When I got home from work, I dumped my bag by the front door and headed straight to the den to find my parents. I grasped the black box in my hands, rubbing the soft velvet exterior. My parents owned and operated their own auction house in town. They appraised and sold a variety of antique furniture, jewelry, and paintings. I wanted to find out more about this necklace, and they were just the people to ask.

“Hey, Mom,” I said, walking up to the couch where she and my father were reading.

“Hey! How was your first day?”

“It was good, kind of busy though. The teachers jumped straight into the lessons today.”

“Did you and Caroline get any classes together?”

“Somehow, we got every class together,” I replied, suppressing a grin.

“I wonder how that happened,” my mother added with a knowing smile on her face.

 “Let’s just say I called in a favor to one of my friends in the guidance office.”

“You’d think they’d exercise more discretion with student scheduling,” my father answered.

“The computer software at Tulson isn’t the most up-to-date,” I countered. “What can I say, Dad? It’s a faulty system.”

“Of course it is, angel,” he replied with a wink. I watched as his attention shifted from my face to the box in my hands. “What do you have there?”

“I have a necklace for you guys to look at, and I was wondering if you could tell me anything about it.”

“Where did it come from?” my mother asked, reaching up to take the box from me.

“Actually, one of my customers gave it to me as my tip. At first I thought he might have gotten it from the theater department since they have tons of costume jewelry, but I wasn’t sure.”  

She opened the lid and stared at the necklace. “Oh wow,” she said, looking at my father.

“Do you think it’s real?”

“It’s definitely real, and I’d say it’s a ruby, not a garnet,” she answered.

“How old do you think it is?”

“I’m not sure. Here, Guy,” she said, handing the box to my dad. “You're always better at dating things like this than I am.”

He took the necklace out and turned it over in his hands a few times. I watched as he readjusted his reading glasses, moving the pendant as close as possible to his face. “Hmm. It looks pretty old. I’d say late fourteenth century, possibly even older. It’s quite a stunning piece, and it’s still in great condition. It could be in a museum even. I haven’t seen anything of this quality in quite some time.”

“Oh wow.” He handed me back the box and I closed the lid over the necklace, handling it carefully.

 “And you said a customer gave it to you?”

“Yeah, he left a note on his table saying he wanted me to have it and to consider it as my tip.” I cringed. It wasn’t a complete lie, but I also couldn’t tell them it was a gift from a strange guy I’d just met.

            “So a boy gave it to you?” my mother asked, smiling slightly.

I nodded, already knowing where this line of questioning was headed.

“Is it the boy you dated last year?” my father asked.  

I groaned inwardly, recalling the brief month Rob and I dated last year. When you’ve only ever had one boyfriend, if Rob could really even be called that, I suppose it was imperative for your parents to bring it up periodically. Even though we had fun and I enjoyed hanging out with Rob, there was always something that didn’t feel quite right to me. It was part of why I broke up with him; the other part was my dreams. “No, someone else gave it to me.”

“Someone else?” she asked.

“Yes, someone else,” I answered in exasperation. “I’m exhausted. Are the two of you going to keep interrogating me about my love life, or can I go to bed?”

“You know we’re just teasing you, angel,” my father said, holding out his arms so I could hug him.

“Yeah, yeah.”

“We love you,” my mother added.

I hugged my mom and dashed for my bedroom before either of them could stop me.