One ring…two…three…"Hello?"
I paused, clearing my throat. "Um…hi…Kris, it's me…y'know, Kara…?"
There was a second or so of silence. When she spoke, her voice was guarded, cautious. "Yes?"
"Listen, I know I've been, well, a bitch…but something just happened…I need to talk to you…"
She hesitated, then said "Well, I guess…I'll be there in about half an hour."
"Half an hour. Okay."
Click.
Click.
I put the phone back down and continued watching the movie.
Half an hour later, there was a loud knocking on my apartment door. I looked at the lock. It was unlocked, so I called "Come in!"
The doorknob turned and Kris walked in, looking upset. "Are you alright? You didn't sound okay on the phone to me."
I swallowed hard, suddenly realizing that I was shaking all over. "Kris…AJ…he was here…he talked to me."
She stared, open mouthed with shock. Suddenly, without warning, she walked over and put her hand against my forehead, as if checking for a fever. "Seriously, Kara, are you really feeling okay? Maybe it was a dream and you just thought it was real."
"No! He was here, he spoke to me! I even asked him if it was a dream or a joke or something and he said no, he was real. I'm not kidding you! I'm not hallucinating or crazy or anything! He really was here, Kris."
She looked at me for a long, long moment; almost as if she were trying to gauge my sanity simply by looking at me. "Alright…don't ask me why, but for some crazy reason I believe you."
I jumped up and hugged her. "Thank you, thank you so much Kris!"
She sighed as we sat down. "Don't push your luck, girlie. What did he say?"
I repeated the basics of the conversation, finishing with, "I know it sounds unlikely, I mean I didn't even believe it afterwards, but look." I scared myself almost as much as I scared her with that last comment, for up until then I hadn't even noticed the small box I held in my hand.
She frowned at me. "What?"
Slowly I turned the black velvet ring box so that it was facing me. I snapped the lid open and stared in disbelief.
A delicate-looking ring stared up at me. It was a silver band set with opal and emerald, and the stones were two interlocking hearts: one of sapphire, the other of yellow topaz, and the part where they overlapped was emerald also.
I gasped and stared mutely at the sparkling jewelry. "Kris…look…"
She got up and walked over to where I sat. When she saw the ring, her mouth fell open. "That's gotta be custom-made. That would cost a fortune! Where the hell did you get that?"
I shrugged, not really knowing what to say. A few minutes later, I found my voice, and said, "Search me. I have absolutely no idea. Well, let me correct that. I do have an idea, but that's all it is. I can't prove a thing."
Kris lifted one eyebrow at me and fixed me with one of her 'don't give me that bullshit' looks. "Do you mean what I think you mean?"
I nodded. "If you're asking if I think AJ somehow gave this to me, then yes, that's exactly what I think."
"Okay, then how? How did he do this? How would a spirit from the Beyond, or whatever it is you call it, give a gorgeous, custom-made, horrendously expensive ring to a living person? Answer me that."
"I can't. But I've got a pretty good argument for my side, too. How would anyone but AJ know the ring that I personally designed in my mind and described only to him? Who else would go to that kind of expense? And how do you explain this, unbeliever?" I pulled a small, folded piece of white paper from the inside of the ring box and handed it to her.
She opened it and began to read.
Kara, I know you won't believe this, and neither will anyone else. But I had to leave this for you anyway. Otherwise you would never know where the ring came from. By now you've probably figured out who this is from. You've probably also figured out the design. It's yours, the one you always wanted to have made but couldn't because it was too expensive. Well now you have it. It's yours. Keep it always as a reminder of my love for you and as a reminder of what we had. Have, actually. It'll never die. Always remember…I love you.
There are angels.
Love, AJ
Kris stood there, holding the note and opening and closing her mouth without speaking until I stood up and gently took the note from her.
A minute later, she regained her voice. "He really was here. He really did give it to you."
Wordlessly I nodded. "Yes."