Page 328 - WhyAsInY

Why (as in yaverbaum)
betrothal, presumably both to make Phyllis happy and—historically, I guess—to keep other men (boys) from coming on to her, but as it turns out, in the first instance, there had to be multiple rings (from which the most beautiful shape would be selected by the bride-to-be), and I wasn’t really concerned about historical concerns. Worse, I had not reckoned on the third purpose of the ultimate choice, at least as far as my mother was concerned: to please the mother of the bride-to-be. On learning of the impending betrothal, my mother had raced to Edna Nelkin’s jewelry store to find three possible shapes of diamond rings for me to display to Phyllis, purportedly on my own initiative.
I don’t recall what the actual source for the funds for the acquisition of the diamond was said to have been. I do know that the source would not have been yours truly. Camp, busing tables, and the United Lawyers Service took you just so far. In the back of my mind is the thought that, presumably to spare my pride, I was told that some residual portion of my grandmother’s legacy had been (secretly) reserved for the purpose— with a great deal of foresight I might add—when my grandmother passed away six years before. This was very plausible because, had I both bought the Mustang and made some other grand acquisitions at that time, the other six grandchildren, above whom I had been secretly but understandably favored, would have undoubtedly been very displeased, and sparing their feelings was of, if not ultimate, then at least of penul- timate importance.
So, with three rings in hand, I proceeded to show the possibilities to Phyllis, choosing the lawn at Lake Mahopac as the situs but not reckon- ing on the idiocy of conducting that exercise on a day when my parents were inside the Rebells’ second home for the first time, presumably being incredibly impressed and commenting very favorably on the lay- out, the setting, the view, the color scheme, the fabrics, and the tastefulness with which Sylvia had decorated it.
In any event, of the three possibilities, Phyllis, who said that she loved all of them, preferred the marquise shape. After telling me that and exhibiting a great deal of pleasure, she blushed and fairly quickly headed into the house, there giddily to display her choice to Sylvia. It
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