I have seen many weddings throughout my existence. Some good, some bad, some that lead to happy marriages and others where the couple lasts less than a year before divorce. I’ve seen it all. Beaches, wineries, churches, and even one that was just at a courthouse. I have watched these families grow and change as they learn how to live and cooperate with each other. Eventually, they have children, and with them, my job continues. 

I now realize that you readers may be confused at how I could live so long and maybe picturing father’s time as a human. Well, the reason I have lived so long is that I am not human! I am a family heirloom that has been passed down generations after generations; a ring to be exact. My original wearer was a woman who had a… unique sense of fashion. Her fiance at the time was perfect for her because he saw that and proceeded to get her a ring, that fit who she was. Instead of the normal engagement ring with a silver band and a diamond on top, I am made of black titanium. Winding around my form are vines, engraved into the metal, with green emeralds as the leaves. He really was the perfect husband for her, and my existence was evidenced enough of that. 

Fast forward a few hundred years, and many things have changed. I have seen technology be created and evolve into something great. Although, the videos that children have become accustomed to watching on their tiny screens(I believe humans call them “cell phones”) have become an annoyance. They are just so loud. But I digress.

One thing has stayed the same all throughout my existence. The women whose fingers I have reste on all had that same spark, and they all have loved me more than any diamond on this Earth. My current owner has lived a happy life with her husband and has a single son. Today is the last day I will rest on her finger, as he is planning on asking to marry his partner today.

Mother and son meet at a coffee shop in the middle of the bustling city(another change, cities are much louder now than they used to be). They are talking about how he will ask, and she is trying to calm him down. I will never understand your human anxiety. 

“Mom, what if he says no.” Another thing that has changed a lot, same-sex relationships are much more accepted. 

His mom looked at him with a small smile, and put her hand on his arm in comfort, “He is going to say yes, sweetheart. You have been together for 8 years for Christ’s sake! It’s about time!”

He gave her an exasperated look and she laughed. That is another that has changed. What used to happen was a quick courting phase between potential suitors, and then I came along. Even when the courting phases phased out themselves(pun intended), the relationship lasted at most three years until he popped the question. To me, eight years was a long time! And I’m hundreds of years old!

Slowly I was taken off of the woman’s finger, and passed to her son. “Honey, you love him and he loves you. You both will be fine.”

He smiled and took me from her. I saw him looking at me. Ah yes. He has the same look all young men have when they hold me for the first time. He is thinking about his future life together with his spouse. Their future wedding, first house, future children. It is apparent on his face, and I am not the only one who notices. 

“You both will be very happy together, I can tell.” He smiles at his mom’s comment, and proceeds to take a chain out of his pocket. I had wondered how I was going to fit on a man’s finger. This boy is a bright one. The chain was unclasped and slipped through the loop of my metal. The young man gazes at me, takes a deep breath, and then I am placed in a black box. Our new lives together have officially begun.