A Spring Day Like No Other

It was another busy day for Hunter. There were a few things on his schedule that required his attention. He started his morning by heading out to the Foundation's main office. The Foundation was getting more and more busy, especially after the New Yorker had written a very complementary story on the purpose of the Foundation. The article had featured the many different courses that were offered to those in need, and how the goal of the Foundation was to provide the tools necessary to change their life. The article had increased donations to the Foundation. It had also increased interest.

Several other cities close by also expressed interest in starting their own learning facilities too. Which meant that the Foundation needed to gain more volunteers on the board. Hunter was glad that he had many skilled and experienced people on his board already. The best part of the success of the Foundation was hearing the stories of those who had changed their lives, because they had used the programs or services that were made available to them. The Foundation was thriving, and Hunter just needed to check in and sign some legal documents every now and then.

It was nice to be the unseen man behind the scenes. That he could come and go, and know that the board and their volunteers were doing the work that made the Foundation a success. It only took a few hours during the morning for Hunter to get through the paperwork that he needed to complete.

For lunch, Hunter did have a quick birthday greeting with Lindy over Facetime. It was good to catch up with her. And to learn about the new adventures she was having as a married woman.

His appointment after lunch was with his dad's lawyer. It had been a surprise to learn that Robert had recently changed his Will, so that the majority of the money in the Kingson estate had been donated to the Foundation. And that Hunter himself was given the majority stock of all the Kingson Enterprises companies, including all of the media companies. So that meant more paperwork that require Hunter's signature.

After completing his appointments, Hunter picked up some take out on his way home, splurging a little to buy himself a birthday cake. The 'work' part of his day was done, and he wanted to get to his art studio. The past few days he had been working on a going-away project for a certain Starfleet captain.

Hunter put his takeout into the fridge to head to his art studio. He took a small piece of paper, which had a poem written on it, and set in inside of a small circular ring. Then he took several rose buds, fresh from the garden, harvesting the blooms juices into the same ring. He added some blue metallic paint. And then placed the circular ring into a firing oven to form a base.

While the base was being fire, Hunter worked with a heavier titanium steel to create a hand-carved exterior of a ring. It took timing to ensure that the base was placed inside the exterior at the right time, before placing a metal bottom to enclose the entire thing. He placed a long light blue sapphire in the center of the ring, before placing the entire creation into the firing oven again.

He ate his supper while waiting for the ring to complete. Taking it out of the oven, Hunter slid his hand over the unique creation. Then he used an engraving tool to carefully place Jim's initials at the bottom of the inside.

Hunter stared at the ring for a moment. He chuckled to himself, knowing that in his hands he held a promise ring. A promise to be there for Jim, as the Starfleet captain embraced the opportunity in front of him to explore space. A promise to be a friend, a lover, a confidante. A promise to explore new adventures together as a couple. And it was a promise for a whole lot more.

After placing the ring safely away in a small black box, Hunter grabbed a piece of birthday cake and decided to finish the day by relaxing in his hot tub. All in all... it was a good day.