OK...it's another day and I have time for a short version of the story behind my wife buying two wedding rings.
My wife wanted me to have a nice wedding band and my only request was for a simple one made in white gold. She saw one she really liked, with three half carat diamonds side by side. It was thicker, wider and flashier than a typical wedding band. I think my wife liked it because it would be more visible...noticed from further away. I liked it too...wore it every day after we got married on June 21, of 1980.
But one day in December of 1987, before going to work, I took the ring off to wash my hands and put some lotion on my fingers, especially the ring finger. The design and construction of the ring had a hollowed out area underneath, where the settings were for the stones. This trapped moisture there and caused the skin underneath to get irritated and occasionally develop a rash. I had also put on a few pounds since our wedding day and my fingers had gotten thicker so this also contributed to the problem.
I took off the ring and set it on the ledge behind the kitchen sink while I washed and scrubbed. I was hurrying to get to work so I absentmindedly dried my hands and left without putting the ring back on. All day long I noticed that I had forgotten to put the ring back on. The ring left a shriveled and indented tan line that was noticeably pink compared to the tanned skin of the finger. And it was itchy from the rash...
When I got home after work, I immediately looked for the ring at the kitchen sink. The kitchen is the second room from the garage, beyond a laundry room and half bath. The ring wasn't where I remembered laying it down. Knowing better, I thought it might be in the bathroom upstairs. As I walked through the living room to go to the stairs, things didn't appear normal and the uneasy feeling grew. The shock of seeing my empty gun case on the floor near the entrance to the bedroom confirmed my worst fear; we had been burgled and the ring was stolen along with a bunch of other stuff.
So my wife bought a second wedding ring, different, simpler and smaller than the first.
I hope she doesn't regret the first one...