A Lonely Ring

The night was silent except the soft breathing sounds of the man beside her. She lay in bed next to the sleeping man. She thought of the man beside her. How good he was to her. How good she was to him. The room was dark but a small sliver of light from the still lit kitchen that crept from under the door. He had once again forgotten to turn off the light before he climbed into the bed where she pretended to be sleeping. In the light, she stared at a thin silver ring that wrapped around her 4th finger. The ring had not been there long. 6 months, it had been since she had said those two words that would bound her to one person for the rest of her life.

The women slowly sat up and grabbed a small bag as she left the room careful not to wake the sleeping man beside her. The kitchen was clean except two place mats that sat on opposite sides of the table. It still faintly smelled of the meal they had eaten just a few hours ago. She remembered how they sat and ate in silence. The only time they spoke was he told her that he was leaving that night to go out with his friends. She remembered how she smiled and told him not to come back to late. Before he left he gave her a kiss and told her how much he loved her as he usually did. It was one of the pretty lies he would tell her each night before he left to go be with his “friends”. She always waited for him to come back. She fought sleep so she could see him come home. He would climb into their bed smelling of alcohol and someone else's perfume. He didn't even bother to cover it up. She wondered if he knew. If he knew that she knew. It was too obvious. Yet she never said a word.

She walked around the kitchen to the drawer where she kept the papers. She had been hiding them for about a month. She looked at them every night but always put them back in the drawer. She kept them out this time setting them on the table. She looked around the small kitchen. This was their first home, it was a wedding present from his parents. She loved the house but the kitchen was her favorite room. They used to love to cook together. She remembered how she would cook and he would read off the recipes to her while they danced and sang to music. Where did it all go wrong? she thought to herself. When did he stop loving her? She looked back down at the ring, it was a beautiful ring. A tear slipped down her face as she slowly pulled it off her finger and sat in on the table along with the papers. She grabbed her bag and started to walk to the door. She paused when she heard the soft sounds of the man sleeping. She almost turned around until she smelled the perfume and alcohol. She opened the front door and left without saying a word.
Authors note: Inspired by a wedding ring I saw laying around at my house.