April Fool's

In honor of April Fool's Day I have a little story to tell. Back when my wife and I were dating I had a prank go bad. It was unintented prank, but the circumstances just fell into place and I opened my mouth without engaging my brain first.


We were waiting for a local theater to open and were browsing in nearby pharmacy when she spotted a display of cheap "cubic zirconium" jewelry and was enthralled by it's beauty. I of course told her to pick out what she wanted and I would buy it for her. Lynn chose a large ring that rivaled a 2 carat diamond. She put it on and it looked great. We laughed about it looking like an engagement ring, She had an idea about shocking a friend with "the news" as we proceded to the theater.

After the show it was still early and we decided to pay a visit to my parents. As luck would have it, my brother and his wife were there too. We had hardley got in the door and sat down when my sister-in-law spotted the ring. She grabbed Lynn's hand and said "Holy Shit is that real". (OH MY GOD, WE FORGOT ABOUT THE RING !!! ) Before Lynn could say anything I said "Of course it's real" and before I could add "cubic zirconium" all hell broke loose. My brother was pounding me on the back congratulating me, my sister-in-law was immediatly screaming and as women will asking how much a "rock" that size cost, comparing it to her much smaller engagement ring/wedding band. And my parents were in a state of shock. My mother was crying and my dad just sat there dumbfounded. Both of them were NOT happy. (Lynn and I hadn't even been dating for a year and I had only brought her over to the house a couple of times.) Their son was engaged to a girl they didn't know and he hadn't even discussed anything with them. I am sure they both thought she was "in trouble" and we had to get married.

Well it was too late to back out now. I could see Lynn was embarased, but like a trouper, she went along with my lead. We had to play this thing out. After a multitude of questions, not one of them was "IF" or when we got engaged. Did we have a date set? No Lynn was still in school. When did we get the ring? Just today we picked it up. How could I afford it? I had been saving my money. Etc. etc. All answers were more or less the truth. Then we beat a hastey exit. I WAS IN DEEP TROUBLE ! Lynn was torn between being mad at me and appologising for forgeting she had the ring on. And I was torn between forgetting about the ring too, and for starting the mess we just went through. I took her home and then went back to my home, to face the music from my parents.

Suffice it to say that I was right about my assumption concerning my parents. A lot of things were said that made it impossible to to tell them the truth. At this point in our relationship Lynn and I had not even discussed marriage. However after this incident it did become a topic of discussion in a lighthearted sort of way. As time went on my parents cooled down and I began taking Lynn over to see them more often.

Months later, I did pop the question. However at that time I could not afford a proper diamond ring. My future wife told me that it was alright. One engagment ring was enough.

My parents are both gone now, so it is safe to tell this story. Well...maybe my sister-in-law is in for a big surprise!