Jump and Other Stories

A man vacations at a seaside resort alone. He has been married twice, but both relationships ended in failure, and he’s become distrustful of women. He goes to the beach and watches the women there, transfixed by their bodies. He goes swimming, constantly aware of the presence of the women around him: “Sometimes he found himself swimming underwater beneath them, his tough-skinned body grazing past like a shark” (50). After swimming, he finds stones in the sand and throws them into the ocean. While digging for more stones, the man finds a beautiful diamond and sapphire ring. Scanning the beach, he doesn’t see anyone searching for the lost ring, and he pockets it.

The man runs an advertisement in the local paper, hoping to find the owner. Numerous people—men and women—inquire about the ring. Women lie and try to seduce him, but he turns them away. No one can describe the ring’s exquisite design accurately or name the embedded jewels. A lovely middle-aged woman arrives. She describes aspects of the ring accurately but confesses she doesn’t remember every detail; she got used to wearing it, not seeing it. The man gives the woman the ring, sensing the truth in her words.