�
Harriet�s eyes darted from the ring to the woman and back to the ring. Was this it? Had it all led up to this point? She was going to give this woman her ring, and that would be it. The story would end.
�Miss?�
�You weren't quite what I was expecting.�
The woman pulled her head back in surprise. �How do you mean?� she asked. Harriet didn't respond. She just stared at the woman, trying to analyze her, the situation. Trying to figure out what it was she actually felt.
�How do you mean?� asked the woman again.
But Harriet wasn't even listening anymore. Nor was she even looking at the woman. Harriet had her hand slightly extended out in front of her, palm open to the sky like the flat top of a pedestal displaying the beautiful golden ring she had found only hours ago. She thought about just giving it to the woman. After all, it was nearing three o'clock, and Nicholas and Sarah would be getting out of school soon. She should have been getting back to her laundry.