Red Necklace

Suzie grabbed her purse and rummaged around in it. Damn, the receipt was not there.  She already looked in every single drawer in the house, and nothing. What on earth was she supposed to do now?

‘Have you found it?’ Dave, her husband, asked nervously. ‘No.’ Suzie sat down on the bed. ‘Well go and try to exchange it anyway. I’m sure they must have the record of me buying it there,’ said Dave.

He stood looking at the necklace that lay on the table, beautiful in its red vision. He gave it to Suzie only yesterday. It had three massive stones set in a heavy silver chain. Suzie doubtfully looked at it too. She could never wear this sort of thing. What was Dave thinking? Did they ever go places where she’d have an opportunity to show it off?

‘Well, I’m off. Good luck.’ Dave didn’t seem to care much, as always. Suzie heard his car drive off, then slowly stood up.

She placed the necklace back in its velvet box. She’d already seen a suitable replacement for it on the jeweller’s website. And now she’d gone and lost the receipt.

At that moment, TJ, their stunning Rough Collie pet dog wondered in, wagging its tail excitedly. As always, he went in for the cuddles right away, pressing his pointy face into Suzie’s lap. Suzie absent-mindedly stroked him for a few moments, then suddenly turned his head up to her as a suspicion flew through her mind.

‘TJ, did you eat my receipt, you naughty dog?’ exclaimed Suzie, looking into TJ’s eyes carefully. The pet stared back at her with loving eyes, then yawned. He burrowed his head back into her lap.

‘I’m sure you did.’ Suzie thought for a moment, stroking TJ’s luxurious coat of golden hair. ‘Well, there’s nothing to be done for it.’

That afternoon Suzie walked resolutely into the jeweller’s. ‘May I please speak to the manager?’ she asked.  ‘Yes, one moment please, madam,’ said a young, helpful assistant. Suzie waited, looking around. She found the necklace she chose as a replacement and her heart sank. What if they won’t let her exchange it?

‘May I help you?’ asked a deep voice behind her. She turned around to see a very attractive man in his fifties, smartly dressed.

‘Yes,’ Suzie started, pulling out a box from her handbag. ‘My husband bought me this, but I’d like to exchange it, please.’

‘Sure, no problem.’ The manager took the box and walked behind the counter. Suzie felt her heart beating fast. ‘May I please have the receipt?’

‘Well,’ Suzie started, feeling uneasy. ‘I think our dog might have eaten it this morning. I’m so sorry.’

‘It is very difficult to prove it was bought in here, then,’ started the manager. ‘We are not the only jewellers selling this piece. There are three different stores stocking it.’

‘I understand, but my husband definitely bought it in here.’ Suzie fiddled with her coat nervously. ‘Please, Mr…’ she looked at his name tag. ‘White, I promise you it was bought in here.’

A sudden realization came to her mind. ‘You are Mr White? Matthew White?’

The manager looked startled. ‘Yes, and you would be?’

‘I’m Suzie Fox! Well, I used to be Chapman before I got married! We went to Stratford Academy together, don’t you remember?’

‘Oh my goodness, Suzie!’ The manager came towards her, happy recognition displayed all over his face, although he was still careful to maintain professionalism. They certainly did more than go to school together- they went out for a year and a half.  ‘How have you been all these years?’

‘Well, OK I guess,’ Suzie laughed, suddenly aware of her old jacket she stupidly put on that morning. ‘Besides losing the receipt for this necklace!’

‘Oh that, yes,’ the manager said. ‘OK, let’s see if we can find the transaction on the system. When did you say your husband bought it?’

‘Two weeks ago.’ The manager typed in the date she stated. ‘Yes, here is a transaction for that necklace, at 5.47 pm. Can you please confirm your husband’s name and an address?’

Suzie did as she was asked. ‘OK, we don’t usually do this,’ started the manager, ‘but seeing as it is you, plus being able to confirm the transaction, I will let you exchange it. However, I’m sorry but no refunds can be given if the value of the new piece is lower.’

‘That’s fine, thank you. I’ve already chosen what I want.’ Suzie pointed to a simple necklace in a glass cabinet. It was £135 cheaper than the original one. ‘Are you sure? There’s a big price difference.’ ‘Yes, I’m very sure. Please wrap this up for me.’

As the manager was wrapping the box, he looked at Suzie curiously. She was older, of course; but she still maintained that graceful manner he had been so mesmerised by at high school. He wondered how her marriage was; he wondered if she had children. But he felt it inappropriate to ask.

Suzie also looked at Matthew with interest. Those months spent with him were so sweet, so special. At the time, she couldn’t appreciate a guy like that; she needed and craved a bad boy. God, how stupid she was to let this one get away. ‘Oh  well,’ she thought. ‘I’m sure he’s happily married with beautiful children and a wife to die for. Nothing less than he deserves.’

The manager finished wrapping the box and gave it to Suzie. ‘Your husband must be very special.’ ‘Yes, he is.’ Suzie put the box in her bag. ‘Thank you so much, Matthew. I really appreciate this.’

‘No problem, and if I can help you in any way in the future, please do come back.’ Suzie looked into Matthew’s eyes and felt such a longing suddenly. ‘Stop it,’ she said to herself. ‘You are a married woman.’

