Returning the Ring

Returning the ring -- hang your head, Tom Dooley. It wasn't that embarrassing telling friends and family my proposal had been turned down. It's been even easier sharing the experience with the occasional random complete strangers despite the bewildered looks on their faces, so it seems ironic returning the ring to a jewelry store full of strangers has been the one aspect of the situation that has most made me want to run away and hide in shame. Why is that? Why is it that the moment captured above as I opened the door of the jewelry store was one of the most embarrassing of my life, surpassed only moments later by making eye contact with the employee behind the register and explaining why I was returning the ring?