A Ring On It

I tried to be subtle as I jabbed Anna in the ribs.

"Ow!" She screeched at me. "What gives?"

I put my finger to my lips to shush her when I noticed Rachel look at me, then at Doug and Darlene, and then back at me with a knowing look.

She leaned close to me and whispered, "it's not what it looks like." Then she loudly said she had to use the restroom and asked if I needed to go as well. I didn't, but of course I agreed to go. I needed the low down.

Once in the restroom, Rachel pulled out red lipstick and began to reapply. Of course she wore lipstick. She was such a pretty, put together, adult lady. I made a mental note to purchase lipstick before starting my Assistantship.

"So," she began after a few seconds of silence as she pressed her lips together. "I'm guessing from your horrified look you saw Doug's wedding ring?" I nodded. Why was she so casual about this? Did he regularly flirt (and grope) coworkers at work functions? Did they have an open marriage or some other new age arrangement, that I didn't understand?

Rachel turned to me and for the first time that evening, her eyes looked sad. "He's a widower," she finally said.

Oh.

"Wow," was all I could manage to mutter out. "But he's so..."

"Young?" Rachel asked, cutting me off. I nodded. "Yeah, it's kind of a sad story," she began, turning to the mirror again to fix the placement of her eyelashes. "He married his high school sweetheart. They were together for six years when they got married the summer after college graduation. He started working for a big liquor company in their marketing department. She was a paralegal, I think, planning to go to law school after they saved some money. They wanted to buy a house in New Jersey and start a family." Rachel turned to me. I could tell she had told this story multiple times and expected particular reactions at certain milestones in the tale.

"How did she, um, pass?" I asked, knowing she wanted me to probe before she'd continue.

Rachel let out a heavy sigh. It was a little over dramatic and I could tell that, as sad as it was, she enjoyed telling this story.

"She went out one night and drank too much. He was out of town that night for business. Someone might've slipped her something, too. I don't know. He doesn't really like to talk about it much, but over the years he's given me bits and pieces of the story. Plus, you know how gossipy people can be." She supported her body against the sink and held a dead gaze on the floor.

"Wow," I mumbled. I felt like such a brat for thinking Doug was a sleaze, not that I could have ever in a million years guessed his story. "Makes you think."

"Oh, yeah," Rachel responded, her eyes getting big again. "He immediately quit his job, not that the company expected him to stay. I mean, the product he was advertising for killed his wife. It took him about a year to look for work again, but when he did, he came to our company. I guess he felt like he would be doing some good." Darlene's company, which I won't mention by name, definitely promotes a healthier lifestyle. "He talks about getting into non profit one day, but I don't know. He likes it here a lot."

"So," I began, still curious about one thing. "How long has he been wearing the ring?"

Rachel picked up her bag. "Let's see," she said, clearly giving it some thought. "That happened when he was 23 and he turned 29 in March. So six years? I remember when he got drunk once, he admitted to me that he was going to take it off when he turned 30. That's when he'd be ready to get serious with a girl again. Anyway, they're going to think we're weirdos if we don't get back out there."

As I followed Rachel out of the bathroom, my head began to spin. I couldn't even imagine losing my boyfriend, let alone husband, especially at such a young age. I'm 23! The things Doug had to face at my age were no joke. I don't know if I would ever recover if something like that happened to me now. It really put my petty problems into perspective.

Once I got to the bar, I found Anna giggling with the bartender. Doug and Darlene were nowhere to be found.

"Where is everyone?" I asked Anna.

"Oh," Anna began. "I think they went outside for some air."

I rolled my eyes. Doug and Darlene could clearly do whatever they wanted, especially now that I knew the situation, but how much did Darlene know? While she had a tough exterior, she didn't always handle messy, romantic situations that well. If she hooked up with a guy, she kind of went, well, crazy. And I hate when guys call girls crazy, but Darlene expected way too much from guys even if they were completely upfront about their intentions. All I knew was that I had to find her and see where her head was at.

I walked outside the bar, with Rachel and Anna by my side. Darlene had her back against a brick wall, giggling, with Doug leaning in close and whispering in her ear. It looked intimate, but salvageable. I had an opportunity to talk to Darlene about the situation before she did anything she may or may not regret.

Just then, I heard my phone ding. It was a text from Justin. He was in Connecticut visiting family for the weekend and told me he'd be in and out of swimming pools all afternoon, so he wouldn't be checking his phone much.

"Where are you in a dress like that?" I guess he saw the picture on Darlene's Instagram.