Aunt Gloria

The soft black velvet was smooth to the touch and felt fantastic beneath my finger, the ring box sitting prominently in the center of the coffee table. That huge rock looked more like a piece of glass than an expensive four karat diamond. It had no business being displayed this way, just waiting for anyone to come and steal it right from under Aunt Gloria’s nose, but my aunt didn’t seem fazed about that kind of outcome in the least.

“Aunt Gloria, aren’t you worried it will be stolen?” I asked, my finger still tracing the velvet, circling around the big diamond and back again. Just being near something so enticing filled me with envy and excitement as dreams danced in my mind of a man asking for my hand one day.

“Heaven’s no. No one would dare steal my precious ring. It’s a one of a kind, and most jewelers know where it belongs.” She leaned closer to me, a twinkle in her eye. “Besides, it’s a replica.”

My eyes bulged as I stared at her. For as long as I could remember this ring, and the way my aunt foolishly left it unattended was the brunt of family jokes, though most thought it were a shameful tribute to my uncle who died before I was born. I understood her, that need to keep something physical close to her.

“But there’s a real one?” I asked, the new information playing in my mind.

She smiled, reached into her shirt pulling her long gold chain out. “I never take it off.”

I gasped seeing the real deal sparkling in the sunlight. Laughter from the other room had my aunt slipping the ring back down her shirt.

“This is our secret,” Aunt Gloria said with a wink.

WC: 296
Written for: "Daily Flash Fiction Challenge"   by Arakun the twisted raccoon
Prompt: Stolen, glass, velvet
Honorable Mention!