Wear Some Jewelry

   Yesterday we went out to lunch with Evie. Evie is an elderly woman I met when she was one of my customers. We struck up a friendship which had now developed into her becoming my adopted grandmother.
   We have been out to eat many many times with her. It's one of the few times she gets to leave her house. (Her health is fragile so mainly she only leaves her house to go to medical appointments.) We used to take her out to eat once a month at an Italian restaurant whenever  we fed the missionaries. She loved that. The missionaries liked it too.
   She always wears jewelry when she goes out.  It doesn't matter if she is wearing a sweatshirt or a dressier shirt. She always has earrings, at least one ring and a necklace. She must have a massive collection because I seldom see her wear the same things twice.
   She has  good taste when it comes to her jewelry. I'm always complimenting her on something she is wearing or asking her about what stone she has. Most of the time she knows. Many times she has told me that she's bought something valued at a very high price for significantly less. She usually tells me this with a gleeful look in her eye. I know that she doesn't sleep very much or very well. I suspect she likes to watch the shopping networks on TV at night.
   Knowing that I have a small collection of jewelry, she usually asks me why I'm not wearing anything. Many times I simply don't think of it. She's right though. Most of the pieces I own were made by small crafters. They weren't made to sit in my jewelry armoire to gather dust. They are small pieces of art and should be treated as such.
   Before we left to meet her for lunch I knew I should put on some jewelry. I found a white gold ring set with a pale blue ice saphire and put it on. I found my blue lace agate necklace. Perfect. I put it on. I thought about earrings, but we were running late. I stepped into the bathroom and put on a little lipstick and even a quick swipe with some eye shadow. I was ready to go.
   We met her at a Chinese buffet place that she lakes. She was there at her favourite tabled sipping iced tea and waiting for us. After a little chat we went and got some food. We sat down and ate a little. Partway through our meal, I told her I put on my fanciest ring just for her. I held out my hand and showed it to her. She complimented it. She asked me if I had earrings on. I said I didn't because my hair usually covers them up. She shook her head.
   She had two rings, a necklace and earrings that matched her shirt. One of her rings was very striking. I asked her about it. It was garnet and diamonds and the diamond were real. It was valued at two thousand dollars but she got it for two hundred. She took off the ring and showed it to me, a gleeful smile on her face. The ring had a wide band with alternating chips of garnet and diamond. Even if the diamonds were not real, it was still pretty. I handed it back to her.
  A bit later she asked me if I ever wore my hair up. Sometimes I do, I pulled my hair into a twist at the back of my head to show her.
  "That style looks good on you," she said. "It shows off your face. If you wear your hair like that, you could wear earrings."
   We finished our meal and left. We walked Evie to her car. I bent down to give her a hug and a kiss. She whispered in my ear,"Don't forget to wear some jewelry."
   I won't.