Day One

This is possibly the end of Day One.

I sat down with my parents after dinner. We talked about a lot. My faults. His. Ours.

I hadn't told them a thing yet.

My dad speculates - he doesn't love you anymore. He must have ruled out vice-versa because I looked completely miserable.

No, I say. He loves me. I love him. We want to be together. We just can't ... stand each other.

I had already told my mum about the ring. She had already berated me for my carelessness. So we fill in the gaps for dad.

He took it differently, and told me that Jez wanted the ring back because it had cost him a lot of money, and because he wanted to be able to give it to his next girlfriend. I said that was one thing I would bet my life on that Jez wouldn't do.

Besides, he has to fork out $600 to have it fixed (or ... remade) first.

So he was upset because you lost it, because that means you didn't care? My dad asked. I nodded. And then you bought a new one trying to make up for it? I nodded. Jez's dad had laughed when he found out that I had done so. My dad didn't laugh. He just looked confused.

How can he make you feel bad enough to buy a new ring? He said. You screwed up and lost the old one, but now that it's lost, what else can you do? If you're upset about it he should be comforting you, not the other way around. He should understand. You didn't do it on purpose.

I didn't say anything. It wasn't as simple as that, and it wasn't just about the ring. He went on.

If your mother lost her wedding ring I wouldn't be angry. I'll tell her not to worry, and then buy her a new one.

My mum smiles at him. I smile too, vaguely aware that I'm admiring two people who I've always been sure have never been in love.