The cashier, a girl with purple hair and a nose ring, looked terrified. “I… no, ma’am. Nobody’s turned anything in.”
The woman made a sound I’ll never forget. Like all the air went out of her at once.
“Oh, God,” she whispered. “Oh, God, no.”
She put both hands flat on the counter. She bent over like she was going to be sick.
Ellie didn’t wait for me.
She ran straight toward her.
“Ma’am! Ma’am! Is this yours?”
The woman turned around.
I held out my hand. Opened it.
The ring was sitting in my palm.
The woman froze.
She stared at it. Her mouth opened. Nothing came out.
Then she grabbed the counter to steady herself.
“Oh my God,” she whispered. “Oh my God. Oh my God.”
She reached out with a trembling hand and picked up the ring. She held it up. She turned it over. She looked at the inside of the band. At the engraving.
