Birmingham Burn
"Jeweller Adanna crafts engagement rings for others—but the thick Ethiopian bride-to-be who commissions hers has second thoughts about the groom and first thoughts about the jeweller."
The ring was perfect.
The bride was not convinced.
"I don't want to marry him," Tigist admitted during the final fitting. "I never did."
"Then why the ring?"
"Family pressure. Expectations." Her thick body slumped. "I've been living someone else's life."
"What life do you want?"
Those eyes met Adanna's. "One where I feel something real."
The consultation became confession.
Tigist's unhappiness poured out. Years of performing. Decades of denial.
"I've never been with a woman," she whispered. "But I've wanted to. I've wanted you."
"Me?"
"Since I walked into this shop. Your hands. Your voice. Everything."
The ring sat forgotten as they came together.
Adanna kissed Tigist like she was precious metal being shaped. Carefully. Completely.
"Is this real?" Tigist asked.
"As real as gold."
"Then don't stop."
The engagement was called off.
Tigist's family raged. Society gossiped.
She didn't care.
In Adanna's flat above the shop, she'd found her setting.
"Best ring I never wore," she said, examining the one Adanna made later. "But this one's better."
"Why?"
"Because it's from you. For us."
Birmingham's Jewellery Quarter gained a new partnership.
Two craftswomen. Two lovers. One future.
"I make rings for love," Adanna would say.
Now she finally wore one herself.