My precioussss

It was a bad idea, of course, to even be playing with something so small and imminently losable on my balcony--especially since I had very nearly lost an earring off the edge just minutes before. But it was warm, my ring was tight, and sliding it off felt good. I was playing with it while I studied--probably pulling it off again--when it slipped, rolled along the (conveniently sloped) balcony floor, and disappeared under the railing. Half a second later, there was a clear musical note as it struck something, and then a dry rustle as it landed, presumably buried in any of the dry, rustley stuff covering the entire lawn, flowerbeds, and sidewalk. I headed downstairs and combed the area in which I thought it might have landed, but in the crepuscular light failed to recover the ring.

This ring is a very simple sterling silver band that I bought before traveling in Europe, following the example of another single friend who had worn a "wedding band" while traveling there to fend off unwanted attention. My decoy ring, as I called it, wasn't entirely effective, perhaps because I had a tendency to wear it on my right hand, but more likely because men who wanted to hit on me didn't exactly do a ring-check, and because I still flirted with whomever I felt inclined to.

I thought I had lost it in the move from Bowling Green, but a few months ago turned it up in a box of odds and ends. Recently, I had gotten in the habit of wearing it, and although it wasn't expensive at all and is hardly even sentimental, I'll still be a bit sad if I don't find it. But probably not as sad as if it were the first time I'd lost it.

Have you ever had that experience? You lose something, and you're heartbroken, but later find it and are delighted. Then, you lose it again... and it's not that big of a deal. Almost like things are just returning to normal. It's happened to me a few times. I don't know if the pattern can be extrapolated to other aspects of life or not.