In our apartment’s kitchen, Mom stood in front of the granite counter, near the sink. She poured her morning coffee. “When you get the chance, come and see something. I just found a jewel. I’ve never seen it before. It’s really pretty, it looks like a diamond.”

“A diamond?” Did I lose a diamond? At my computer I struggled with balancing my checkbook. With my limited math skills. “Okay…just a minute.”

Mom patiently waited.

I laid down my check register, left my desk, and entered the kitchen. “Where is it?”

“It’s in the darnedest place.” Mom pointed with her long pointer-finger nail. “Right there.”

“Um, I don’t see anything…” I stood next to Mom.

“You have to get the right kind of light. Lean closer. See it now?”

I squinted. “Oh, yea. It’s part of the granite counter-top.”

Mom frowned. “Why would granite have jewels in it?”

Blank. I don’t have enough time for this conversation. I’m due at an appointment. “Granite glitters when it’s cut.”

“Oh. And here’s another one.” Mom’s unpainted nail poked it.

I knew to get real close right away, in the right kind of light. “That’s a piece of plastic.”

Mom pushed it around. “Isn’t that just plain weird? Diamonds and plastic look the same. I never thought about that before.”

There you have it.

Why buy an expensive diamond when you can use cheap plastic wrap?

#jewels #diamonds