Jewelry Drawbacks
Alex called me up and glumly said “I’m ‘bout to pawn all my Tiffany jewelry”. My head briskly turned to my left at my own little collection of blue boxes. My cluster was measly compared to Alexandria’s. I remember the day I first spotted the huge iconic silver linked choker around her neck. She even had the large bracelet to match. I’d begged my ex-husband for that exact same set many years prior. Needless to say, I never got it. Actually, the dainty Tiffany necklace Lamar did purchase for me sat boxed up right on my bookshelf. I hardly ever wore it. My jewelry has matured so much since then. But it still holds a special place in my heart. It was one of the only items I was able to retrieve once Lamar bleached my clothes and stole any piece of property worth value. I guess the little necklace must have slipped out of his hands. My half karat diamond earrings from my dad weren’t so lucky.
In a way, I felt as if Alex was giving away our jewelry collection. Our timeless pieces that we would one day hand off to our nieces or maybe even our granddaughters. I often laugh at the stories my jewelry would reveal, knowing Alex and I shared similar accounts…If she was having issues with money, why didn’t she reach out to one of us sooner? Or better yet, find one of those high class Las Vegas strip clubs to work in for a few nights. That would surely bring in more money than the pawn shop would hand her. Come to find out, it wasn’t money issues at all. “D told me it’s trashy to keep jewelry from my past relationships,” Alex stated with a defeated voice. Everything she was saying about her new boyfriend was making me agitated. I’ve heard people say it’s more appropriate to give jewelry back after a failed relationship. But why the fuck would somebody with sense do that? And why should some new person be all in my business about what’s in my jewelry box? They don’t need to know that shit! And if I do divulge any information, it will be ‘I worked hard for those gems! I’m not giving anything up unless I feel like’. And let’s be honest, I’M NEVER GONNA FEEL LIKE IT! Okay. I take that back…never say never. My first engagement ring helped me out of a bind some years back. Actually, this was my second ring, if you count the three karat fugazi my ex husband first placed on my finger. The power steering pump on my two-door Accord died out when I was only about seven hundred miles away from my new place in Georgia. I was hesitant to hand over my pretty little ring to the young pawnbroker. But I needed the cash for the repairs. Surprisingly, my itty bitty diamond from the mall funded my pump and put a few extra dollars in my pocket. I signed paperwork saying I’d be back to retrieve my engagement ring, but I knew I was lying right then and there. That one night in Carrollton, Texas was more than enough for me.
Years had passed, but every now and again, I’d think of Alex’s jewelry. Wondering who was enjoying the fruits of Alex’s ex’s labor. Did one person buy her entire collection, or was it split up all over the country? The jewelry was taken to a huge Las Vegas pawn shop so you just never know. I’d then drift off to my own precious metals. I probably own around thirty pieces of nice jewelry and they barely see the light of day. For one, I’m a tomboy, so my diamond studs and maybe a watch is more than enough for me. There are some nights where I plan my outfit around my rings and necklaces and forget all about them until the Uber is right at my front door. So in a way, it would be better to tote most of my items to some consignment shop and have that good looking savings account like back when I used to dance in Atlanta. Yeah. The Fuck. Right. The savings account will come back around eventually, and being broke now only adds character to my crazy stripper stories. Those were the good old days though…
Recently, I stumbled upon an instagram post from @whenloveworksdynamically that stated “Belief is Everything”. After digging deeper, the relationship coaches spoke on exactly what’s been on my mind all these years. “If you believe that a piece of jewelry is going to be problematic in your relationship, then it will be”. I still stand by my belief that D was wrong for his manipulative way of getting Alex to rid herself of her jewelry. But I now see that if Alex wanted to take the relationship seriously, D had a say-so in his feelings about what those pieces meant to him. I, on the other hand, had never given anyone that courtesy. Neither did anyone ever question where or from whom I’d gotten my gems. Truthfully speaking, I hope no one ever asks. I don’t have many attachments to anything I own being that a vast majority of my possessions were bleached by my ex-husband. Seeing and smelling all my shit stained with Clorox taught me that anything can be gone in a New York minute. And I swear breathing in all that bleach gave my ass postnasal drip! That was my own fault for hanging around that apartment trying to take pictures like I was going on Judge Judy’s show and to see what could be salvaged. I’m just appreciative of the people and objects that are still in my life. Now I bet you’re wondering what’s up with Alex and D, right? Them two fools parted ways after about three months. And not one piece of her Tiffany jewelry was left in that pawn shop. A fucking travesty if you ask me. Something told me to demand that Alex hide her stuff at my house, but she was dead set on pawning her shit. I need to ask her if she started collecting all over again. What about you? Are you starting your collection over or are you a gemstone hoarder like myself? Send me and email to jualeeah@jualeeworld.com or JualeeWorld@yahoo.com
