The Seat They Never Saved and the Offer I Finally Took novel · Chapter 23 of 24
Chapter 23: The Ring on My Hand
Halvorsen and Sons was a narrow shop on Nicollet with a bell on the door and a very old man behind the counter.
I put the ring on the glass and told him who I was.
He put on his loupe and turned it over in his fingers for a long minute.
"I remember this one," he said. "I remember it because I didn't cut it."
"The slip says you did."
"The slip says what the young man asked me to write." He lowered the loupe. "He wanted the paper to say size five and completed, so he'd have something to hold up. I told him a 1961 band with a name inside doesn't get cut for anyone."
"And you wrote it anyway."
"I did, and I've been ashamed since." He met my eyes. "I'm eighty-one, and I wanted him out of my shop. That's not a good enough reason."
I looked at the little green stone under the lamp.
"Thank you for not cutting it," I said.
"Would you like it cleaned?"
"Please."
He polished it with a soft cloth until the gold went warm.
When he handed it back, I slid it on my right hand, out of habit.
Then I took it off again, and held it in my palm, and thought about a coat rack.
That night, Tobias made soup, badly.
He admitted this in advance.
We ate it on the gray couch with our feet tangled, and it tasted like salt and effort, and I ate every spoonful.
"I want to do something," I said, when the bowls were empty.
"Tell me."
"First, I want you to sit there and not talk."
"All right."
"And not offer to do the dishes."
He closed his mouth.
I picked up the ring from the coffee table.
Keep reading free with an account. Start The Seat They Never Saved and the Offer I Finally Took from Chapter 1, then sign up free to read the rest of this chapter.
← Chapter 22 · All chapters · Chapter 24 →
Want to keep talking to characters like these? Chat with AI romance characters: AI Boyfriend · AI Girlfriend · Dark Romance · Fantasy Romance · BL (Boys’ Love) · Billionaire Boyfriend · Mafia Boyfriend · Possessive Boyfriend · Hockey Boyfriend · Older Boyfriend · K-Drama Boyfriend · Anime Boyfriend · Vampire Boyfriend · Werewolf Boyfriend · Demon Boyfriend · Fae Romance · GL (Girls’ Love) · Anime Girlfriend · Goth & Alt Girlfriend · Gamer Girlfriend · Tsundere Girlfriend · Fantasy Girlfriend