The Oyster

As he walked across the room, her heart sprang toward him like a jack-in-the-box.  Though they had known each other for a year now, she still felt a giddy rush of joy when she saw him. They had met using a dating App, something she’d had lurking concerns about. Incredibly, he was her first ‘match’, and she’d never needed another. Their connection was immediate and magnetic.
 
Since then, they’d shared a spectrum of adventures that cemented their bond. He was a scuba instructor and had gently coaxed her past her paralysing panic and opened the wild windows of the watery world to her. She had learned to embrace the soundlessness and submerge herself in the kaleidoscope of corals and fish. 
 
She herself was an avid cook, and she had patiently taken his hands to ‘show’ them how to knead bread. Together they had concocted recipes and menus then brought them to life.  It certainly seemed like their relationship had all the ingredients for an exceptional dish.
 
So here they were, in their favourite restaurant, celebrating the one year ‘anniversary’ of their first date, and she was looking forward to some delicious nostalgia seasoned with engaging conversation. 
 
But she was slightly startled to find that he had ordered oysters to start the evening off. In spite of the amorous connotations, she did not like oysters, and he knew that. To her, they had the texture of rubber cement and tasted like rotting seaweed. What else would you expect from a sorry soggy creature that slurped on sewage all day?
 
She looked at him quizzically.  It was unlike him to forget a detail like this.
 
‘Well, happy anniversary—thank you for an amazing year—the best ever! Let’s dig in.’ He purposefully selected a lidded oyster and placed it on her plate. She eyed him and then the ugly oyster.
 
‘Well, it’s not like they’re going to get cold, but you might as well start, ‘ he affectionately encouraged her.
 
Gingerly trying to avoid the jagged edges, she lifted off the top shell and braced herself for the inevitable sight of something that belonged in a spittoon. But there was no sign of the hideous innards. Instead, she was greeted by what looked like a tiny full moon twinkling within the luminous shell. A perfect pearl perched on a platinum band was all that the oyster held. 
 
She lifted her gaze to meet his.
 
‘You are greater than any treasure I could ever find in the sea. Will you marry me?’
 
Once again, her heart leapt like a joyous jack-in-the-box.

​23 July 2019