A Thread of Sapphire

Stella looked up at the overcast sky barely withholding the coming downpour and sighed. The beautiful picnic she and her friends had planned weeks ago was definitely not happening anymore. Of course, living here for the last year had taught her never to place too much in this city’s weather when forming plans. It had been a tough pill to swallow when her parents had told her halfway in the middle of her junior year of high school that they were packing up and leaving their beautiful hometown in Southern California for dreary old London. She was counting the days until she was a freshman in college and could move back to California.

The constant buzzing from her phone confirmed that her plan was cancelled, her groupchat a constant stream of crying emojis and rescheduling attempts.

"Honey!” Stella’s mother called from inside the house. Stella miserably glanced at the sky one last time, before heading inside toward the sound. Her mother was sitting cross-legged on the floor in the master bedroom, the drawers of her dresser all spread out on the floor with their contents scattered about the room. 

“Wow, it looks like an antique store threw up in here,” Stella teased her mom, earning a light-hearted eye roll in response.

”When are you leaving and coming back?” Her mom asked, her tone growing stern. “Please be home before midnight this time.” 

Stella let out a loud, overdramatic groan and flopped onto the floor. “It’s clearly about to storm, so it’s not happening. I can’t wait to go back home.”

”I know it’s been difficult dear, but this is our home now.” 

“Not for much longer,” Stella muttered under her breath, silent enough to escape her mother’s ears. If her parents knew about her plan for university, they would try to talk her out of it without a doubt, and she had no intention of allowing them to do that. Outwardly, she just sighed and closed her eyes. Soon, her mother had her helping with her dresser clean out and rearrangement. They fell into the work with an easy rhythm, and her mood calmed with the repetitive cleaning and organizing.

As Stella moved onto the next drawer, a small object caught her eye. It was peeking out from behind a folded shirt, shimmering in the lamplight. She gingerly grasped it and was momentarily stunned. It was a beautiful sapphire teardrop-shaped earring. The gem was surrounded by gold plating and felt much heavier in her hand than she had expected. She set it down and carefully removed the rest of the larger items in the drawer, but with no success. She tried not to panic, but if she had lost the other earring during the sorting process, she’d never hear the end of it.

“Dinner should be ready soon,” Her mom said as she entered the room. She had taken a short break to prepare their meal. 

Stella turned to her nervously. “I found this, but I can’t find the other earring anywhere.” 

To her surprise, her mom waved this away. “We only have that one, not the whole pair. It’s your great grandmother’s.”

Stella stared at her. “So you lost the other one? This looks expensive though.”

”Woah woah slow down. I didn’t lose anything. Yes it’s expensive, but she only ever had the one.” She laughed at Stella’s bewilderment. “It’s a long story.”

Stella shrugged, “I don’t have anywhere better to be, so,” she prompted her mother, and her evening was immersed in the tale of the unpaired earring.

New York, February 1941

Evelyn tapped her foot impatiently against the sidewalk outside the grand manor, shivering in the frigid wind. Gramercy Square was filled with peo/ple she couldn’t stand. The business tycoons that used others to climb up higher and higher, accumulating riches that were dripping in blood, the old money families that looked down their noses at everybody else who actually had to work to make a living. She would have avoided this region of the city like it contained the plague if it hadn’t also been the residence of her best friend. 

Her ten year-old self would scoff if someone had told her that her best friend was going to be the wife of a millionaire residing in the infamous Gramercy neighborhood. But Lily hadn’t always been wealthy, and her marriage to a man who happened to fall into that category had not changed her, much to Evie’s immense relief. Lily finally exited her house and met Evie at the gate, dimples flashing. 

“How long have you been waiting?” Lily asked sheepishly. 

“Too long Lily. What kept you? We just talked about this plan last week.” Evie would have been annoyed, but Lily’s punctuality rarely failed, which instead made her worried. Lily’s eyes were tinged with red around the edges, and her cheeks and nose were blush pink as if she’d been wind-kissed although she had just stepped outside. 

“I am sorry. I was… indisposed. But I am here and ready now, so let’s go!” Lily smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes, only increasing Evie’s unease. 

Evelyn and Lilian had been inseparable since Evie’s twelfth birthday. Her parents had thrown a modest party for her friends and the other neighborhood children. The day had been bright and beautiful. Evie had been miserable. The neighborhood’s teenage boys her parents had courteously invited had driven her to insanity and embarrassment, mocking her hair, clothing, and anything else that boys of that age felt entertainment in, until she had left her own party. Fourteen year old Lily, until that point just an acquaintance to Evie, had found her hiccupping in tears by the pond. Within a few minutes, Evie had collapsed in a fit of giggles, the insults and taunting long forgotten. It had been over seven years since then, and Evie’s heart filled with gratitude when she thought of that day. Lily was the best birthday gift she had ever received.

