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Ray had gone back to spend some time in his coffee shop and Jessica had left for an afternoon class. Dorrie put the plates and cups in the sink and started to go outside to water her plants. If she was really being honest with herself, she was getting exhausted by the whole thing. She was thrilled that the diamond was talking to her but she wished it wasn’t talking in riddles now that it was beginning to actually be dangerous.
“What are you doing?” she heard Pumpkin say. He was looking through the screen door. “If your plants are dying, it is probably because they are drowning.”
Dorrie looked at her yard. The soil was still squishy from the latest shower and even her potted plants under her awning had water drops on their leaves. Pumpkin shook his head in his ‘I told you so,’ look but then he got serious. “The ring has told you to look at its beginning. You embraced the obvious part of volcanic fire but chose to forget about the trees and creek. You know better. Just because it doesn’t make sense right away doesn’t mean you can ignore it.”
Dorrie sighed. She was beginning to get a headache, but he was right. She rubbed her temples and headed back inside. OK, she read that diamonds can sometimes wash up in rivers but what about the tall pines. That didn’t fit her picture of diamonds.
She sat down at the table and switched on her computer. This time instead of googling diamonds she decided to look up volcanos. If diamonds came from volcanos she wanted to see if there were any pictures of volcanoes that included tall pine trees. She read earlier about a special type of mineral pipe that was needed for diamond formation and that they were typically in the volcanoes of Africa, Australia and Brazil. She thought maybe these places looked different then the hot, jungles she imagined.
As she read more about volcanoes and all the places they existed, she got excited to learn that Portland was actually within the circle of fire, a gigantic circle of volcanic activity that curved from Hawaii to Alaska to N California. It made sense when she thought about all the volcanoes around her. Mt Hood, Mt Adams, sleeping for now and of course the active volcano Mt St Helens. Was is possible that diamonds could be found in the Pacific NW?
She asked google that exact thing and got articles on vacation spots in the NW, the history of diamond mining in Africa and several ads from jewelry companies. Again, she rubbed her temples then she decided to call the only diamond expert she knew, Mr. Johnson.
Mr. Johnson’s shop and number came right up when she googled it and on the second ring he answered. He didn’t seem surprised at all to get her call. “It is so nice to hear from you. I am glad you have decided to work with precious stones.”
Dorrie hadn’t said anything beyond hello but if he thought that she said that, it made her question easier. She asked him if diamonds were ever found In the NW. He hesitated but she was sure she could hear him smiling.
“It is time that you learned where you are my dear. Unlike the quiet east coast, this land is still forming. The deep mantle where diamonds are formed is still shifting. There are diamonds found all along the Pacific coast but they are not high quality. No one really knows where they have come from. We have lots of volcanos but not the type that usually toss out diamonds. Yet a lot of people still mine for gold in these parts and occasionally they find a diamond. I imagine there are more but most people don’t know what diamonds look like in the raw and just throw them out.”
This was all new to Dorrie who had only seen shiny diamonds in fancy stores. Now she had a wild west picture of the ring.
Then like a grade school teacher Mr. Johnson gave her an assignment to visit the Rice Museum of Crystals in NW Portland. “You will find it interesting I am sure. Full of fun tidbits you night find useful.” Then he said goodbye. Dorrie wondered if her had gone back to one of his microscopic crystal caves or actually had a customer.
“So, are we going?”
Pumpkin, who never went outside, was apparently all ready for a car trip. This time she googled the Rice Museum. It was twenty min away. Her customers were finished for the day, Jessica wouldn’t be back until after 6 and apparently her plants didn’t need any more water. “OK, I have no idea what I am looking for but I could use a break. Let’s go.”
Most of the traffic was going in the other direction as they moved out of the city onto the highway. The land was opening up now and they started to go past farmlands with turn offs for berry stands. “Keep going,” Pumpkin urged, reading her mind. Right past one of the green fields that must have been growing some sort of grain, they saw the sign for the museum. “Keep your eyes open,” Pumpkin said as they pulled off the highway onto a gravel road.
“I have no idea what I am looking for,” Dorrie answered but Pumpkin ignored her. They pulled up to the building which was basically a ranch house with a sign that had a pick and shovel. It fit the old west picture but not gems. Still she had come this far and Pumpkin was right, she had to believe in herself even if it didn’t make sense. Pumpkin climbed inside her backpack and they walked up the driveway to the entrance.
