On 20th December 2014, my fiancé and I drove to Bath – one of my favourite cities – to choose an engagement ring. It was one of those beautiful wintry days blue skies but very cold. I wasn’t sure what I wanted, I just knew I didn’t want a diamond, and that I wanted white gold. I generally prefer semi-precious stones, such as labradorite or moonstone, to the more traditional engagement ring stones such as diamond, sapphire, emerald… Of course, as we drove into Bath I remembered the first time I’d ever been to the city, which was when my Dad drove me there for an interview for a degree course. I loved the city immediately, and have often wondered how different my life would have been had I accepted the place they offered me; I turned it down because something just didn’t feel right for me.
As we headed towards a particular jewellery shop I’d seen on the internet, the rings in another shop caught my eye. I stopped to look and saw a stunning, small, dainty, sparkling platinum and diamond solitaire, with a very distinctive setting. It was priced higher than our budget, but there were others in the same range, so we went inside, “just to look”. We were shown upstairs and given comfortable seats, but the shop was busy and we had to wait for a little while… Someone asked if we wanted mulled wine, but we both decided we should keep our heads clear… Christmas music was paying… Not the modern ones which grate on me, but hymns and songs from around the 1940s and 1950s, which seemed far, far more appropriate for my mood… There was a lovely atmosphere and I enjoyed looking at vintage jewellery in cabinets on the wall, while we waited… The assistant who came to serve us wasn’t pushy, but helpful, chatty, patient… I tried on the one I’d originally seen, then tried the others which were a little closer to our budget. However, I couldn’t help but agree with John when he said that the first one looked just right… My fingers are small – I’m petite – and many of the others just had the wrong proportions for me. So, nervously, we agreed that was the one and bought it! I thought the size was just right, but the assistant said it should be made a tiny bit smaller, and they could alter it that day… He then went to get us some mulled wine to celebrate, and at that moment White Christmas started to play, and everything felt so right… It was one of the many co-incidences I’ve noticed since they died; when certain things have happened and I’ve felt that they are near to me, approving, smiling, somehow there, on the periphery… My childhood was full of those songs… My parents singing along as they cooked Christmas lunch… They created for me – their only child – a truly magical time…and yes, Dad always told me that if I listened carefully I could hear sleigh bells out there, in the still of the night…
We wandered around Bath and went in a little cafe by the river for a light lunch while they altered the ring… Of course, my mood was tinged with sadness – my parents would never see the ring! I couldn’t share this day with them – but still the day felt so precious to me…
We were using the city Park and Ride and on the bus to the car park there was an…..eccentric man… Slightly dishevelled, but harmless; a character, who might well have had a just a little too much alcohol… He seemed to take quite a shine to us, and started singing 1940s love songs, mainly directing them at us… It was a little embarrassing, but also very amusing, entertaining and appropriate, if he’d known! It was going dark when we drove home… The sky was that beautiful shade of blue/green you get at that time on a clear winter’s day… I wondered if my parents were, in fact, looking down on me, from somewhere up there, and smiling…
Email from France to my friend in the UK, 20th December 2015:
Lovely yo hear from you, and I’m so sorry to hear you’ve got a cold.. We are FINALLY in our bedroom. We finished it literally 5 minutes before John’s parents came to supper today. The new wardrobe was ridiculously complicated to make up, but I’m hoping having a clean room helps me to feel more relaxed. I’d hoped to ring you this weekend – we were meant to finish on Saturday lunchtime!- but I miss chatting to you so will call you on Mon or Tue... Much love xxx
Email to me in the UK, December 20th 2013, from friends in Scotland:
“I’m dreaming of a white Christmas
Just like the ones I used to know
Where the treetops glisten
and children listen
To hear sleigh bells in the snow”White Christmas (Lyrics – Irving Berlin)