Green Stone Ring Read online

  He handed the bag to Gini. She looked at him and then spread the top of the bag open and pulled out an envelope with two copies of an invoice. She wrote a check for $750, signed it Virginia E. Anderson, and handed it to him. He split the invoices and handed her one. “It’s all yours.”

  She took the white cardboard box out and pulled the cloisonné box from within, rubbing it softly with her hand. “Such a delicate and beautiful box.” Inside was a satin lining; she ran her finger over the fabric.

  “I know just the place for this.” She closed the box and walked over to the fireplace, placing it perfectly centered under an original painting hanging over the mantel.

  “There!” She turned around and smiled at him. “It has a home.”

  Ric loved her dimples when she smiled. “The funny thing is, Franco can probably get you that same box in China for fifty bucks or less.” He laughed.

  She softly hit his arm as he approached her. “Now, don’t ruin my little find. This is a very special little box to me.”

  “Hey, Gini, we need to be going.”

  They walked to the front door of the building.

  “Let’s just walk,” Gini said, “it’s so nice out tonight.”

  Ric agreed, so they went out of the building and headed to the Rose Kennedy Greenway.

  “How is it you and Franco found your place?”

  “Some guy at Franco’s work said he had a friend who was trying to get rid of a condo in the Towers at Boston Harbor. We contacted the friend. Turns out the place had belonged to his grandparents. They had lived in it since it was built. When they died, his parents would come and stay there a few times a year when they were in Boston. The brothers tried to do something with the place after their parents passed but found it would cost too much to update. So we got it dirt cheap. Other than the initial remodel to join the units, I don’t think anything had been done to the place ever except maybe the carpet was replaced.”

  Gini lived in Building 1, the taller of the two high-rises known as the Harbor Towers, each forty stories. They had been built back in the early 1970s as affordable rental apartments. At that time, the harbor had been a less than desirable area to live. The warehouses were old and dusty, and the area had been considered seedy and rough. There had been much talk about the design of the buildings; some described them as brutalist. The isolated modern buildings were not at all in harmony with Boston’s historic look.

  The area had been separated from the city by a two-story elevated highway, known as the Central Artery. It was old and decayed with rust and black streaks. The artery had also cut off the North End, an Italian neighborhood with its preservation of 17th- and 18th-century architecture.

  I.M. Pei and Henry N. Cobb had been the well-known architect and building designers. They had envisioned their project would bring new life to Boston’s waterfront. The project became a cornerstone for future progress in the area.

  In the 1980s, the area had become a desired area to live. The buildings had fabulous views of the harbor and city skyline. Many people had bought several units and tore out walls to make one large home. Gini’s condo was a combination of three units with views around three sides of the building.

  And in the 1990s, a project called the Big Dig had been started to put the highway underground. The Central Artery would be torn down, and the harbor area would be opened up to the city. Other complexes, like Rowes Wharf, were built, and the gardens popped up along the water and Rose Kennedy Greenway.

  The area became an expensive, much sought-after place to live. On Long Wharf, hotels and restaurants brought business to the beautiful harbor. Other tourist attractions, like the aquarium, allowed visitors to see the city at its best.

  Once they had arrived at the restaurant and were drinking their cocktails, Ric asked, “Why didn’t you and Franco have a proper wedding? You could have afforded one.”

  “I know. But we loved your and Margarita’s wedding. It was so special standing up for our best friends, and we decided we wanted to do the same, just the four of us. Margs and I went to Downtown Crossing just like we did for her and bought my dress. Those were such great times. Life was so simple, and I was so naive and innocent. Margarita too. Remember the time I drove your SUV up to Portland to deliver some papers from the State Department?”

  He laughed. “I think you had to sit on a pillow to see over the steering wheel.”

  “Well, not quite. I thought I was such big stuff. I used that lever to lift the seat as high as it would go. I was the queen of the road. I felt so liberated that day. All by myself, taking care of business and no one had to help me. How did you get that truck, anyway?”

  “I came home from school one day the first part of our senior year, and my aunt said, ‘Your dad’s company delivered your car today,’ and gave me the keys. I didn’t know any better and gladly accepted them. I should have figured out there was some money right then, but I was just a kid.”

  “We were all just kids. However, I think Margs grew up in a hurry when she found out she was pregnant.”

  “No kidding. Me too. I have never been so scared in my life as that day she told me we were going to have a baby, scared to death!”

  “Franco and I wanted to start a family right away too. You guys were pregnant, and we thought it would be fun to have our kids the same age. But even though we tried, nothing was happening. As you may recall, I never have periods. I don’t ovulate regularly.” She was taking a bite of bread and looked up. “TMI?”

  He shook his head and smiled.

  “Sorry. Anyway, I found a fertility doctor in New Haven, a community a few miles west of here, at their medical center. I love her. Her name is Dr. Linda Nelson. She started me on fertility pills. It seems I took those things forever. Then Franco announced we were going to China. Dr. Nelson told me to keep taking the pills, and if I got pregnant, I should come back to the States immediately.

