Dear Lindsey,

I want this ring to represent how much I love you. I'm watching you grow from a child into a magnificent woman; it's an honor and a privilege.

I want to ask you to watch over the second ring for me. Watch over it until the day comes for the woman it's for and me to marry. I don't know how long it will take and I want you to know that it may never happen, but this is what's in my heart. It's what I've wanted.

When she's ready, I hope she'll show me by wearing the ring. Until then, keep it safe.

Gil

*****

From the darkened hallway, Lindsey watched Catherine as she folded laundry in her room. The moment the phone rang, a smile replaced the concentration that strengthened the lines of age delicately highlighting her mother's beauty. The smile, genuine because of the caller, brought radiance to beauty.

The call was quick; they always were, but Lindsey knew it was Gil making sure her mother was safely home. In the beginning, Catherine would be showering, not knowing he would call. Lindsey would be woken by the house line and would answer with tremendous confusion that she could hear Mom in the shower. Now, Catherine waited the extra half an hour to answer Gil's call.

Lindsey rotated the ring on her finger and chewed her bottom lip. She knew a week was too short a time for anything major but, really, she felt a snail moved faster than Gil and her mother.

Could she do anything to speed their progress?

She stepped backwards until her room sheltered her from Catherine's path into the bathroom. She had no idea what she could use in her mother's room, but Gil always said to keep an open eye, so she ran there the moment the bathroom door closed.

At once, she saw an object of interest atop the hope box.

From afar, it was a three-sided pyramid with a triangular base that was a darker gold than the sides. Studying it closer, Lindsey frowned at the etchings on each of the sides: a letter in calligraphy and a series of numbers. There was a "y" with the numbers "21", a "d" with the numbers "7485", and an "m" with the numbers "246".

She was horrible with numbers and hated everything to do with them. Oh, how she wished for a manual full of hints to explain the numbers.

The pyramid's base had more etchings but the lines were curved. She turned the object back and forth so it caught the light and flashed. Suddenly, an image formed from the random etchings. It was a simplified version of that long ago picture taken at the club.

The pyramid was beautiful although mysterious, but Lindsey had a feeling that her mother knew its secrets. This brought to mind another question: obviously, this was given by Gil but when was it given?

On a whim, Lindsey opened the lid to the hope box and saw holiday themed wrapping paper and a black velvet bag. She slid the pyramid into the bag and discovered a perfect fit. So, she thought, this was her Christmas gift from Gil. Yet, why was she hiding it in the hope box?

Silence warned her that Catherine was due out of the bathroom at any minute now that the water was off. She hurried to remove the pyramid from the bag and to replace it atop the hope box, but the sight of another box, a familiar one, stopped her.

It was the ring box that had held her ring and the matching engagement ring intended for her mother. She stared at it, puzzled. Another question entered her mind: Why was it above Gil's letter and all the ticket stubs and other things from trips with Gil that she had dropped into the hope box as mementos? All her expectations told her that the ring box ought to be buried under everything.

The bathroom door squeaked open so Lindsey had no choice but to drop the lid and the pyramid and run for her room. She just managed to remain undetected.

Undaunted, she again crept into the hallway and peered into her mother's room. Maybe, she fervently hoped, one of her questions--any one of them--would be answered.

She watched Catherine move around the room and silently urged her towards the hope box. The minutes ticked away until, finally, her mother sighed and approached her vanity.

Two lids were opened in quick succession after trivial obstacles like the gold pyramid with its strange markings were removed. Lindsey held her breath as Catherine gently pulled the engagement ring from its bed and placed it onto her finger. From the hallway, Lindsey could see how it sparkled. Maybe she was biased, but the ring appeared to be made especially for her mother's hand.

Another sigh escaped Catherine's lips and she returned the ring to its box. The pyramid joined it in the bigger hope box.

Lindsey turned and stole into her room. She was careful to shut her door before she jumped and tried to silently express her glee.

On Christmas morning, Catherine had refused to try on the ring, telling her that it would be too presumptuous. Something had changed; oh, it had to have otherwise her mother would have hidden the ring in a safe deposit box and temporarily would have forgotten about it.

Lindsey celebrated in her room with another jump. She laughed at her earlier frustration. If this was a snail's pace, then she happily would accept it.

She did not need declarations from Gil and her mother to know, at the very least, that they cared deeply for one another. Experience told her when there was care, love was soon to follow. For this tiny hint of progress along that journey, she was completely ecstatic. It was all that she truly needed to know.

FIN