HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY QUEEN, Anj0921!
Again, here is a sneak peek and this one is an entry in My Failed Love Life series which isn't up yet on my Wattpad but is currently being worked on. More info on this story will be at the end, as per usual. I have a planned sneak peek for that when it will go up.
Photo #93: Color, Cut, and Carter
Eadlyn never felt a liking or a hating towards jewelry. It was just there for her to accessorize with and she wore them when needed or wanted. She never indulged in them since she never felt a satisfaction that could come from other things like chocolate or actual love (which even to her could be problematic at times).
Looking at this photo, which has her mother holding a clutch and on the right ring finger is a ring that Eadlyn knows she wears as often as she can. It is not just another ring in her mother's collection, it is much more than that. It might not be as comparable to her engagement ring or wedding band but it is certainly up there.
Though materialistic, sometimes it just feels nice to own because they are so much more than just a set of expensive jewels because there is thought behind the chosen pieces. So many things become beautiful when you really look and truly understand what your eyes are seeing.
-o-
Standing in front of Maxon and Carter is a jeweler who has an array of rings on display for the two men, all different in their smallest details that cannot be seen at first with the naked eye. Maxon listens to the words of the jeweler as she explains the descriptions of each ring, nodding his head with every adjective. Carter stands beside his friend, every word going over his head. He's only here to support Maxon since he was planning to get America a ring for whatever occasion. In all honesty, Carter was completely bored and all the sparkles were making him sleepy.
"Can I leave?" Carter asks Maxon like a bored child to his parent.
"No," Maxon replies, "I can't do this without you."
"Sure, you can. It might not be as fun but I'm sure you'll figure it out."
Carter smirks as a hope to get him out of here but Maxon turns back to the jeweler and the ring options, acting as if he never heard Carter in the first place. Carter groans in boredom which, like before, gets ignored.
"Why am I even here?" Carter asks. "If you wanted help on a ring for America, you could've just gotten Marlee. She would actually have some useful input."
"Marlee will blab to America," Maxon replies.
"What makes you think I won't blab to Marlee who will blab to America?" Carter asks, thinking he has Maxon trapped in a loop which he couldn't escape from.
"You won't remember anything once we leave," Maxon reasons.
Carter opens his mouth to object from that accusation but then nods in defeat since Maxon had a point. He wasn't listening to anything this whole time and will most likely forget this whole event happened the moment he leaves the room. In fact, he barely remembers what just happened in terms of the ring they were supposed to be looking for.
"You're so whipped," Carter tells him. "Then, again so am I, both literally and figuratively."
Maxon smirks a little. By now, they could look back at that time and smile, especially since something good came out of it. It just makes everything well worth it in the long-run.
"Love is the only thing that's both metaphorical and physical," Maxon states. "The things we do for it."
Maxon goes back to glancing over the ring selections again and this time, Carter takes an interest and looks as well. The jeweler also cuts in, throwing in descriptions of the rings the men seemed to have a liking towards.
"America is a very simple woman," Maxon mutters.
"Obviously not since she agreed to marry you," Carter jokes.
Maxon glares at him as Carter laughs. Even the jeweler smirks wildly to herself at the unexpected comment. Maxon's glare at his friend persists until Carter clears his throat to get back to ring finding.
"I like this ring," Carter says, pointing at one.
"I'm not buying you a ring," Maxon tells him.
This time, Maxon laughs, and the jeweler does as well. Carter narrows his eyes, slightly offended but nothing too serious. He and Maxon are friends so they often joke like this to one another. Then, when the laughing stops, the seriousness takes its turn to come in. Carter notices Maxon worrying over not being able to pick the perfect ring.
"Don't stress like that or your hair will turn grey before you're thirty," Carter says.
"I think the throne will do that first," Maxon responds cheekily.
"Maybe America's ring could match the throne."
Maxon glances at Carter, unsure if he was being sarcastic or not. Carter says nothing because he wasn't sure how he was saying that statement. He just said it without thinking. Maxon looks at the jeweler who pulls out a ring to show them that sort of follows what Carter was saying, whether he was joking or not.
"This ring here," the jeweler starts, "has round diamond accents beat in the center of 20 karat white and rose gold hearts in this endearing topaz ring."
The two men stare at the ring for longer, intrigued about how it was a pattern of hearts with gems in their centers instead of just the standard band with a gem small in the middle. This was different. And if there was something America was besides being simple, it was different. It was one-of-a-kind.
"Color?" Maxon questions again to the jeweler.
"Rose-gold and white all around," she responds.
"Cut?"
"Princess."
"Clarity?"
"15."
"Carter?"
Carter shakes his head at the sound of his name. All those words that started with C were coming out at once as a tsunami of consonance that almost sucked him right in. Even his own name seemed like it was a part of all that jewelry lingo.
"Yes?" Carter questions.
"That ring sounds perfect," Maxon tells him.
"That sounds complicated," Carter responds.
Again, I love writing Carter and Maxon like a couple of bros. Also, Carter is 100% me here.
And now for the story which is a one-shot for The Lunar Chronicles and an entry in My Failed Love Life series:
Color, Cut, and Cress - Thorne plans on buying Cress a ring so he brings Cinder with him despite her knowing nothing on jewelry. (Cress x Thorne OS)
Stay Tuned - This one will go out to all you baseball lovers...
