I had been with my family all day, and was going to be extremely busy the following, so he and I just planned a quick, simple nighttime meeting at the Starbucks at Mockingbird Station. He was so eager to give me the gift, so what could I do but oblige?

As we sat down, he handed me an unassuming paper bag with tissue paper. When I pulled out a robin’s egg blue box, I couldn’t believe it. Was it a joke? Was it a mistake? Was it really for me? It’s not that my family isn’t well-off, it’s that we never spend money on jewelery. But of course, like every girl (even the most jewelery-deprived), I knew the prestige of Tiffany’s. I shook as I opened the box.

I pulled out the most simple, understated, and simultaneously perfect necklace that I’ve ever seen. The “X”, designed by Paloma Picasso, was intended to represent “kisses”. A little trite, I know. But the symbol is so much more than that. In the few years that I’ve had this necklace, I’ve projected my own personal interpretations onto it, with every scratch and ding I’ve etched onto the surface. The more irregular it is, the more me it becomes.

As I said, I’m not a jewelery girl at all. No rings (I lost the one Mark gave me), no bracelets, no earrings (though my ears are pierced). But I wear this necklace every hour of every day. In its absence I find myself reaching for it, my fingers searching – even though I never notice myself doing it when I’m wearing it. Its presence is just so natural to me!

I love this necklace so much, and I told him that I want a gold one for Christmas! I was only joking though – there’s no way I need a $500 necklace when I have this one.

Oh, and I also have a new hair color! It’s a subtle change that’s apparently not even very noticeable in person – from light blonde to a darker blonde. To me, though, it makes all the difference. I’m my natural color for the first time in five years, and I’m just happy that I no longer have to fight my roots!!

It looks quite brown here though.