“Let’s not ruin the moment. Talk about that stuff now. We’re just going to get into a fight about it.”

“Okay,” I agreed, upping the pitch on the second half of the phrase.

“How the fuck is it so hot in here?” Tyler broke the silence and jump up out of the bed naked.

Tyler shuffled over to the large bay window doors of the master bedroom of the house, unlatched them and pushed them out onto the little deck which housed a few pots filled with neglected plants about 10 feet up off of the ground below. I admired Tyler as he stood in the pale moonlight the open doorway let in, his back to me, his arms outstretched. I slipped the ring off of my finger and placed it in a little crystal bowl I kept by the side of my bed.

Tyler yawned when he turned back to me and crawled into bed. He pulled another item out of his jean pocket before I could ask another question.

“You still?” Tyler sheepishly offered up a pipe.

“Yeah, yeah,” I took the pipe right after Tyler filled it.

I lied. I hadn’t smoked since Tyler left. Too poor. Too depressed and honestly too lazy to go out and get weed myself.

I took a heavy, heavy hit and deflated back down onto the bed. It felt divine.

I watched Tyler take a stiff hit himself. Turned down his second offer.

The hit kicked the malaise and fatigue which was pumping through my veins into overdrive. It wasn’t long before I was struggling to keep my eyes open. I could tell I was going to fall asleep before 10 and that was fine for me. I let it come, a cool, gentle breeze drifted through the open bay window doors and gave me a kiss goodnight.

I woke up with a calm in my blood I had not felt in quite some time. The comfort of no longer sleeping alone seemed to put my soul at ease. The fresh morning sun of Summer was shining bright through the open door, melting away the refreshing cold of morning. It was just about a damn perfect morning. The kind you would see in a commercial for coffee.

I yawned and looked over to Tyler asleep on his back next to me, the pipe comically rested on his shoulder like the parrot of a pirate. I moved a little bit closer to him but hoped to not wake him at the same time.

My attempt to keep Tyler awake didn’t work. He weaved his hand into mine as soon as I slipped over to his side of the bed.

“What happened to the ring?” Tyler said with a froggy, morning throat.

“Oh, uh. I took it off. My fingers swell up in my sleep sometimes, so I don’t sleep with rings on. But I can put it back on.”

I stretched my body back over across my side of the bed and blindly dropped my hand down into the little bowl. The ring wasn’t there. I furiously scanned my hand around the dish a number of times.

“What the hell?”

“What?”

“The ring is gone?”

“You sure you didn’t just put it somewhere else?”

“Yes.”

I got up out of bed and stood over my nightstand. The ring was not in the bowl or anywhere near it. I dropped hard down to the floor and combed the slick hardwood, looked underneath the bed and behind the nightstand. It was nowhere to be found.
Crawling on all fours, I turned my attention to the floor which led to the open deck door. Quickly stopped dead in my tracks.