Almost Easy

The Ring

Only Zoey gets a Pov in this one! Enjoy!

Zoey's POV

Brian followed me into the kitchen just as the rest of my family came in and started to help with clean up. My mom and dad sat in their recliners watching the kids play with the toys they'd brought into the front room.

"Zoey, Edward said he can call a plumber to come and get your ring tomorrow if you want," Zina said with a smile on her face, proud to be helpful.
"Oh okay," I said sheepishly, hoping that the stupid fake ring wouldn't fade or lose any stones sitting at the bottom of the damn kitchen drain.
Brian's eyebrows crashed together "Where's your wedding ring?"
I showed him my bare finger. "I accidentally dropped it down the drain while doing dishes."
"You what?" he said a bit panicked
I lowered my voice "It's probably cheaper to find another one than pay for the plumber."
"Since when are you worried about cheap?" He spun toward my brother in law. "Edward, are there any wrenches here?"
"Um sure, yeah I think Jim has some in the garage," Edward answered
Brian looked at me. "Let's go check it out."
Everyone looked at me expectantly and I motioned for him to follow me. Once we were out of hearing distance and in the garage, I turned to him. "Do you want to tell me why you're freaking out?"
"Where would your dad keep the wrenches?" he asked, ignoring me.
I pointed to the multi drawer tool chest and he proceeded to search them.
"Brian, what are you doing?" I asked, trying not to lose my temper.
"Trying to rescue your ring," he said as he peered down at me with his dark brown eyes. "Grab that orange bucket."
I picked it up."Why?"
"Because we'll need it."
"No I mean why are you so crazy about rescuing the ring?" I asked exasperated.
"Because it's your wedding ring," he said tightly. "Every woman has a sentimental attachment to her wedding ring."
"I don't. You bought it at a pawn shop for a 100 bucks."
His dark eyes clouded. "Who told you that?"
"You did."
He muttered something I didn't catch and I started to get getting a creepy feeling. "You did buy it at pawnshop, right?"
"Not exactly," came his muffled reply as he pulled two wrenches from the tool chest and placed them in the bucket.
"Then where did you get it?" I asked cautiously as he took it from me.
"At...this store."
"What store, Brian?"
His voice became harsh "How am I supposed to remember?"
"It was less than a week ago! You told me the ring was a fake. It's a fake, right?"
"Define 'fake.'" He said quickly as we walked back toward the house
"As in, 'Not genuine.'" I replied, trying to keep up with his long strides.
"Oh."
I stopped before entering the house and grabbed his arm."Brian?"
He faced me. "It's not a fake."
"It's the real thing?"
"That's what I said, isn't it?"
"Why didn't you tell me that from the beginning?"
"Because.. because...I don't know."
"I don't believe this. I would have been more careful!" I thought of all the places I'd left the ring lying around, and I wanted to kick him. We walked through the door and back into the kitchen.
"Found some," Brian said pulling the assortment of wrenches and Zacky grabbed ten gallon orange bucket.
I watched numbly as he climbed under the sink, and with the help of the Zack and Ed, began to disassemble the sink. Even my father came in to supervise.
"Got it!" he said a moment later and everyone cheered in response. He climbed from under the sink and pushed the faucet to the good side of the sink and began to rinse it off.
"It's so beautiful!" my mother cried getting a closer look as Brian cleaned it.
"Is that Assher cut morganite with diamonds? So delicate and expensive, " Gena asked examining the ring "Such a rare find. You really went all out with that one, Bri. That's so sweet."
"See? I'm sweet," Brian said grabbing my hand and slipped the ring back on. "Let's be a little more careful this time."
I looked at my family who resumed their cleanup activity and hissed lowly. "I liked having a fake ring. Why don't you ever do what you're supposed to?"
"Because I can never figure out what that is with you," he replied hoarsely, so only I could hear.
I looked at him, frustrated and confused. The damn ring was supposed to be a fake. Just like this marriage that I'd convinced him to go along with. But it was real. The ring, I mean. Why would he buy such an expensive ring? Why did he care so much if I lost it? Was it really that expensive? Or was it because he might actually...nope, don't go there Zoey. Just because you have feelings for him, doesn't mean he has them for you. Its just a game for him. I could only imagine the expression in my face as I had my internal debate. It was too much to process. Zina was staring at me with a raised eyebrow.
I said a quick "Excuse me," and walked out of the kitchen and up the stairs to my old bedroom.
I closed the door and threw myself on to my old bed and tried to figure out how I was going to last the next six months.