He suddenly started putting the
ring on my finger, pronouncing our engagement, as we were standing near a
bus stop on the
main street of our town, across the street from the north end of
campus. If he wasn't going to be
self-conscious about it, neither was I. (
Spontaneity and un-self-consciousness were two great things about him, aside from the blonde/blue
boy next door exterior). Of course, since this took place during one of the
summer semesters, there wouldn't have been as many
onlookers as there would have been at other times of the year.
It was a cheap "ring", a tchotchke from a Cracker Jack box or a vending machine maybe, and he probably found it lying on the ground that day. It was "one size fits all", since it was just a piece of metallic-looking plastic that could be pushed shut or pulled open to fit any finger. This piece of junk was a fitting "engagement" ring, a memento of our brief mutual crushlet - never consummated, since our respective girlfriends would have had fits. And other reasons.
I'm not sure if I wore it for a few days, weeks, or months - I'm not a wearer of rings, normally. I originally was going to write "I wore it 'til it broke", but I just found it in the bathroom, among various rings and earrings that have their own tales to tell. So I probably took it off as soon as it became a distraction while playing piano or something. I think this ring was used for non-ring purposes at one time - as some important ingredient in a MacGyver-like device - but I can't remember now.