A fictional husband has been forced to revise his account of a missing ring after its recovery from a lake complicated his long-standing assurance that it was probably in the car.
For twenty-eight years, the explanation had enjoyed the practical advantage of being difficult to disprove without cleaning the car. The discovery has brought a regrettable element of certainty to the discussion.
The husband welcomed the return but asked whether the ring's location necessarily established where it had been the whole time. His wife said she admired his continued commitment to research.
A domestic review has identified several previous search strategies: checking the same jacket, asking whether anybody had moved it and becoming visibly irritated when somebody suggested checking the lake.
Metal detectorists were thanked for their patience. The husband asked whether their equipment might also locate the confidence with which he had dismissed the possibility of losing jewellery outdoors.
The fictional couple will celebrate the reunion with dinner, provided they can agree where the restaurant voucher was put. Early indications suggest it is definitely in the drawer, although no particular drawer has been identified.
The ring is now being kept in a designated safe place. Both partners have agreed to remember its location, an arrangement regarded by observers as ambitious but consistent with the optimism required to remain married.