On entering she saw a mother with two toddlers excitedly showing off dusty rocks they had collected in the dig for gold sand box in the front yard. While she smiled at the excitement of the kids, she didn’t see anything that related to the ring. She picked up one of the pamphlets at the desk, briefly scanned it and saw nothing about diamonds. It didn’t look promising but she was here.
“Do you have any diamond exhibits?” she asked the teenager standing at the register.
“No but we do have a trivalent exhibit.”
Trivalent? Dorrie had no idea what that was. Still, she had somehow been led to here or maybe coerced; Pumpkin was sleeping in her backpack and wasn’t answering. She paid the entrance fee and climbed the stairs to hook up with the tour group.
The docent was standing in front of 10 people showing pictures of the amber room that used to be in a palace in Russia and she explained that in older times amber could only be worn by royalty. Then she passed around pieces of amber with lizards and bugs trapped inside them. What did that have to do with diamonds? Maybe the heat, maybe the pressure? Dorrie looked at the brochure. 4 more rooms to cover.
The next room held an exhibit of a giant silica crystal which looked like a large metal sculpture of a bullet. Next to it there were pictures of the thinly sliced wafers used for computers and electronics. One of the guests worked for Intel and added an addition 10 min of information on the subject. Then they were led to an exhibit of petrified wood and an emerald ring Mr. Rice bought for his wife one year because he had forgotten their anniversary. Finally, they got to the trivalent exhibit. They were actually beautiful and maybe special because they were three sided. Pumpkin was purring in her backpack and the ring was silent in her pocket. Apparently, she was on her own and so far, she l hadn’t seen anything to help he with the mystery.
As they were exiting the last exhibit. Pumpkin somehow sensed that they were about to leave and woke up in time to jab Dorrie through the backpack.
“Ouch,”
“Don’t give up,” said Pumpkin, still snug inside her pack.
“We’ve seen the last exhibit,” Dorrie sighed but she didn’t want to give up either. In one last ditch effort she took the ring out of her pocket and showed it to the docent.
“How beautiful,” the docent said taking her glasses off her head and putting them on her nose. “This is exquisite.”
Dorrie felt she had nothing to lose; she had already spent her $12. “Can diamonds like this be found around here?”
“Oh, no, my dear.” The docent gave a sort laugh before putting her glasses back on her head. “If we had diamonds like this here everyone would be mining for them. It would be like the gold rush.” Then she looked at Dorrie as though she were a confused child. “This must have been from one of the African mines.” Dorrie put the ring back in her pocket.
“Let’s get out of her,” she said to Pumpkin. This time Pumpkin didn’t argue and they went back to the car and started down the long driveway. They were back on the highway before Dorrie admitted to herself the trip had been disappointing. Mr. Johnson had promised interesting tidbits but the only interesting tidbit she learned was that the air bubble in an amber-fossils is the animals last breath and that was too depressing to share with anyone. Pumpkin was curled up now, sleeping on the seat beside her and even the ring seemed strangely content in her pocket. For the drive home she had to be annoyed all by herself.
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RAY REFILLED A THERMOS of coffee and remembered how things had changed since he started his shop. When he first opened it, no one came in for coffee after two but now he had customers come in at six when he closed. His decision to sell coffee all those years ago was what allowed him to have his bookstore so he accepted this trend gratefully. Besides he liked coffee in the afternoon too so it made sense.
He filled his mug and sat down. It was then that the events of the day finally registered. Someone had broken into his store, his world, and was disrupting it. Scattering the papers and leaving the cash was an act of intimidation. He wasn’t the kind of guy who looked for fights and so far, had managed to avoid them but now he couldn’t. This man, and he agreed with Dorrie that it was the man who had come to her shop, was dangerous and he was trying to play with them. The problem was Ray couldn’t figure out what kind of game Mr. Gilbert was playing.
He took another sip of coffee and ran his fingers through his hair. Ray remembered the guy when he came into the store. He was tall, good looking, and confident but still had that look of concern and sadness a man might have if his wife had gone away. Ray even liked him and was surprised when Dorrie reacted the way she did. But as soon as she didn’t help the man, he could see that the man wasn’t telling the truth. There was something about him that wasn’t quite right. So, what was Mr. Gilbert doing by throwing papers around his store?
