"maybe this will help"

my parents were together for twenty five odd years, but my mother always felt like she forced my father to marry her.
he would have been happy never to marry, to spend his life with her (or perceive it to be possible), faithfully, without the need for formal documentation. she knew that, but in her early twenties, believing wholeheartedly in the notion of forever, she was scared that she was wasting the best years of her life with a man who wasn't prepared to commit to her.
under pressure from mum, dad had, not too reluctantly, conceded and the couple purchased a pair of rings that they were waiting on to be resized.
they were living together in queensland, it was one of the hottest days on record. mum was sitting in a cold bath in her bright pink, one piece bathing suit, sobbing inconsolably. she thought that dad had forgotten the rings or just didn't care (why she didn't or couldn't simply bring this up in conversation or just pick them up herself, i have no idea). dad attempted to comfort her, but after hearing the reason for her tears, he left the room, causing a fresh onslaught of tears. he returned later with a tall glass of lemonade with crushed ice and lemon pieces in one hand and the pair of rings in the other.
"maybe this will help", he said.