Green Stone Ring Read online

  “She isn’t that much younger than you, and okay, we all make mistakes. But you can’t say ‘what if’ at this point. ‘Now that’ is the issue.”

  “You’re right… you’re right. Thanks, buddy. You are a true friend, and now I know what I have to do.”

  “I can spend the night and sleep on the floor if you want me to.”

  “No, no, I’m good. You’ve been a great sounding board, and you’re the best. Thanks.” Ric gave a man hug to Franco.

  The next day, between classes, Ric went to the university housing and talked to the clerk. He explained he needed family housing. Was that possible? She looked at his scholarship, checked lists, and made calls. Then she told him there was an efficiency apartment available starting the second semester, and he could put the housing money from his scholarship toward the rent. He said he would take it.

  After his next class, he called the law firm and made an appointment to meet with the office manager late that afternoon when he was finished with classes for the day.

  “Come in, Mr. Santini,” Nancy said. “What can I do for you?”

  Ric wasn’t sure how to approach the subject. “It appears I’m going to be a family man, and I need to know if I can get more hours of work.”

  She assured him the firm was satisfied with his skills and there were probably more hours available than he could possibly work. A schedule was put together that worked around his classes.

  She walked around from her desk and hugged him. “It’ll be okay.”

  It had been two days, and Margarita hadn’t heard from Ric since she told him. She just lay on her bed and slept and cried, not going to classes and eating very little.

  “Come on, Margs, let’s go to the cafeteria.”

  “I’m not hungry. I know he hates me now. I just know he hates me.”

  “Margarita, Ric loves you. You just need to stop thinking the worst. You’ll have to admit you kind of blindsided him. He’s just figuring everything out. Give him time; it’ll be okay.”

  Margarita loved Ric, and she hated that she had disappointed him with her lack of responsibility. She deserved to lose his love.

  Gini finally convinced her to go get some lunch.

  While they were eating, Ric called Margarita and made plans for them to meet at Gary’s Bar and Grill for dinner. They needed to talk.

  Before they met up, he went straight to the big bin full of plastic rings at the South Boston dollar store they had all been to many times, picking two bands with no decoration on them—light gold in color. One was his left ring finger size, and one he guessed was Margarita’s size. He also got a gift bag and picked up a heart-shaped chocolate wrapped in gold foil. The total cost was four dollars.

  At six o’clock Margarita walked into Gary’s. Ric walked to her and hugged her. As they sat across from each other at the table, he picked up her left hand.

  “Margarita, will you be my wife?” His eyes were full of passion.

  She gasped and put her right hand over her mouth. “Oh, Ric, you don’t have to marry me. How can we get married? You’re still in school. I’m still in school. I don’t think that can work.”

  Still holding her hand, he said, “I have reserved an apartment for us starting in December. It’s just an efficiency, but it’s big enough for the two of us for now, and there’s room for a crib when the baby comes. We would only be there for about a year after the baby’s born. When I graduate from law school, I’ll get a good job, and we can get a proper place. I talked to the law firm, and they can give me as many hours as I can work, so we’ll have some money.”

  As he talked, her eyes filled with tears. She couldn’t believe he had done all that in two days. He truly loved her, and he wanted them to be a family.

  He took the bag out of his coat pocket and placed the chocolate heart in front of her.

  “Riti, I love you, and I love our baby. You haven’t answered me; will you marry me?”

  She put her hand back over her mouth. The tears were raining down her cheeks. She picked up the chocolate on her way to sit on his lap, then wrapped her arms around his neck.

  “Yes, I will be your wife. I love you… I love you so much.” She hugged him.

  He put his hand on the back of her head and drew her tightly to him, taking the two rings out of the bag.

  “I know these are pretty cheap, but this is all I can afford for now. I promise someday I’ll buy a gorgeous wedding ring for you.”

  Margarita gave a small laugh as she looked at the rings. “They’re perfect. All I’ll ever want.”

  She grinned with happiness. He had made the right decision to marry her and become a father—this was the right thing to do.

  “Gini, it’s Margarita… Guess what? Ric asked me to marry him… of course I said yes… I know; can you believe it? Listen, we want you and Franco to go to dinner with us.”

  They agreed to meet at the girls’ dorm room.

  Gini quickly ran to the corner store to get some items for a celebration.

  She ran back to the room and cleared off her desk, sprinkled small hearts around, cut the curly ribbon off a bow, and dropped the curls over the hearts; four plastic flutes were set around in the decorations on the desk. She wrote, “We love you…” on the card envelope. As she was writing, Franco walked in the room. He hugged her from behind and kissed her as she turned her head to him.

  “What’s going on?”

  “Margs called.” Gini was still writing. “She and Ric are engaged. They’re on the way over, so I put together a little something to celebrate. Here, sign the engagement card.”

  A few minutes later, Ric and Margarita walked in the door. They had their arms around each other, laughing about something. Gini ran over and hugged Margarita. Franco grabbed Ric and shook his hand, then gave him a quick hug.

  “Congratulations, you two,” Franco said as he side-hugged Margarita.

  They each filled a flute full of Sprite and toasted.

