Charlie travelled alone to Sydney with thoughts of Nell swirling around in his head. He kept glancing over his right shoulder, wanting to see her in the passenger seat. Even though they hadn’t spent much time together recently, he was struggling to accept her absence in his life as permanent.
He turned on the radio, but every song provoked a memory of Nell so he snapped it off. Were they really finished for good? He’d been so certain they would always be a couple—maybe a little too certain. Nell was right. He’d taken their relationship for granted.
He’d thought about fighting for Nell and trying to win her back but when he mentioned this to his grandma, she was firm. “No. Leave her alone now. She gave you an answer.” Grandma had always rooted for them as a couple in the past.
Charlie understood now why it was called a broken heart. There was an ache in his chest that just wouldn’t go away.
A bell rang over the door as he entered the shop after parking across the street.
“Can I help you?” a short, round man asked from behind the counter. He reminded Charlie of the roly-poly Weeble toys he played with as a boy.
Charlie plucked the box out of his jacket pocket and opened it with cold fingers. He looked at the Claddagh ring he’d bought with so much hope six weeks earlier. What a damn fool he’d been. “How much will you give me for this?”
The shopkeeper pulled out a loupe and peered at the ring closely. “I’ll make you a good offer: five hundred”
Charlie scoffed. “Buddy, I paid triple that. It’s never been worn. That’s a half-carat diamond in there. Help a fellow out.”
The Weeble ran his tongue across his teeth. “Eight hundred. It’s my best offer.”
Charlie appreciated that at least the Weeble didn’t ask why he was selling a never-been-worn diamond ring. He’d probably seen this sort of thing many times before: dumped losers trying to recover a buck and a shred of dignity.
The Weeble unlocked a drawer, counted out eight hundred-dollar bills and extended them in his pudgy hand toward Charlie.
He took the cash and left the store, relieved that was done but not particularly excited about the money. It helped him understand why Grandpa was so squirrely about his dad’s settlement money. Money sometimes came your way on a wave of sadness.
There was a bar on the way to the parking lot. Charlie stopped and looked up at the neon open sign. The bills were folded neatly in his wallet, which bulged in his back pocket. It was bitterly cold standing on the pavement, but it would be warm inside the bar.