Strange stories from the front lines

?A young woman started coming to our store to look at a certain engagement ring early in the year ? like February or March. She kept on coming back, bringing a different friend or family member each time. One day in June, her fianc? came in and asked to see the ring she was looking at. He liked it, and immediately wrote a check for it. After we sized it, he asked if we could gift-wrap it so it looked nothing like a ring. We wrapped it in a ring box, and then put the ring box inside a bigger box that was about the size of a box you’d put a coat in. To make the box heavier, we even put some fence-post ends in it. In short, there’s no way anyone would have ever thought this was a ring. As for the rest of his plan, he told us that the next day, he would invite her to the store to see the ring, which at that point, would obviously not be there. They came, and I had to tell her that the ring was no longer in stock which was, of course, quite true. Her tears started to flow. All I could say was that I was sorry. It turns out that they were having an engagement party that night with friends and family from around the country. He proposed at the party, and apologized for not being able to get the ring, saying he had bought a larger gift to help smooth things over. She unwrapped, and unwrapped, and unwrapped … and, finally, came across a small box with the ring she loved so much. When they told me the story, she said she thought I was the best actor she had ever met. It’s now 20 years later and we still laugh about that sale!? 

PAT G.,
YAKIMA, WA 

?A man asked me for an engagement ring with no center-stone. He selected a platinum mounting with the longest prongs in the showcase, asking us to size it to fit his pinkie finger. When he picked up his new ring, we saw him start using the prongs to clean under his fingernails. Turns out, he had bought the mounting so he would always have a nail cleaner ?on hand’, so to speak. His girlfriend complained frequently about his fingernails, which were ? I had to agree ? pretty long and dirty. 

STEVE Q.,
CHICAGO, IL