  “Here’s to two of the greatest people on this earth,” Gini said raising her glass. “May you always be happy and in love.”

  “Here, here,” Franco said. “This is just the first of many celebrations we’ll all drink to in the years to come.”

  “Happiness to us all,” Margarita said. They clicked their flutes and took a drink.

  The four of them went to the courthouse together for the marriage ceremony. Margarita looked beautiful in the off-white dress they bought on sale at Downtown Crossing. It looked good on her—setting off her dark complexion—and went perfectly with the flower bouquet Gini had brought. Ric was handsome, wearing his new black interview suit. Everyone on the subway wished the bride and groom good luck. Gini and Franco stood up with them and signed as witnesses. Margarita Lolani Lantaka became Mrs. Margarita Santini.

  Ric and Margarita called her parents. Margarita introduced them to her husband and then explained they were going to have a child. Although it was a shock to her folks, it was also a bit of glowing light. Her father had been ill and housebound for months. The thought of a new life coming into the world was a happy feeling they had not had for some time.

  Ric explained his plan on finishing school, getting a good job, and taking care of his new family. Later, Margarita’s mother told her she liked Ric and was convinced he would take good care of her.

  They moved into their new apartment in December. It was scantily furnished, but it worked for them. A few days after they moved in, Gini brought over Margarita’s mail. There was a letter from her parents:

  Margarita and Ric,

  Enclosed is a check for $5,000. This is the amount we had saved for Margarita’s wedding. We know it’s not much, but hopefully, it will help to pay for some of your expenses. We love you and miss you terribly.”

  Love, Mom and Dad

  Ric appreciated the help, but he was determined to take care of his family on his own.

  On January 12 in the early morning, Ric woke up hearing Margarita crying and groaning in pain.
r />   “Something isn’t right with the baby,” she sobbed.

  He jumped out of bed, dressed, wrapped Margarita up in a blanket, and carried her out to his SUV. An hour after they got to Massachusetts General Emergency, Margarita miscarried.

  They had given her a sedative to calm her and something for the pain. She slept, and Ric sat next to the bed, holding her small hand in his. He spread her fingers out over his large palm. There on her finger was the plastic wedding band. He laid his head down on the bed and cried out loud. She slowly turned her head toward him and gently combed his hair with her fingers.

  “It will be okay, Ric,” she said, quietly. “I love you.”

  He continued crying.

  After the spring semester was over, Margarita decided she should quit school and go to work. Ric disagreed, but she convinced him she could work until he finished his law degree, and then she promised she would go back and finish her schooling.

  She took a full-time position in housekeeping and more hours as a nurse’s aide at the hospital that had treated her so well.

  The last year and a half of law school was grueling for Ric. With Margarita working many hours, Ric studying, attending extra classes and working, it seemed they never saw each other. When they had time off together, they locked themselves in their apartment, turned off their phones, and had an intimate, loving time together.

  For two summers, Franco had worked for an engineering company. Before he started his master’s program, they asked him to go to China on a business trip and work on one of the water treatment projects they were doing there. He was excited about the three-week trip.

  When he walked down a hill in a remote area in the south of China along a small stream, he saw something shiny in the clear water. It was a beautiful, dark green stone with veins of silver and black streaking through the green color. The stone was perfectly smooth and delicate. He stuck it in his pocket and made his way down to the vehicles. That night at dinner with the eight other men, he pulled the rock out of his pocket and placed it on the table.

  “Oh, you vely rucky man, Mr. Regot,” one of the Chinese men said.

  “Why so?”

  “You find loseky lock in rorring stream, that vely rucky. Old saying, give a loseky lock from rorring water to the one you rove and you be vely happy and prosperous rife. You do have someone you rove?”

  “Oh, yes, I’m in love with a very special woman.”

  “You must give her stone.”

  Franco wasn’t so sure about the saying, but the stone was nice. When they got back to the city, he went to a jewelry store right next to the hotel. He took the stone in and asked if he could have it set in a woman’s ring. A Chinese woman told him she would set the stone beautifully for his loved one. Franco knew Gini’s ring size because he had given her a promise ring when they graduated from high school.

  The night before he left to go back to the States, he picked up the beautifully crafted ring with the stone cradled in a white platinum setting. Two thin pieces of the platinum were strung across the top. The strings made an X with a knot in the middle of the X. The jeweler explained the X symbolized a kiss and the knot, intertwining love. Franco loved it.

  When Franco got home, the four of them went out to dinner at the seafood restaurant by the aquarium. While they were waiting for their dessert to be served, Franco started to pull items out of the bag he had carried in. First, he handed Margarita a blue-and-green silk scarf. She took it and put it up to her face to feel the softness.

  “Oh, Franco, this is so beautiful. I just love it!”

  “I thought the colors looked like Hawaii,” Franco said as he pulled out a hand-carved pipe and handed it to Ric.

  “Wow, what great workmanship. So, you see me as a pipe man?”

  “Yep. I see you sitting behind your big desk in your mahogany paneled office, wearing a sweater with leather patches on the sleeves, smoking a pipe.” Franco had a mischievous smile on his face.

  “This is great, man, thanks.” He patted Franco on the shoulder.

