“Come with me,” Kennedy says, fingers intertwining with my own. She pulls me behind as I follow her into the house.

“A mid-reception quicky?” I ask. “I think I like this whole marriage thing.”

She huffs a laugh, turning down the hall to the room we’ve been staying in. Once inside, she closes the door behind us and switches the light on, turning the brightness all the way up. 

“And with the lights on?” I begin to unbutton my shirt. “Let’s go!”

“I have a wedding gift for you.”

“Hell yeah, you do.”

Hand over mine, she stops me from unbuttoning the last of my shirt. “A different kind of wedding gift. Don’t worry. You’ll be getting plenty of wedding-night action later.” 

She digs into her suitcase and pulls out a small box, worrying her lip between her teeth as she hands it over. “They don’t work for everyone, so this might be a bust, but I thought it was worth a try.”

“What is it?”

“Open it up and see.” 

Suspiciously watching her, I slip the lid off the cardboard box, and nestled inside is an eyeglass case. 

“Glasses?” Flipping open the magnetic lid, I find an interesting-looking lens outlined by thick black frames. “Sunglasses,” I correct. 

Her voice is tender. “Put them on for me?” 

I do as she asks, unfolding them and slipping them over my ears, adjusting the nose piece to allow them to sit properly on my face. 

She watches me the whole time with rapt attention.

“They’re nice, baby. Thank you.” 

“Sometimes, they take a few minutes for your eyes to adjust. They’re meant to be used outside in the sunlight, so they might not work in here. Or they might not work at all. It’s different for everyone.”  

“They’re working.” I look around the room. “It’s more shaded in here for sure.” 

My eyes fall back to her, this slight smile on her lips that seems more disappointed than anything. 

Maybe I’m not coming off grateful enough, so I lean in and kiss her. “Thank you. They’re great.”

Pulling away, sunglasses still on, I blink, eyes adjusting in a way I can’t fully explain. Vibrant, I guess. Not brightness per se, but vibrancy. 

I blink again. More color. More saturation.

“Whoa.” Attention quickly averting to the floor, I take the glasses off and blink rapidly, adjusting my eyes. When I look back at her, with the glasses still in my hand, curiosity has replaced the once disappointed smile she wore.

“Are they working?” Hope. So much hope in her tone. 

I cautiously slip them back on over the bridge of my nose. 

Auburn. That’s what that color has to be. Kennedy Rhodes Auburn is falling in waves around her face. What was once a muted tone I couldn’t categorize is now the most beautiful color I’ve ever seen, framing the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. 

“What’s happening?” I ask.

Her small laugh is watery but excited, nonetheless.

Reaching out, I slip my fingers through her hair, letting the strands slide over my hand, watching the way the different colors dance with the movement.

“Oh,” I breathe, eyes burning with emotion. “I truly had no idea, did I?” 

She smiles up at me, a rogue tear falling from the corner of her eye so I use my thumb to clear it from her cheek.

I apparently never understood the real complexities of the color that I once memorized. What I learned to be red and orange, and what my imagination ran with and believed, doesn’t even begin to touch their true tones.  

My throat is thick as I try to speak. “How are you so beautiful, Kenny? You were already the most stunning woman I’ve ever seen, but now…” I shake my head in disbelief. “Wow.”

Her freckles pop against her fair skin. Her eyes shine with a vibrancy I’ve never seen before, but her hair…

“God, I really was right about nothing ever being this color.” 

Hair gliding through my fingers, I continue to watch as the light reflects and changes the tones. My attention stays locked on her as I study and relearn what I once thought I knew.

“You get to see this every day?”

She smiles up at me. “They’ll work even better in the daylight. We can watch the sunset together tomorrow night. I want you to see it. And this fall, when the leaves change. We’ll take a drive so you can see all the colors. The trees are beautiful that time of year.”

“I don’t see how any view can get better than this one.” 

Then my view only gets better when she hooks her hand—her left hand—around my forearm. And that’s when I see it. My mother’s ring—Kennedy’s ring in all its glory.

I had an idea of what purple looked like. I always assumed it was essentially blue, but once again, this is better than I could’ve imagined. She was right when she said this was the prettiest shade of purple she had ever seen. 

As I run my thumb over the center stone, tears prick my eyes while I watch the light bounce, allowing the amethyst to sparkle. I had my own version of what it looked like on my mom, and now, after all these years, I can put the pieces of the past and present together to get the complete, accurate picture. 

Kennedy gave me that gift, to accurately know what this ring looked like on my two favorite women.

“Thank you.” Hand moving to the back of her head, I pull her into me, pressing my mouth to hers. “Thank you so much.”

I leave my forehead resting against hers as she speaks. “So the big question…Is auburn still one of your favorite colors now that you’ve seen it?” 

I smile against her. “Nothing will ever compare.”