My theater rings

Okay, like the Machinal story and the word "fork," this is a tale with more than one part.

Part the first:

Kirk, who I knew from the Georgetown G&S Society, has a really nifty set of freedom rings that he wore on a chain. (Freedom rings are six small-ish metal rings in the colors of the rainbow, if you're willing to pretend that blue and indigo are one color. They stand for freedom and diversity and other ideas I get behind.) I admired them so much that Kirk would let me wear them whenever we were at rehearsal together. We joked, when I wore them, that they were engagement rings that I could have them to keep when we got married. His marrying me, he also liked to joke, was something that would please and greatly surprise his mother. John & Mattie noticed how much I liked them and brought me a set of my own after I cat-sat for them while they were on vacation.

Part deux:

Steve thought I was pretty cute (he can be so perceptive at times) and asked me out. When he mentioned to (Dana, was it? I forget. I mean, this was about a decade ago) that I'd agreed to go out with him she said "So it doesn't bother you that she's bi-sexual?" (And at that point I hadn't started wearing Kirk's rings either...)
"What?," said Steve, "What gives you that idea?"
"Well, she's involved in theater and you know how they are."
"But ...but... you met her when you were doing a show," sputtered Steve.
"Yeah, but I'm just doing it for fun," replied Let's-call-her-Dana, "and Leta seems to take it pretty seriously. So......"

Part three:

I was leaving for an audition one day wearing my very pretty rings (which go with everything I own) and Steve said "You're wearing those rings. You know what people will think, don't you?"
"Sure," I said, blithely, "they'll think I take the theater pretty seriously and they'll give me part."

And they did.