My parents gave me an envelope with money, saying it was for fulfilling any dream of mine. My husband’s sister gave me cosmetics, and my mother-in-law — always practical — gave me a towel.

And then came the moment when my husband handed me a small box. I opened it — and gasped. A gold ring with a diamond. Exactly the one I had dreamed of for years.

— “But this is so expensive…” I whispered.