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I walked into the pawnshop thinking I was about to lose the last memento I had of my grandmother. But a strange reaction from the man behind the counter made me realize that those earrings held a story my family had never told me.
I never thought I would one day find myself at a pawn shop trying to sell my grandmother’s earrings.
I am 29 years old. I have three children. My husband left two years ago and moved to a new city with another woman.
I was managing. Then my youngest got sick.
So I took the last thing of value I had at home.
I took out a loan. Then another.
Last month, I was fired.
So I took the last thing of value I had at home.
I thought she was talking about an inheritance.
My grandmother’s earrings.
When she gave them to me, she closed my fingers over the box and said, « They will take care of you one day. »
I thought she was talking about an inheritance.
The pawnbroker looked up and said, « How can I help you? »
« I’d like to sell this, » I said.
He then examined it.
Her hands began to tremble.
He turned it over.
Then he froze.
Her hands began to tremble.
He closed his eyes for a second.
« Where did you get that? » he asked.
« It belonged to my grandmother, » I said.
He swallowed hard. « What was her name? »
I told him.
He closed his eyes for a second.
Then he bent down under the counter, took out an old photo and placed it in front of me.
She was smiling.
It was my grandmother. Young. Maybe in her twenties. She was smiling. And next to her was the man behind the counter, younger but undoubtedly him.
She was wearing the earrings.
I looked up at him. « Who are you? »
His voice was hoarse. « Someone who has been waiting a long time for one of their people to walk through that door. »
He turned one over and pointed to a tiny mark near the clasp.
« My name is Walter. »
« Why are you keeping this photo? »
« Because I loved your grandmother. »
» What ? »
« I made these earrings for her, » he said.
It showed a small mark near the clasp.
I sat down because my knees had already made that choice.
« I was an apprentice. I didn’t have much money, but I knew how to work with gold. I made these jewels for her. »
He gestured towards an old wooden chair near the counter. « Please, sit down. »
I sat down.
Walter stood for a moment, then slowly sat down on the stool behind the counter.
“We were in love,” he said. “A long time ago. We thought we had a future together. Her family thought the opposite.”
He added: « She married someone her family approved of. She built her life. I don’t say that bitterly. Life is complicated. »
« She never spoke to us about you. »
He slid the paper across the counter.
» I know. »
« So why wait? »
Walter remained silent. Then he opened a drawer and took out a folded piece of paper.
« Because years after her wedding, she came to see me one last time. »
He slid the paper across the counter.
« She was wearing those earrings. She told me she had kept them. Then she told me that if anyone from her family came to me in real need, I should help them however I could. »
My eyes filled up so quickly that I felt embarrassed.
« Why did she say that? »
« Because she knew me. »
I looked down. There was my grandmother’s handwriting on the sheet.
If one of mine ever comes, don’t send him away.
My eyes filled with tears.
Walter looked at my face and said calmly, « Is it serious? »
He closed the box.
» Very. »
He didn’t interrupt me. So I told him.
My husband’s departure. The children. The hospital. The loans. The layoff. The seizure notice.
Walter listened, his two hands folded on the glass counter.
When I had finished, he closed the box of earrings and handed it to me.
« What are you doing? » I asked.
Something hot and ugly rose up inside me.
« I wouldn’t buy them. »
My throat tightened. « But I need money. »
« I know. »
« So why? »
« Because they’re yours, and because selling them isn’t your only option. »
« With all due respect, you don’t know what my options are. »
He placed them in front of me.
Walter nodded once. « That’s right. »