Matthew walked towards the door and opened it for Suzie. ‘I wondered, err…’ he stopped half way through, looking down. ‘Yes?’ asked Suzie. ‘Well, if you ever wanted to catch up…for an old time’s sake, you know…I’d love to see you.’

Suzie walked back to the counter where the copy of her exchange receipt still lay. She scribbled her phone number on the back of it, then pressed it into Matthew’s hand . ‘I’d love to.’

*************************************************************************************

Two days later, Suzie walked into the restaurant Matthew booked for their meeting. She looked around, and then spotted him sitting at the bar. She tapped on his shoulder lightly. ‘Hi.’

‘Hi and wow’, replied Matthew, looking at Suzie admiringly. She was wearing a low-cut, red dress that showed off her toned figure to perfection. Suzie repaid him with the same admiration. He had a cream, crisp shirt on with no tie and a smart suit- he was a very good looking man indeed. And she felt very pleased she was the one sharing the evening with him.

‘So,’ Matthew started after they sat down at the table. ‘You are married.’

‘Yes,’ replied Suzie with a wink in her eyes. ‘And yourself?’

‘Divorced.’ Matthew took a sip of the water. ‘These last ten years.’

‘I’m so sorry.’ Suzie shifted in her seat uncomfortably. ‘What happened? I don’t mean to pry…’

‘It’s OK. My wife had an affair with a much-younger colleague.’ Matthew’s eyes met hers. ‘And she chose him over me. A classic tale.’

‘I’m sorry.’ Suzie reached over and stroked Matthew’s hand. ‘Well, what can you do.  It did leave me with no self-esteem for a while. But I worked hard at regaining my confidence and actually it helped me to become a stronger person.’

‘I really admire that,’ replied Suzie. ‘And I’m sure you’ve had a lucky escape. At least you found out early. No wasted years.’

 ‘Yeah, I guess. So, your own marriage- a success?’ Matthew’s eyes were teasing.’ It’s OK. Nothing to brag about. Whose marriage is absolutely flawless?  No kids though, which I regret.’

The waiter came in to take their orders. ‘I see.’ Matthew’s eyes looked quizzically at her over the menu. ‘You could still have children.’

‘At my age?’ Suzie laughed, studying the menu. ‘I’ll have the grilled sea bass please. With artichokes only,’ she said to the waiter.

‘For me a steak, well done, please.’ Matthew put his menu down. ‘Are you saying we are too old?’

‘No, I’m saying I’m too old!’ laughed Suzie.

Over their dinners, they reminisced about their college days. ‘You were my first kiss,’ admitted Matthew shyly. ‘What, at 17? No way!’ Suzie laughed. She was having a wonderful time. She felt happy for the first times in ages.

‘Yep, but please don’t tell anyone!’ implored Matthew with a pretend fear. They burst out laughing again. ‘Well, you were my first love and you know what they say- you never forget your first love,’ said Suzie.

‘Same here. I often thought of you, Suzie. And look, I met you again when I least expected to.’ Matthew reached over to stroke Suzie’s hand, then he suddenly drew himself back. ‘I’m so sorry, it’s completely inappropriate of me.

‘It’s OK. We had a wonderful time in those days,’ Suzie smiled warmly.

Chatting and laughing, their evening was going by too quickly. Neither of them wanted the night to end. Before they knew it, it was 11 pm.

‘Look, I understand you are married and you probably have some sort of a curfew so please feel  free to tell me when you need to go. I won’t be offended,’ Matt offered cheekily.

‘How sweet,’ Suzie teased.

As the waiters were calling in last orders, it was time to go. They walked to the car park together, their arms and hands gently brushing against each other, sending bolts of electricity through each of them.

Suzie opened her car and Matthew held the door for her to get in. ‘I loved tonight, thank you so much for coming,’ said he, kissing her cheek.

‘It was my pleasure.’ Suzie looked deep into his eyes.  Matthew blushed.

‘Look, I…well… if you fancied….I’d love to see you again, but if not, you know… I’ll understand.’

Suzie put a calm hand on his shoulder. ‘I would love to see you again too. And very soon.’

When Suzie got in that night, she checked on her husband. Yes, he was fast asleep. She went to the kitchen and made herself a hot cocoa. The dog came bouncing towards her. ‘You helped me so much today, darling!’ said Suzie, kissing the top of dog’s head. Then she took out a piece of paper out of her bag and read it. There it stood, in her own husband’s handwriting:

‘I can not wait to see you tomorrow, darling. And I’ve got a little surprise for you. Your Dave.’

It took Suzie a little while to find out about the affair. But finally she had a proof she needed. She can now divorce Dave on the grounds of adultery and take him in for all he’s worth. And how clever of her was to find that awful, bad-taste necklace with this note on top. He had to pretend it was for her, of course. He also had to give her the receipt that TJ ‘ate’ that morning to go and exchange it because she ‘didn’t like it’. She now had a perfect reason to go in and meet Matthew. And she knew he worked in that jewellery shop, she’d seen him the day she followed her cheating husband with his mistress there. Her plan worked perfectly. She will be a rich divorcee  and she will have a beautiful new relationship with a man she never stopped loving.

* Volam sa Ivana a pisem kratke pribehy. Ak ma niekto zaujem precitat si viac, som na stranke kissingitbetter.me :)