Keeping Her Love by Tiger Hill

health issues as you approach your forties, though nothing too serious.” She mused to herself for a moment. Her breath smelled strongly of some kind of raw mint. “I see some unlucky occurrences. Yes.”
    “Unlucky?”
    “Mmhmm. Unlucky. You must be wary. You are a good person on the whole, but this bad lucky follows you closely.”
    Maybe she isn’t such a crackpot, thought Rhett. We’ve had a lot of bad luck lately. More than I’d like.
    The woman continued: “Your money line is strong, though I see your travel line is short. Perhaps try to appreciate more of what distant lands have to offer you, hmm?”
    “Yes, I suppose I will try to. It is true that I don’t travel much.”
    By then a small group of onlookers had gathered. The old woman let Tula’s hand go, staring at her as if to suggest her dismissal. Tula turned to part her way past the collection of amused tourists, taking Rhett by the hand.
    “Well, that was interesting, however brief,” said Rhett. “I suppose she got her collection of potential customers.”
    “Yes, I suppose so. It was fun enough. You weren’t interested in getting your fortune read?”
    “Nah. I’d rather spend my money on spoiling you. I heard that the Ferry Building has some nice shops inside… A place that sells chocolate, fancy cheese, a cooking supply store. If you see something you want, don’t even stop to think about the price. I want you to really relax and enjoy today.”
    Tula looked up to him with a jovial expression, her cheeks red from the mild chill and her complexion a smooth ivory. “I love you, Rhett.”
    She stopped to kiss him, pressing her dainty hand against the five o’clock shadow on his cheek. When she stopped to gaze into his eyes, her expression slowly morphed into extreme shock.
    “What is it?” Rhett inquired.  
    Her lips moved briefly as if she had the inclination to reply, but she held her tongue.  
    “Tula, what’s wrong?” Rhett asked with more urgency. “Tell me.”
    As if driven into spilling the beans by an impatient parent, she uttered, “The ring. It’s gone.”
    Rhett felt as if his internal organs had fallen down the bottom of his gut. “ What?!” He took her hand in his, recognizing that her precious engagement ring was indeed missing from her finger. All that remained was the faint imprint of when it had been there. “Are you sure that you hadn’t left it at home?”
    “No, I didn’t!” She said, taking a step back. “I know I wore it, because I was looking at it while we were on the BART earlier.”
    Rhett swallowed, trying not to let his rage and shock get the better of him. It was a two thousand dollar piece of jewelry, something he had saved up to buy her for the better part of a month. He didn’t want to make the situation worse by upsetting Tula any more, as she was already thoroughly mortified. “Okay, so when was the last time you realized it was there on your finger?”
    She shook her head, trying to think, her emotions a terrorizing roller coaster. “I don’t know. We were here. I mean, we haven’t been out and about for very long. It must have been…”
    “It was the fortune teller, wasn’t it?”
    She looked up to him, her eyes wet with impending tears. “I don’t know. It must have been.”
    Rhett left her there, bounding back along the red brick sidewalk for the old hag that had stolen his fiancée’s prize possession. There were a lot of people still milling along past the tents, which slowed his pace down a bit, but it didn’t seem to matter how fast he went. By the time he reached the location of where the fortune teller had been, there was nothing left there but empty space. That terrible feeling in his stomach became present again, and he knew in a very real way that Tula’s ring was potentially lost forever.
    Standing in the sea of people, surrounding by wary and questioning expressions, he felt helpless. It was opaquely apparent what had just happened. The fortune telling tent was