it's finally happening!

It is known that I don't like surprises very much. That being said, my finding the ring was utterly, completely, wholly accidental. At that point we had been together for seven years--seven years of movie dates, of late night texts, of long phone calls while we went to different colleges two hours apart. The fact we were still very much together in my senior year of college meant that, in my opinion, we had solidified our mutual commitment to each other. The next step was backing it up with legal formality. And we had gone shopping for a ring. One of the small-ish chain jewelers in our hometown had been having a sale, a fine excuse "just to look". We had gotten shown around lots of different rings, some flashy, some not. I had gravitated toward one in particular: a small amethyst, oval cut, flanked by a few small diamonds on a simple band. I had even gotten my finger sized by the sales associate. But we had not walked out with a purchase. Well, I had not walked out with a purchase. Many moons after this, it was a weekend in November. One of our long weekends, where we could be in the same physical space from Friday evening to Sunday afternoon, always at the expense of Jake's driving energy and gas money. And because it was a weekend in November in Starkville, and because Jake worked food delivery at the time, I was spending a good portion of Saturday on my own in Jake's apartment. And then I needed a pair of scissors. I legitimately cannot remember why I needed scissors that very moment. It was probably to open some stubborn packaging for a phone charger, because I'd left mine two hours away. Jake kept no office supplies on top of that dinky apartment desktop, but the dinky little desk had a drawer. So naturally I opened it. There were no scissors. Instead, simply, was a small, simple, white box. Of course I opened it. And inside was that lovely amethyst ring, shiny and new. I had to sit on that knowledge for almost five whole months. (Worth it, though.)