A Dangerous Spark

𝚸𝐑𝚶𝐋𝚶𝐆𝐔𝚬

"Hello, may I help you?" I ask the young man standing in front of me.

He seems to not have been expecting the question because he jolts backward in surprise. When his eyes meet mine, he gives a sheepish smile. "Um, yes," he says, rubbing the back of his neck. "I'm looking for a ring for my girlfriend. I'm planning on proposing to her tomorrow."

A smile spreads across my face, and a feeling of delight passes over me. No matter how many people walk into this jewelry store to buy wedding rings, the fluttery feeling I get in my stomach when I hear people talk about love never diminishes. I can't help but hope that I'll find love one day. In order for that to happen, though, my luck would really have to change.

"That's lovely," I say in answer to the man. "What type of wedding ring do you think your girlfriend would like? We do have rings with real diamonds. The rings with diamonds come in one carot or two carots. The bands come in silver or gold," I tell him all of the measurements and styles available.

"Um, well, I," the man stutters, making me think that I may have overwhelmed him a little bit.

"Does your girlfriend like more extravagant or simpler things?" I ask, attempting to make the decision easier for him.

"Simple, I suppose," the man responds after a few seconds, during which he looked to be deep in thought. "She was born on a farm."

I can feel my smile returning as I place a comforting hand on the man's back. "Well then, my friend, I think I know exactly what you need."

My feet move so fast that I fear I may trip on the rug as I race to the back of the store. When I reach my destination, my eyes immediately land on what I knew would be here. A beautiful wedding ring with a silver band and a one carot diamond is laying in the middle of a display cage. It even sparkles in the sun when I take it out and place it in a box.

"How about this one?" I ask the man, and I know it's the one when his face lights up.

"It's perfect!" he declares, and after checking the price, he hands me the correct amount of money.

As he leaves the store, I happily sigh. "Another satisfied customer," I say to myself. My attention suddenly snaps to the clock hanging on the wall, and I realize that it's already past three in the afternoon, which means that my shift is officially over.

Since the weather is beautiful today, I walked to my job this morning, which means that I get the pleasure of walking home as well. The main things that I notice on the walk back are that the flowers have completely bloomed and that there are a lot more birds than there have been in the past few months, indicating that summer has truly begun. A few puddles remain from the rainstorm a couple of days ago, but besides that, everything is completely dry thanks to the hot sun.

A small pond is located off to the the side of the road, which has been there for as long as I can remember. Since I grew up in Minnesota, I'm used to a lot of lakes and ponds. They only add to the
beautiful scenery.

As I pass the pond, my house comes into view. It's the most prominent house in the area because of its bright blue coat of paint and its large balcony. Whenever someone comes to visit, I always joke and tell them that they just have to look for the house that reminds them of a bluejay. I've never had anyone tell me that they had trouble finding my house after I gave them that description.

When I finally make it to my house, I grab my key, which I keep in my outdoor lamp, and unlock my door. I don't care what anyone says. Keeping your key in a potted plant or underneath a welcome mat is just plain obvious. The people who do that are practically waving the burglars over to their houses.