If Dorrie talked to stones, Ray talked to books. The birthstone book was still on the counter where he and Dorrie had looked at it yesterday. He picked it up, turned to April and read the diamond’s meaning again, innocence and clarity. Could those two things even exist together? He told himself he was just becoming cynical. Children often see things very clearly and that is part of their innocence. Then he shook his head. As much as those traits are wonderful, that was not what this guy is after. Dorrie might appreciate the energetic qualities of stones, but for this guy, Ray was pretty sure it was something more basic.
He looked at the clock. Dorrie had invited him to dinner at 6. There was still time. He was sure that somewhere in the piles of books that were his store, he could find one or two on diamonds. “Come on Jack,” he said rousing the sleeping dog at his feet. “We have some hunting to do.”
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CAROL HAD SPENT A WONDERFUL day enjoying all the comforts of the hotel room. She had even considered ordering room service but that wasn’t the kind of luxury she ever really liked. Instead she got a hamburger from a small coffee shop and brought it back to her room.
Sitting cross- legged on the flowered comforter, she unwrapped the paper around her burger and took a bite. She was happy with her decision to just get a sandwich and eat it in the room. It was more her. All the fancy things she had experienced when she lived with him were not really her style and she didn’t miss them. Even the ring, though beautiful, was not the kind of things she would ever buy.
She held up her hand and admired her long fingers. She was glad she no longer had the ring but then thought she probably should have sold it. The money would certainly be useful now. Finding a job would be hard since she had no references outside of him and his law firm. Even waitressing, the only other job she had ever had before would be hard in this market. She hadn’t thought that far ahead before.
She remembered the night he proposed to her. They had only been dating for a few months when he took her to a small restaurant up in the hills. Unlike most of the times when they went out, this time he requested a small private table in the back. She knew something special was going to happen and she felt almost giddy. All during the meal he stared at her which made her uncomfortable and then after the meal, he took a box out of his pocket. He told her he wanted her to marry him. She was shocked but also thrilled.
Then he told her he wanted to give her the diamond ring that had belonged to his grandmother. He never told her much about his family,only that his parents had been killed in a car accident when he was in college. This had been one of the things that they shared, both of them were without parents. She had always been embarrassed to have grown up in foster homes but he was so sensitive telling her how hard it must have been and how strong she was. Many times, he told her how much he missed his family so it touched her deeply that he was giving her something that had belonged to his grandmother.
He held out the box but still did not open it. He explained to her that the ring’s band was broken because, in her old age, his grandmother’s fingers had become bent and the ring had to be cut off. A flicker of concern must have crossed he face because he quickly smiled and told her he had never had it repaired because he had never met a woman he wanted to marry. He then told her he was giving it to her still broken so she could get the band replaced in the way she wanted. Adding that even though it had been his grandmother’s, he wanted her to be able to make it her own. She remembered being so happy she started to cry. It was always like that with him she now realized. For a minute something would seem strange, and then he would make it seem beautiful.
Then she remembered what had happened after she had gotten the band fixed. Since the ring had belonged to his grandmother, she decided to have the band repaired rather than replaced. She wanted to honor that it was an heirloom. She thought he would be touched. But when she told him she had the band repaired he suddenly hit her knocking her to the ground. She was stunned. He immediately apologized and said he would never hit her again. And for some reason, she believed him.
Over time, he kept trying to talk her into getting the diamond reset. And strangely, the more he offered this, the more she wanted to keep the original band. Maybe she should have just done what he wanted her to do. After all, it had been his grandmother’s ring. Maybe the band reminded him of how is grandmother’s hands had been bent when she got old. Maybe this was all her fault.
She stopped herself. She was glad the relationship was over; her thoughts were just getting jumbled again. Apparently even thinking about him had the power to do that to her.
How easily she could question herself all over again. What had been so solid this morning was fading like shadows as the sun moved across the sky into late afternoon. ‘Maybe I am crazy,’ she said to herself ‘like he said I am.’
She shook herself. No, she wasn’t going to give into her doubts. She finished her coffee and stood up to look out the window. People were moving down the sidewalk to stop in stores and restaurants and she realized how much she wished she had someone to talk to. She had been too embarrassed about how things had worked out and too afraid that maybe she really was crazy, to even talk about it with her friend Ana. She wished there was someone who would understand these strange images even if she had no idea where they came from. Unless... she looked down at her fingers. Maybe there was someone. She glanced at the clock. If she left now, the store might still be open.