Surprise gifts are always in order

From the time they met, Mike had been purchasing precious jewels for Liz. Charm bracelets, Necklaces, earrings, and rings. Diamonds, sapphires, and other beautiful stones. Liz often gave her spouse lots of jewels over the decades as well. Neither of them went overboard on the expense because it was the thought that counted. Their 40th wedding anniversary was coming up and Liz was excited. Mike had been ill and for a time it looked like he would not be around for this milestone.

Liz was so elated that he recovered that she gave thanks every day and prayed they would have many more years together. Just a few months earlier Mike was hospitalized and unable to walk or talk. Liz knew far too many women who were widows and she did not desire to be among their numbers. She knew one day that one of them would outlive the other, but not now. Here they were together again as if none of the trauma of 2 hospitals, doctors, the CCU, ICU, or PCU during the past few months had taken place. Liz was so overwhelmed that warm tears began falling down her face.

On the eve of their anniversary, as was their tradition they wished each other well at midnight before making passionate love to each other. Age had only increased their desire for one another and she loved it this way. The next morning they exchanged gifts over breakfast and Mike was so appreciative of his rings. They fit perfectly but Liz knew he was not going to wear them at the same time. Mike loved to match everything up so each ring would be on his fingers when he was wearing the appropriate clothing. The Lapis ring would easily go with all the clothing items of his favorite football team the Indianapolis Colts. he has jackets, sweaters, hats, and tennis shoes in the Colts blue.

When Liz saw what her husband had purchased for her she was speechless. She opened a box to see a 5 piece set of Rubies. There was a ring, earrings, necklace, and bracelet. They were all surrounded by diamonds and naturally in white gold which was the favorite of them both. She was stunned that Mike had put so much time and attention into his purchase and she gave him a hug and kiss so strong he almost fell to the floor.

The next day they were about to eat dinner and Mike told Liz that he had one more surprise for her. He presented her with a jewelry box and when she opened it Liz was stunned. Inside was a sparkling antique sapphire ring surrounded by diamonds. Sapphire Blue/Royal blue was her absolute favorite color. This was the very ring she had shown him some time back before he had become ill. She had no idea that he remembered or that he even had the money to purchase it.

Liz put the ring on and admired how the jewels sparkled. This ring was mesmerizing and she thought she had never seen anything so enchanting. She told Mike that she was amazed he remembered this particular ring and he admitted something interesting. He was searching for an ink pen in a drawer when her little black notebook fell out. When he picked it up the magazine page with the image of the ring was inside. Liz asked her husband how he was able to afford the $2,000 ring. Neither of them had ever spent more than $300 on jewelry for the other because that was within their budget.

Perhaps this was no big deal for someone else but it meant everything to Liz. When she had admired the ring in the magazine ad, she was thinking of purchasing a knockoff one day. she thought perhaps she could find it in sterling silver instead of white gold and save some money. She also considered that the jewelry store might have a sale. It never occurred to her to spend that much money on one piece of jewelry. Mike told her that he received a direct deposit that morning for the back pay from his disability which was $20,000.

Mike thought that for their 40th wedding anniversary he should splurge on the woman who had stood by him through good times and bad and nursed him back to health. Liz grabbed him and gave him a big bear hug with her face pressed tight against his and as he returned the embrace she thought she would melt. It was not the price of the diamond that mattered but the fact that her husband deemed her worthy. That was of more value than all the jewels in the world.