Mind the Gap | ✔️

April 24 @ 9:33 A.M.: Iris

The ginormous diamond on my new ring sparkled with a myriad of stars as I held it against the train's lights. It came from De-fricking-Prisco, the finest and by far the most expensive jeweler in town.

My head spun just thinking about its dozen-or-more-thousands-of-dollars price.

I swear it was all so hazy, so new and so... unbelievable.

It felt as if it were happening to someone else and not to me.

Everyone around me seemed to be thrilled about it.

Rena had definitely stopped using the rollercoaster line for good.

And my Mom was over the moon. Her attitude had done a 180 degrees backflip. She finally got off my back.

My eyes went to the ring again. It hogged my finger like a shiny alien.

Jayden had chosen it himself as a surprise.

Lesser women would kill for a gem like that. Diamonds were, after all, best friends of many a girl.

Since childhood, I had dreamt of a Hobbiton-set wedding and secretly had wanted to wear the One Ring to rule my man.

One Ring to rule my man. One Ring to find him. One Ring to bring him to me and in darkness bind him.

However, the ring on my finger was not the One Ring. Yet.

But strangely enough...

I didn't really care about it.

An engagement ring was only important to me because of what it symbolized.

It meant a promise. Jayden was finally ready to commit to me.

To us.

He had jokingly said that he proposed "before that train guy snatched me away."

He had also given me a holiday gift. Er... A gift holiday.

A trip to bloody Cancun!

Yes, yes, all the brochures had described it as a "sunny paradise with temperatures in the 80s even in the dead of winter," "tropical vibes everywhere you turn," "10th most searched destination by Boston residents," and so on and so forth.

Oh, I simply could not wait to explore the ruins of Chichen Itza and to visit an underwater museum!

I fidgeted in anticipation as we passed Park Street station.

New experiences acquired while traveling were soul food and a constant inspiration source not just for me, but for just about any artist.

Just four more hours till our plane took us to the adventure of a lifetime!

"I don't get it. Why did we have to take the Red Line, Iris?" Jayden wrinkled his nose at an old man with a yellowish beard sitting opposite us. "I mean, I could've just gotten my dad's chauffeur to drive us straight to your comic book store."

"Awwww, who's my poshie-posh? Don't tell me: is the Red Line too low-class for you? And no, we couldn't have gotten your dad's chauffeur to drive us because it's rush hour, silly." I playfully kissed the top of Jay-Jay's nose, which made his face light up in an instant. "It's faster like this, believe me. We just need to open up the comic book store and handle the early customers until Rena comes in. And then, off to catch the plane we go! If it means so much to you, we can get your dad's chauffeur to drive us to the airport later on."

Jayden wasn't at all accustomed to the trains. Such a shame! They were so life-enriching. To move around Boston, he would always either call a cab or "work" from home.