From Her To You

He had stopped the car by the road where the railing ended A haze looming in the air over the city below Standing halfway downhill, finishing relieving himself That’s when it caught the corner of his eye, something shiny Zipping his jeans, he stumbled toward the tiny bright beacon The side of the hill was a bit tricky, with rocks and roots After some effort, he’d worked his way about half way there That’s when he noticed the object of concern, a diamond It was attached to a golden wedding band, like his wife’s He’d presented it to her twenty years ago today The ring was on the finger of a fat open pale hand Frozen in his steps, staring at the hand, heart rate increasing He forced himself to move forward, slowly, purposefully More came into view, an outstretched arm, bruised and clammy calm Suddenly, there it was, the face, lifeless eyes watching him Upon seeing the face, he swiftly rushed forward, panting Where he reached the body, its overweight nudity gleamed It had been dumped from the embankment and came to rest there His wife starred up at him in her usual annoyed gaze He bent down beside her, taking her outstretched hand in his Looking up toward the road, he tugged the ring from her finger After securing it, he stuffed it into his pocket Carefully he made his way up the hill, back to the car He had begun to sweat and his breathing fast and labored Closing the driver’s door with a slam, he sat heavily With difficulty, he dug the prized ring from his pocket He reached and dropped it in the hand of his smiling lover “From her to you,” he said breathlessly, with a wink and smile © Copyrights G. Jones 2008