  “I hated China. We were only supposed to be there for four months, but it stretched into over a year. I remember how angry Margarita was that we could never talk to each other or email or anything. It seemed she disowned me, like I wasn’t a good friend, even though I had no control over the situation. It was kind of like when I moved out here for school. My family didn’t care about my life anymore. She didn’t seem to care about my life overseas.

  “But I can tell you, there was nothing there for me to do. If she thought I was living a glamorous life there, she was so wrong.

  “We were way out in the middle of nowhere; it was dirty, and all we ever ate was rice. But every once in a while, we would get a shipment of nutrition shakes for the sick ones. I got to really liking that stuff, strawberry vanilla.” She made a little face. “Franco, on the other hand, was having the time of his life. He loved his work. And if they ran into a problem, he would invent a gizmo or develop a new process, and the project would go on. He’s brilliant, you know!”

  Ric agreed.

  She stopped to take a sip of her drink. “I guess Franco saw how miserable I was, so we came home. We decided to go with the in vitro method. We went through all the testing and cultivating and then implanted several. Right after that, Franco told me he was going to return to China. I didn’t have to go. He had set it up so he came home every two or three months and would stay for a while, working out of Boston when he was here. He explained he had started his own company. He would work directly with the Chinese. That way he could reap the benefit of his inventions instead of letting the company he was working for take all the credit and money. He had worked out a deal with the Chinese government, and they were funding him. He set up an account with an accountant that I work with to keep his money growing, and, believe me, Franco is a very wealthy man. I think he has a legal team, and I don’t know what all.” She took another sip.

  “At first, he called or emailed every day, mostly wanting to know if I was pregnant. Of course, the calls were in the middle of the night. Then it was a few times a week, then sometimes once a month, and now
, it has been a long time. Until last week.”

  “I remember when that all was happening,” Ric said as he thought back to that time. “I didn’t realize he had started his own company. It seemed once you went to China, we never saw much of each other after that. If I remember right, he did come back at least once.”

  “You’re right; he did come back after the first three months. By then I had gone to work for Catherine, and I was busy running around. Really, if I didn't see the money come in every month, I wouldn’t know that he is still alive! I guess Margs is visiting her mom.”

  “I assume she’s with her mom. After Riti’s dad died, her mother was unhappy in California and wanted to go back to Hawaii. Did you know Riti finished her degree then went on and got her master’s in critical care nursing?”

  “Good for her.” Gini was eating her crab cake.

  “Anyway, she went to California and helped her mother move to Hawaii. She set her up in one of those senior complexes in an independent living apartment. But her mother hated it there, wanted to move out of the ‘hotel’ as she put it.” Ric started on his oysters.

  “You said you assume she’s with her mother. What do you mean?”

  He put his fork down and sat back in his chair. There was silence for a moment. He had been dreading the moment he told Gini. It was painful just thinking about it, and now he had to tell one of his best friends. Then he leaned forward and put his forearms on the table. “Gini, Riti and I got divorced over a year ago.”

  She dropped her fork and sat back hard on her chair. Tears instantly filled her eyes and then started running down her cheeks. She quickly grabbed her purse, took a tissue out, and dabbed at her eyes.

  “Ric, no, you guys were so much in love.” The tears were still flowing.

  “Why didn’t Margarita or you call me? Oh man, this is awful, Ric. I can’t believe no one told us. What happened?”

  “I don’t know. It was probably a lot of things—losing the babies, her dad dying, and all the problems getting her mother settled. I think she just lost interest in our life together. She went back to Hawaii to see what she could do for her mom, and she just stayed. I kept telling her she needed to come home. She finally did, and that day she opened up my hand and put her two wedding rings on my palm, the plastic one and the diamond one I bought after I started at the firm. She said she didn’t want to be married anymore. I pleaded with her to go to counseling with me, but she refused. It broke my heart. She packed up and went back to Hawaii. I sat with the lawyers and went through all the paperwork. She never showed up for any of it. I bought her half of the house and made sure she got a good settlement so she wouldn’t have to worry about money. She just walked out of my life. I haven’t heard from her or seen her since.”

  “I’m such a bad friend. I should have been there for you guys.” Gini blew her nose. “I can’t believe it. I just can’t believe it.”

  “No, we should have let you know. We’ve all been bad friends. You and Riti not speaking, my work hours going crazy, and the both of you gone all the time. Our friendship surely got the brunt of all of that. We shouldn’t have let it get between us. I can’t believe it’s been four years.”

  “And I can’t believe Margarita left you.” She felt a stab of indignation. Ric had turned out to be such a good and loyal guy.

  “I know. I was so scared of getting married, and then I was so happy I did.”

  “Ric…”

  “No, no, it’s okay. I mean, it will be okay. I am mending. I’m not just saying that, either. You think your heart is broken forever, but I guess the will to live is stronger than that. Better now than after twenty years, right? But it’s just strange how things work out.”

  “Very strange,” she said softly, and he knew she wasn’t thinking about him.

  The main course was served, and they both started to eat.

  “I see you’re wearing the green stone ring instead of your wedding ring. You guys are still married?”

