Restoration in the River

Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds

Mark stared at the promise rings that the jeweller was offering to him, nothing he was offering was under five thousand dollars.

"What does your wife like in stones?" The jeweller asked.

"Diamonds, and the bigger, the better!" Mark said, wondering how much this was going to hurt his wallet.

"Have you seen the latest of our collection Dr Hatchford?" The jeweller asked to which he produced a stunning sapphire and diamond ring.

"She's not big on amethysts though" Mark chewed on his lip but the ring was gorgeous, he knew Emmaline would love it, however.

"It's not an amethyst doctor, it's a sapphire, a rare sapphire, normally they are a brilliant blue, but they come in pink, purple and a range of yellows to oranges amongst other colours. But pink and purple sapphires are the rarest!"

"So how much is this one?" Mark asked, straight to the point.

"Twenty-six thousand dollars," the jeweller said.

Mark could have died.

"So the ring is 14K White Gold with a 3.50 Carat Sapphire and 0.86 Carat of Diamonds" He continued, not paying attention to Mark who was finding it very hard not to crumple in a heap on the floor. "If you buy this for your wife you will certainly be in her good books, and besides Mia deserves something as rare and exquisite as this piece!"

"Hmph, does she?" He thought to himself. "She deserves payback for what she did to Emmy! I wonder how she'd feel if someone slashed her face in a popular restaurant?!"

"Dr? Dr Hatchford? Mark??" The jeweller brought him back to reality.

"Oh sorry, I was just picturing how good it would look on Mia's hand!" He quickly made up.

"So, would you like to purchase the ring? It is your wife's size but she can bring it in anytime if she needs it resized!" The jeweller continued to push. He was hell-bent on selling the ring.

"Yes, yes you have a sale!" Mark finally relented getting his cheque book out.

"Wonderful! I'll put it in a special box, just for Mia! Is it for a special occasion?"

"No, she really wanted a promise ring that's all!"

"Did you happen to see the photo your sister was in on Instagram? Cape Town in Africa with Mr Julian Lennon where, did he propose? And the ring looked so plain and cheap! That won't last! The attention of the media and the fans will soon drive a wedge between them, celebrities should ONLY marry their own kind! He could have his pick of any female celebrity he wants, why choose just a common doctor?"

Mark felt terrible inside, had they still be talking she would have rung him by now and told him everything like she used to once upon a time.

"I'm just a common anesthesiologist, Samuel" Mark found his voice.

"Yes but you hold peoples lives in your hands, she just deals with people coming in with a cold or something so minor!" The jeweller continued to run his beloved sister down.

"You know Samuel? Keep the ring! I'm not forking out twenty-six thousand for a fucking ring!" He finally snapped, ripping up the cheque he had just written out. "My wife can get her own damn promise ring!"

He stormed out of the store to the shocked look on the jeweller's face.

He found a quiet place, sat down and called Harvey. He wasn't quite game enough to ring his sister in case Julian answered. He didn't want to admit it but he was intimidated by the Englishman.