So Evie allowed her avoidance for now. “I have barely seen you since your honeymoon. Come, you have to tell me everything while we walk.” She grasped her friend’s hand and gently tugged her onto the walkway, and soon they were well on their way to Stokes’ Jewels. 

Lily’s wedding to a massive steel manufacturer’s son had been the talk of the city, and Evie had learned what the word ‘bittersweet’ truly meant. As happy as she felt for her friend, seeing her constantly whisked away for society events and other commitments had been an overwhelming life change. She honestly did not expect to ever get used to it. Pushing away thoughts of her future sadness, she attempted to determine the source of Lily’s current distress. “How was your trip? We had no proper chance to discuss it since we saw each other so briefly last week.” 

For a few moments, Lily almost seemed lost in thought, and Evie thought she would not receive an answer. Her anxiety began to build, until finally Lily stated with seemingly forced enthusiasm, “It was splendid. The weather was beautiful, and…” she trailed off, and Evie wanted to grab her shoulders and shake her into letting go of her well-formulated sentences. 

“Lily. Look at me. I know something is wrong. The weather is not what I am asking about. What has gotten you to act like this today?” Evie’s frustration spilled over into her tone. How did Lily not know it was no use trying to lie and hide things from her after all these years? 

The arrival of the jewelry store once again allowed Evie’s questioning to be evaded. The girls went inside and Evie felt a sense of comfort as they fell into the rhythm of trying on various jewelry pieces, as was a tradition they had made in recent years. Since the beginning of the war abroad, their visits had grown rare as enjoying a jewelry shop felt vain when reading about all the horrific events in Europe. But today, Evie simply savored the time she had with her friend. 

A spill of sunlight from the large windows illuminated a section stocked with earrings, and Evie’s breath caught when she saw a deep blue pair of earrings set on the lush velvet display. 

Lily followed her gaze and gasped, “They’re beautiful. Evie, sapphire is rarely ever in stock here. We must take this opportunity.”

Evie scoffed. “You know I do not buy. Up until your wedding, neither did you. My father would feel so guilty if I ever brought it up, and I cannot do that to him. Looking is enough for me.” Even as she said it, she knew Lily would not let it be. 

“Let me buy it then! It’ll be a gift for you. My husband’s fortune should at least benefit me in that way.” This last part was muttered under her breath, and Evie glanced at her sharply, wondering if she had heard correctly. Her confusion was the perfect distraction for Lily, who immediately went to make the purchase with the jeweler before further protests could be heard. 

Outside the store, Lily gently gave her the bag containing the earrings, and Evie took it in a numb trance, stuck on the words she had heard. Another thought struck Evie with such brutal force she shuddered before composing herself. Lily’s top today was a turtleneck, which she had never seen her don before. Her blood chilled as she recalled her friend calling them suffocating despite their growing popularity amongst girls their age. How had she not noticed anything before?

In one rapid motion before she lost her nerve, she reached out and pulled the top’s neck down. Lily’s eyes widened and she stumbled back and jerked Evie’s hand away, but it was too late. The delicate skin on her throat was purple, with webs of bruising stretching over almost its entire length and width. 

Evie couldn’t stop staring. She tried to speak but felt she had forgotten how. Her stomach threatened to turn over its contents and finally, she gasped.

Lily began to stutter out nonsensical explanations, but her eyes had begun to cloud with tears, and Evie wrapped her in her arms. Time stood still as they held each other in front of the jewelry store, the shock and pain swallowing them whole.

New York, December 1941

It had been six long months since Evie had last seen her best friend, although it felt more like years. In the weeks after that terrible day she had discovered the monstrous nature of Lily’s husband, she had seen her only a handful of times, always surrounded by others and therefore unable to have a conversation about what she had discovered. 

Circumstances had remained this way until one rainy day in May, when Lily had finally shown up to their long-held tradition of a Saturday morning stroll through Evie’s neighborhood. Evie hadn’t known it, but it was the last time they would ever do so. Lily had said goodbye to her then, as her husband was moving them to London in order to expand his business with the war effort. With anyone else, Evie would have thought it was noble, but knowing what she knew of the man, she thought it simply greed. War profiteering was a new low, but there were some lows that mankind had no trouble bending to reach.

