I noticed it when he reached for his water glass. A pale band of skin around his left ring finger, standing out against the sunburn covering the rest of his hand. The edges were clean, and the width was unmistakable.
It was a wedding ring mark. I immediately set my fork down, moving slowly as I tried to process what I was seeing. Something about it didn’t feel right, and I couldn’t ignore the question forming in my mind.
Mark hadn’t worn his wedding ring in twelve years. Not once in all that time had I seen anything like this on his finger. So why was there suddenly a clear mark where a ring had been?
I looked at him, trying to keep my voice calm, even though my thoughts were racing. There was no way I could pretend I hadn’t noticed it. Finally, I broke the silence and asked the question that had been bothering me: “What’s that?”
