Page 8 of Addicted

I nodded and realized she probably couldn’t see me, “Yes, an eleven for Denise.”

“Perfect. Come on in,” she said. A soft buzz was followed by a click and the door popped opened.

I stepped inside and took in the opulent store. The entire place was shiny and smelled like lavender. It was all happy reds and golds, and there were rows of all kinds of jewelry lining the walls. A quick look at the display cases didn’t show any price tags. Okay, this place wasfancyfancy. Nerves fluttered in my stomach. I’d never get over being in places like this.

“Afternoon.” The guard said, his eyes fell quickly to my ass, and I smirked to myself. Even in a swanky place like this, leave it to men to do what they do.

A gorgeous older black woman with a short bob waved at me, and I breathed a sigh of relief as I walked up to her, smiling. It always gave me a thrill when I saw another sister in a fancy place. It was like an unwritten rule for us to smile and acknowledge the presence of one another.

“Hi there, I’m Sherry. What brings you in this lovely morning?” Sherry was standing ramrod straight as she looked at me across from a case full of diamond earrings.

“Hi Sherry, I’m Denny. Girl, I have a dilemma.” I reached into my bag and pulled out the ring box, placing it down on the counter. I lowered my voice a bit before I continued.

“My boyfriend just bought this for me. I wanted to know what my options are.” I placed as much emphasison options as I could, hoping that she’d say there was an option for returns.

Sherry looked down at the box and her smile faltered a bit.

“He just bought this?” she asked.

“Yep, that’s what he said.”

She gently opened the box and pulled out the ring, turning it left and right before placing it back inside and closing the lid.

“I’ll bring you over here, if that’s okay,” she said, walking to her right.

I followed her to a desk in the corner of the room. She placed the box on the desk and moved her seat around to sit closer to me, which I thought was odd until she opened her mouth.

“I need to be real with you.”

Confused, I nodded. She covered my hand for a second before continuing.

“There’s no way that he bought this here last week. We stopped working with this ring box in the nineties.”

I looked from her to the box as she opened it, my stomach sinking to the floor as mortification heated my skin. Curtis lied to me?

“It’s stamped PT, but this number is wrong. It should say 950 or 999. This says 925. But, before either of us jump to any conclusions, can I test the stones?”

I nod again and watched her grab the tester. She switched it on and leaned closer, keeping her voice soft, but pointed.

“This measures the thermal conductivity of the stone. If it is a diamond, it will beep.”

She pressed the tip to the center stone and the indicator didn’t move.

“Wait,” I said, finally starting to comprehend the words. “The whole thing is fake.”

“925 is the percentage for sterling silver. These stones are not diamonds. This box—” Before she could finish, I started to laugh. And I don’t mean deranged, cute little giggles. I was belly laughing, holding my chest to ease the pressure because I couldn’t breathe. It took me a good minute or two to get it out of my system.

Sherry was very concerned and had grabbed a box of tissues, thinking that I was going to lose my shit.

“If it helps, I’ve seen it before. Men can be trifling,” she said, handing me a tissue.

I wiped at my tearing eyes and took a few deep breaths to compose myself.

“Of course you have, and of course he did.” My heart was thudding in my chest, emotions that I couldn’t even name were rolling around my head. I wanted to jump out of my skin to escape them.

Of course, was becoming a chorus in my head. Of course, he lied. Of course, he couldn’t afford anything inthis store. Of course, he chose something hideous. Of course, he didn’t know me. We hadn’t had a real conversation or touched each other in years. Of. Course.

Despite it all, I was relieved. A chilly wave wrapped itself tightly around me and made me feel numb. I knew it was going to be short-lived, but I welcomed it because this wasn’t the place to process anything.

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