  “Yes, although most of the time I feel like I’m his mistress, or girlfriend in a faraway land. He’s married to his work. Remember the old saying that went with the ring: Give it to someone you love, and you will have prosperous and happy ‘rife’?” They both said “rife” at the same time. He laughed.

  “The saying must be about the giver, not the receiver.” She had a serious look.

  “Well, Franco is prosperous and happy, right?”

  “Both.”

  “By law, the money he makes is yours too.”

  “I know, but I don’t do so bad myself, so I take care of all the bills. I just keep his money in his account.”

  She took a few more bites. “How did you get into the entertainment business? Didn’t you want to be a lawyer since you were like three years old?”

  “Interesting how things happen. It all took place about the same time my marriage was falling apart. My first and only client at the firm was Albert Greystone. I did his legal and even looked at some of his books. He invited me to a couple of his events, and I just loved it. I loved the energy, the people, the whole thing. I guess at that point the idea of fighting—which is really all the law is—did not appeal to me anymore. He asked me to come to work for him, so I did.”

  Ric ate a little more. “Then he said he wanted to retire, and his son didn’t want to have anything to do with the business, so I bought it from him.”

  “Really?”

  “Yep. I just wrote him a check, and I became Greystone Entertainment. It was good for me, kept my mind off Riti and how much I missed her. And here I am today, still loving what I do, still meeting great people and making them happy. Life is funny, isn’t it?”

  When they finished dinner, they walked back to the Towers.

  “I can’t believe the weather,” Gini said. “Last Saturday night at the gala it was so cold. I thought for sure winter was here to stay. And look at tonight—it’s almost warm out.”

  When they got to the front door, she thanked him for the evening. “I guess it was a great night. I’m still upset about you and Margarita.”

  “I didn’t mean to upset you. It was a great evening. I think we have caught up on each other’s lives.”

  “We have.”

  He bent down and kissed her on the cheek. She started for the door and turned back to him. “Are we still on for that drive up to Gloucester tomorrow?”

  “Well, sure. I have some stuff I need to do in the morning. How about I pick you up about one o’clock? We can have a late lunch up there.”

  “See you then.”

  She put her programmed key in the door and went inside. He watched her until she got to the elevator. She turned, and they both waved.

  He thought about the many trips they had taken up the coast when they were in college. Often the four of them had shared a sandwich, bag of chips, and drink to save money. He remembered the girls pinching their noses around the shrimp boats, and one time Franco had grabbed Gini up in his arms and run up the steep hill in Gloucester when she had dared him. It had been such a great college life with his friends.

  In her condo, she went to the roses and smelled their sweet scent, then picked up her PET and saw the picture of the Chinese woman. She smiled, turning off the tablet. She walked over to the little box, looked at it, opened the lid, slipped the green stone ring off, and put it inside. When she closed the lid, she stood with her hand on the top for a minute. She felt a pang of emotion again thinking about Ric and Margarita splitting up. The ring reminded her of such happy times. And what about her and Franco? They too had once had a great love. Was he just going to walk out of her life as Margarita had Ric’s? She shivered at the thought. They had a good marriage.

  Marriage? Yes, they did have a marriage, and yes, they were in love with each other. She could easily imagine his arms around her, his lips on hers, and feeling excitement, longing—all the same feelings she’d ever had. None of that had disappeared. It was just that there was something else there too—anger.

&nb
sp; Anger wasn’t an emotion she knew how to deal with, not in her personal life. She pushed it slowly away, like a heavy piece of furniture on tiny rollers, until it was deep in shadow.

  And how long can I keep it up?

  She was just going through some rough times. He’d soon be coming home to her.

  Chapter 4 – Getting Reacquainted

  About twelve-fifty the next morning, Gini got a text from Ric:

  I’m running a bit late. It will be more like 1:30.

  She replied:

  Contact me when you are close, and I’ll meet you in front of the building.

  About a half hour later:

  I’m just around the corner.

  She went downstairs and saw a black Mercedes S-Class in front of the building. As she approached the front door to go outside, Ric popped up out of the driver’s side.

  He opened the passenger side door and bowed as he swept his left hand in front of him. “Madam.”

  “Wow, what a great car!”

  She got in and flung her coat and scarf into the back seat. When Ric got in, he saw her running her fingers along the dashboard. “This is nice.” Her hand traced the door, down the rich wood paneling, and over all the buttons of the tufted leather. “I’m impressed.”

  He smiled. “You know I deal with the rich and famous, and they like to be treated right. So, when I meet with them or take them out, I aim to please so they will reach deep into their pockets and pay me the big bucks. I just put on my chauffeur’s hat.” He stopped to think a second, then reached behind Gini’s seat, pulled out a Red Sox baseball cap, and put it on. “And treat them like royalty.”

  She looked at him strangely. “I hope you don’t put on that hat.”

  “Hey!” He took the hat off and put it back. “What’s wrong with my Sox hat?” He looked in the rearview mirror and smoothed his hair.

  As he pulled away, she sank deep into the plush, cream-colored seat and ran both hands down the soft, detailed leather.

  “Oh, Ric, I love this car.”