  Then he took out the small jewelry pouch and placed it on the table. He unsnapped and unzipped the bag, pulled out a white silk fabric, took the ring out, and placed it on Gini’s left ring finger.

  “What an unusual ring.”

  He told her what the X symbolized. Then he told the story of finding the stone and the old saying. They all laughed as Franco spoke just like the Chinese man had.

  “Oh,” Gini said still laughing, “I will cherish this always.” She leaned over and gave him a passionate kiss. She had been lonely without him and hoped they would never be separated that long again.

  The following June, Ric, Gini, and Franco all graduated with accelerated program advanced degrees; Franco, with a BA in mechanical engineering, received a master’s in political science. He went to work full time for The Gaspen Engineering Company in their China project division; Gini, with a BA in political science, received an MBA. She took a job at the State House in the research area, and Ric, Harvard Law. After passing the bar, he accepted a position at the prestigious Lory and Lawson Law Firm in downtown Boston.

  Before they all started their new lives, they went out to a fancy dinner. Margarita announced she was pregnant again. Ric was delighted. He knew he could provide a good life for his beautiful wife and all their children.

  Within the next year, Franco and Gini married at the office of the justice of the peace with Ric and Margarita standing with them. The Legottis were eager to start a family so their children could grow up together with the Santinis. But as they often do, plans changed: Franco and Gini were transferred to China, Margarita lost their second child, and with their busy lives, the close relationships were stretched, pulled, and splintered.

  Chapter 2 – Gala Night

  This was the night of the grandest gala Greystone Entertainment Incorporated put on each year. Ric loved the event. It was when he was most certain that giving up the law for a career that made people happy had been the right choice. People had questioned him. All those years studying, all that investment. Maybe he should have spent more time weighing the decision, but once it was in front of him, it had been so easy. Law tomes, law briefs, boardrooms, courtrooms—or this: good food, good wine, friends. Hard work, sure, but now in the service of joy. How could he be luckier?

  One advantage of his previous career was knowing men like Victor, who still ribbed him about walking away from the law, but gave him more business because of it. It would have been much harder owning a company like this without entrée to the worlds of laws and politics, and for that alone, Ric was glad he’d taken the path he did. But mostly, he admitted, he liked the company of smart guys like Victor—men who would make a difference in the world. He’d always had smart friends.

  I guess I thought I had to prove I was smart, too, he thought. And I am—smart enough to know what I really want to do with my life.

  He thought briefly of Margarita. The pain was subsiding. The sense of failure was harder to shake off, but goddamn it! This was a party. He let himself imagine the night as it would play out: the lights, the jewels, the pretty dresses, the gleam of silver, the scents of flowers, perfume, good food, human warmth. Conversations, music, laughter. There was always loss and sadness in the world. That’s why it was so important to celebrate.

  Tonight, he hosted his good friend Victor Westcott. Victor and his wife, Maria, had become family to him in the past few years. Victor was once again running for the US Senate, representing the state of Massachusetts. His yearly gala always filled his campaign chests with generous donations from friends and supporters.

  Two smart and beautiful women, Gini and Catherine, were getting ready for the party a few blocks away in Gini’s high-rise condo overlooking Boston Harbor.

  They were just about to leave when Gini’s PET (personal electronic tablet) sitting on the high breakfast bar alerted her of a new email.

  “Oh, my gosh!” Gini said with great surprise. “It’s Franco. You go on, Catheri
ne. I want to read this. I can just walk over to the hotel.”

  “There’s no hurry. I can wait.”

  “No, no, go on. Now that I have contact with him, I hope we can have a conversation. It’s been months since I’ve seen him. You wouldn’t believe me if I told you exactly how many. And maybe two or three texts or messages from him via someone else!”

  “Okay, be easy on him.”

  “Why should I? You’d think he could find a way to contact me even if he is in the wilds of China.”

  Catherine wrapped her neck fur tight up under her chin, looking at her friend with compassion. “I’ll see you there. Don’t be too late and miss the auction. I tell you, there are absolutely the best things in the whole of Massachusetts to bid on.”

  Surprise! was the first word of the email:

  My darling Gini, you probably thought I had fallen off the face of the earth. I just got back to a place that has contact with the outside world. I took a satellite phone down to the site and guess what? The next morning, when I got up, it was nowhere to be found. You cannot trust anybody here, not even your so-called friends. So I have been out of touch with the world and reality for I don’t even know how long.

  Gini made herself comfortable on the bar chair and read what appeared to be a lengthy message:

  I just wanted to say I love you. And tell you about the wonderful work we are doing in this remote village that up until now had no, and I mean no, clean water anywhere. We drilled wells, and I invented another device to get the water up, out, and through a filtering system we built from the rock and coal we found while drilling the wells. Working with just the locals and their tools, and I use the term ‘tools’ lightly, made the work challenging, but rewarding. Especially the end result for the children. The little ones having clean water to drink made all the time away and out of touch so worth it. I have such a soft spot for those little guys. The people are fast learners, and working together, we put in an effective system. Of course, it took us a while to find the water in the first place. I’m attaching a link to the report that was on the “World of Engineering” website last month.