Page 257 of Micah
Just like she dreamed.
She still doesn't know I picked up the keys yesterday.
The contractors finished early.
Tonight, I'm giving them to her.
But that's not the only surprise.
My hand slips into my jeans pocket.
The little velvet box is still there.
I've checked at least twelve times today.
Probably thirteen.
Inside sits the prettiest sapphire I've ever seen.
Deep blue.
Rich enough to swallow the light.
It’s the exact shade of the midnight sky through the skylight I installed over our bed.
Most nights, after we've crawled beneath the covers, she'll lie there with her head on my chest, staring up through the glass while the stars blink to life one by one.
She says the sky reminds her of me.
Quiet.
Steady.
Always there.
But I think she's got it backward.
The night sky reminds me of her.
Endless.
Beautiful.
The kind of thing a man could spend the rest of his life looking at and still discover something new every night.
The sapphire rests in an antique platinum setting surrounded by tiny diamonds, each one catching the light like stars scattered around a midnight sky.
The second I saw it tucked away in that dusty little antique shop, I knew.
It wasn't just a ring.
It was hers.
Timeless.
Perfect.
Just like her.
