Out of the Blue Read Online Free PDF Page A

over to where she was looking into one of the glass cabinets.
    I smiled apologetically to the saleslady and made my way over.
    “Have a look at these.” Caroline was looking at a display of wedding bands. They all looked fairly generic at first glance.
    “What?” I asked as I peered over her shoulder, trying to see what held her attention.
    She’d put her bags down and leaned both hands on the glass as she tried to get a better look at the display. “Look at those two, there in the bottom left corner.” She pointed to two rings that had a channel of color running through the middle of the platinum.
    “Would you like a closer look?” The saleslady had followed me around the counter and bent down to take the tray of rings out of the cabinet.
    “Please,” said Caroline as she pointed. “We’d like to look at those two.”
    The lady placed the rings onto a black-velvet-lined tray and brought them to the top of the cabinet. I bent over to take a closer look and immediately knew why they had grabbed Caroline’s attention.
    I was speechless. They were absolutely perfect.
    Both rings were made from platinum and had a colored insert running through the middle. One was a deep blue that sparkled under the store’s fluorescent lights and the other a dark amber color that glowed with gold flecks.
    I think I vibrated when I saw the colors. The blue color would remind Cam I was always with him, and the amber would have the same effect on me whenever I looked at it. “God, I can’t believe how perfect they are,” I whispered, and Caroline bounced on the spot while I stared at the rings. I knew Cam would understand the meaning immediately.
    “Would you like to try them on?” asked the lady, her eyes glimmered with an impending sale.
    “Uh, yes, please,” I said, still a little awestruck.
    I placed the amber one on my left ring finger as Caroline buzzed beside me. Of course it fit perfectly, so I placed the blue ring on my middle finger and held up my hand. The overhead lights caught the color and made them dazzle. I heard a little shriek beside me, and Caroline put her hand over her mouth to stop embarrassing herself any more.
    She dropped her hand as she whispered, “Oh my god! Would the blue one fit Cam’s finger?”
    “Yes, it should.”
    She raised an eyebrow at me, “Well, if anyone would know how big his fingers are…”
    I glared at her. I didn’t think the lady behind the counter would appreciate the visual. But the woman didn’t care, she only wanted a sale.
    “Do you do engraving here on site?” I asked the saleslady as I took the rings off and handed them back.
    “Yes, we have a jeweler on site. If you’d like them engraved, I can arrange that for you, but they wouldn’t be ready for pickup until next week, and we do ask for full payment up front before the engraving can be done.”
    I agreed and Caroline almost had a heart attack when she heard the price. It didn’t matter to me, I didn’t do much with the money that remained from my inheritance and the rings were perfect.
    As I signed the sales slip, the woman said, “Now what would you like the wording to be? Keep in mind it needs to be short as there isn’t a lot of room.”
    I already knew what I wanted it to say.
    “Love makes you brave,” I stated. I had said those words to Cam when I graduated from Berkeley. I’d found it hard to settle in college after losing my parents. But I had no choice, I had to continue with my life. Unfortunately it was one with little family and little emotional support. Don’t get me wrong, Aunt Cece and Caroline loved and encouraged me, but it wasn’t the same as my parents. I don’t think I would have made it without Cam, and not only him, but the support from his family as well.
    “Oh my god, that’s gorgeous,” Caroline whispered, as she dabbed her eyes with a tissue.
    The lady finalized the sale, and we walked out of the store. As the door closed, Caroline threw her arms around me, heedless of the