時差N小時:買不起訂婚戒指

Dear Annie:My girlfriend and I have been togetherfor three years. When we first started dating, Maryunexpectedly became pregnant and we now have abeautiful child who is our life's joy. I would like to askMary to become my wife. Here's the problem: Moneyis pretty tight with a toddler, so buying an expensiveengagement ring will be difficult. Is cubic zirconiumworth looking into? I thought I'd get a nice-lookingCZ ring and, when things settle down, maybereplace it with a real diamond.

親愛的安妮：我和我女朋友在一起已經(jīng)有三年了。當我們開始約會時，瑪麗意外懷孕了，所以現(xiàn)在我們有個漂亮的寶寶，他給我們的生活帶來不少快樂。我想讓瑪麗成為我的妻子。但存在一個問題：有了孩子之后用錢很緊張，因此買昂貴的婚戒就困難起來。那么暫時鑲上鋯石是否值得考慮?我打算先買一個好看的鋯石環(huán)，等穩(wěn)定以后，再用真正的鉆石換掉鋯石。

My initial thought is to be upfront with Mary and tell her. Do you think that's a good idea? Wehave a joint checking account, so she'll know all about my purchases. Is there a good way tomask how much the ring costs?—Perplexed in the Midwest

我最初的想法是想事先跟瑪麗商量一下。你認為這個主意好不好?我們擁有一個共同的支票賬戶，所以我買任何東西她都會知道。有沒有好的方法掩蓋戒指的價值。

Dear Perplexed:Don't lie to Mary about the value of the ring. Women can be very understandingabout not getting a diamond, but they don't like being fooled. And if you are serious aboutreplacing the ring later, it doesn't matter what the original is made from. As for hiding thecost, you can put aside small amounts of cash until you have enough to purchase the ring andMary will never know what you paid for it. P.S.: Best wishes on your upcoming engagement.

戒指的價值不要和Mary撒謊。沒有鉆戒女人能理解，但是她們不喜歡被騙。如果你真的準備事后換戒指，那戒指最先是什么材料都不重要。至于隱藏花銷，你可以先攢小筆錢，直到你有足夠的錢來購買戒指，瑪麗絕不會知道你用哪比錢買的戒指。附：祝福你們即將到來的婚禮。