The old pensioner had a passion for jumble sales.
He had seen the poster for it. It was only a ten-minute walk to the community hall. He decided to get there early, before it became crowded. He liked to take his time perusing the great variety of items that were always on show. He hadn’t been there long when he saw it. His heart missed a beat when he spotted the tiny plaque. His hand trembled as he picked it up. In that moment, he was instantly thrown back several decades to a time when he and his late wife had holidayed in Ibiza. It was an exact copy of a small, round wall plaque that had immediately caught her eye that day, when they had entered the souvenir shop.
He remembered how much she was taken with its colourful painting of a Mediterranean beach scene. It was obviously made to hang on a wall. Then he remembered, back in the hotel, opening the bag and discovering that the securing ring at the back of it had come off.
Still standing there, gazing down at it, he became far more emotional when he remembered how upset she was when they finally got home, only to find that the plaque was not in their luggage. It had obviously been left behind, probably in their hotel room.
The hanging ring that had come off, was all she had. As she put it in her oddments box, he remembered her saying that it was all she had of the souvenir, but it would have to do. That in itself, was so typical of her.
His fingers shook even more, as he turned it over. Only a small rough patch on the back surface showed evidence that something had broken off, but… the ring was missing!
Despite the fact that he had barely been in the building for five minutes, he left immediately. On his way home, apart from occasionally dabbing his eyes with his handkerchief, he knew exactly where to find her odds and bods box and how he was going to glue it.
Better still, he knew the very spot where she would have hung it!