Now, Christmas was fast approaching, and America had just entered the war after suffering catastrophe at Pearl Harbor. Evie sat at her dressing table, staring at the cursed sapphire earring hanging on a gold chain around her neck. It complimented her brown hair and eyes beautifully, but she could not muster any admiration for the reminder of Lily’s departure from her life with only this left behind. Lily had pressed the velvet box into her hand on their stroll, pleading with her to take the gift. 

“You must be jesting. I cannot accept this from you now. Keep it. Sell it, leave him, please!” Evie had begged Lily. She had had a new scar on her wrist that day, and claimed it was from a broken glass, but Evie had known the truth. 

The one shred of hope she held onto even now was that Lily had looked at her with a fire in her eyes that day, squeezing Evie’s hand and whispering, “It may be a while, but I am forming a plan.” She had refused to say more. 

Evie’s heart had bloomed in relief that Lily hadn’t given up. She had accepted the gift - but only one. Each girl having one with her was the only solution she’d felt appropriate.

Her parents were having relatives over for lunch today, and they were sure to protest when they saw the gem on her neck yet again. They had been patient and supportive the last few months, waiting out Evie’s grief, but it wouldn’t last forever. She didn’t care. How was she supposed to feel even an ounce of joy with the coming holidays when the country was in chaos and her friend was an ocean away being subjected to torture?

“Evie!” Her father knocked on her door. She opened it, fully expecting to be told to be ready for company, but stopped short at the grief on his face. Her mouth dried and her pulse stumbled, waiting for what seemed like hours for him to speak. 

“There’s news…from Lily’s father.” 

Evie had been so worried about Lily’s survival under the monster all these months, she had not given a thought to worry about the Blitz. She had simply held onto the tiny flicker of hope that Lily would escape the monster, but the jaws of the war had made a meal of her instead.

Evelyn’s world as she knew it ended in that instant, but in the years to come, she would come to see it as a beginning. 

Present Day, London

Stella gaped at her mom, “This story is so sad. All this devastation as the background for a piece of jewelry? Please tell me it’ll get happier!”

Her mom had a contemplative look on her face. “So Grandma Evie didn’t just take that news without any verification. She worked with Lily’s family to make more inquiries to London officials, and it turned out that the building was so badly hit, that many families’ bodies were not found. Her husband’s corpse was pulled from the wreckage, but there was no sign of Lily, nor her…” She hesitated.

“Her what?”

“Her son. She had given birth a few weeks prior to the incident. Nobody knew in her family as she had kept it a secret while working on figuring out how to leave the man and she was worried they would force her to stay. Everyone in New York found out with the news of the family’s death in the bombardment. I’m sure it was an awful way to find out you had a grandchild.”

Stella’s heart broke for this woman, who went halfway across the world with a wretched excuse for a human, unsure if her family would stand with her.

Her mother continued, “Evie saw the fact of no body being found as a glass half full. After the war ended four years later, she scoured London herself and came back to New York alone.” 

“So she was really gone,” Stella whispered.

Surprisingly, her mom had gotten a sparkle in her eyes. “She had actually found her and her son safe living under new identities. She had left her monster of a husband prior to the building’s strike, but nobody knew, because men like that don’t like revealing they lost what they consider as their property. She came back alone to keep Lily safe from her in-laws' scrutiny, and they communicated without meeting for the rest of their lives. Her family was told as well, of course.”

Though Stella felt a sense of satisfaction and relief in this happier ending, something still bothered her. “What ended up happening with her child? He grew up without a father, and then what? Was he okay?”

“Last I know, Lily’s son lived in London and had his own son, who then had a daughter about twenty years ago. She’d only be a few years older than you.” Her mom hummed, gently picking up the earring and threading it through a gold chain. She gestured for Stella to scoot closer, and then clasped the makeshift necklace around her daughter’s neck. “I don’t know much more. My mom lost track of the letters between Evie and Lily, and contact between the families after their deaths sort of dwindled. But I do hope her grandson and his family are doing well. My, this looks gorgeous on you.” She smiled, tucking Stella’s hair behind her ear. 

The mother and daughter spent the rest of the evening continuing to work on their organizing task and sharing stories. Stella felt a newfound contentment to staying in London with the prospect of making a new friend whose family had been so important to her great-grandmother. She felt more purpose to her presence here, and the ache where California was calling to her had not gone, but perhaps dulled.

In the rainy London evening, a girl wearing a glittery deep blue stone gifted to her by her father laughed with her friends mere blocks away from Stella, the two halves of a whole in the same city limits for the first time in over seven decades.