Our slow pace meant that when we DID progress, the weight that each new act carried was doubled or even tripled when it was allowed to take place. That made each one special and allowed it to be burned forever into my memory as well as hers.
On Christmas Eve she came over in the early afternoon, wheeling her Mom's car to the curb in front of the house. Tracy was out visiting some old friends and my parents were out doing some last minute shopping (something that was somewhat of a tradition for my parents). Nina carried a small, wrapped package into the house with her.
"I figured that since we won't get to see each other tomorrow," She told me as we walked to the couch and sat down. "That I should give you this today."
I took the package from her. "You didn't have to get me anything." I told her.
"Now what kind of girlfriend would I be," She asked, "If I didn't buy you a Christmas present?"
I looked up at her, seeing that she was blushing strongly. That was the first time that she'd referred to herself in such a manner.
"Thank you." I said gently. "Can I open it?"
"What ELSE would you do with it?" She wanted to know.
I grinned. "My we're getting mouthy." I said, sliding my finger under the seam of the neatly wrapped package.
"Who do you think I learned it from?" She shot back.
I opened the package. It was a new leather wallet with my initials engraved upon it. A gift that had probably cost her thirty dollars at least; a small fortune for a teenager in that time period.
"Nina, you can't afford this." I admonished, unfolding it, inhaling the scent of fresh leather.
"I know." She said conspiratorially. "That's why I shoplifted it."
I laughed, reflecting again that there had once been a Nina completely incapable of telling a joke. "Thank you." I told her, "It's very nice, much nicer than the Velcro job I have now." I leaned over and gave her a kiss on the corner of the mouth.
"Mmmm." She said, her eyes sparkling. "Maybe I'll go shoplift some more if this is what I get."
"Maybe you should." I answered, kissing her more firmly on the lips.
She kissed me back enthusiastically at first and then her circuit breaker kicked in. She pulled away, flushed. A brief moment of awkward silence ensued.
"Wait here." I finally told her.
I went upstairs to my room and opened my closet door. I rummaged around for a moment until I retrieved what I was after. When I returned, I handed a wrapped package to her.
"For me?" She asked with mock innocence.
"For you." I confirmed.
She took the package, which was the size of a paperback book, and hefted it a few times, testing the weight.
"Kind of light." She remarked, jokingly.
"But it's straight from the heart." I assured her.
She began to tear into the clumsy wrap job (wrapping presents is something I've never been able to do well, in either life), revealing the plain white box beneath. When the wrapping paper was a balled up mess on the coffee table she began working on the tape that I'd placed heavily over the lid. When, after considerable effort, the lid came loose, she began pawing through the tissue paper in the box.
At last she pulled a small object encased in clear plastic from the pile. It was a glass cylinder, slightly larger in diameter than a quarter, with metal threads on the bottom. She held it up to her eyes.
"It's…" She started doubtfully, her face scrunching in confusion. "It's…," A pause as she gathered her thoughts. "What is it Bill?"
"It's a forty amp fuse." I said proudly.
"A forty amp fuse?"
"Right." I told her, nodding enthusiastically. "With that baby in your household fuse box, you'll damn near have to burn down the house before it blows. You can hook up Christmas lights, a toaster, and a dryer all to the same circuit if you want."
She looked at me for a moment and then back at the fuse. "A forty amp fuse." She said slowly. "Well it's… uh…"
I was going to keep up the charade a little bit longer but I couldn't contain myself. I burst out laughing. Nina looked at me and finally realized I was putting one over on her.
"You asshole." She giggled, throwing the fuse at me. It bounced off my shoulder and clattered to the coffee table.
"I'm sorry." I said, still chuckling. "But you should have seen your face."
"How would you like it if I gave you a box of tampons?" She asked. "I could tell you that 'these babies will keep your flow contained for damn near six hours in an emergency'."
I looked up at her in stunned disbelief for a moment. That was, without a doubt, the raunchiest joke I'd ever heard her crack. My laughter bubbled up again, spewing from my mouth. She joined me, slapping playfully at my arm once. Finally I took her in my arms and gave her another kiss. The seriousness of the kiss cut our laughter off like a valve.
When we broke apart once again, both of us tingling, I reached into the pocket of my sweater and pulled out another clumsily wrapped package, this one only three inches square. This one was the REAL gift. As I'd predicted, my stocks had risen considerably after the news article about the glove shortage. They'd inflated enough for me to cash out a few and do some reckless spending.
"Here." I said, handing it to her. "This one might be a little more pleasing."
She took it, continuing to eye me for a moment. Finally she began to pull the wrapping paper off. The package beneath was a velvet covered, hinged box from a jewelry store. She lifted the lid and stared at what was inside.
"Oh Bill." She said softly. "It's beautiful."
Inside the box was a gold pendant in the shape of a heart. Its surface was studded with small diamonds. A gold chain was attached to it and stowed under the display partition in the box.
"I'm glad you like it." I told her seriously.
"Bill, this looks very expensive." She said, fingering it lightly.
"It wasn't too bad." I said dismissively. "I was glad to get it for you. Do you know why?"
"Why?" She asked.
"Because I love you Nina." I said.
She looked at me, her face melting, a tear forming in her eye. "I love you too Bill." She said softly. "More than anything."
We continued to stare at each other for a moment, neither of us sure what to do, both of us feeling the tingling of electricity that was building between us. I finally broke the spell by asking, "Why don't you put it on? See how it looks."
"Sure." She said, taking her eyes from me and concentrating on the gift in the box.
She extricated the necklace and pendant, gave them a quick look, and then handed them to me. "Can you put it on me?" She asked.
I took it from her and undid the clasp. She leaned forward towards me, grabbing her hair and holding it away from her neck. Our faces were less than six inches apart. Taking the ends of the chain in each of my hands I put my arms around her neck, resting my forearms on her shoulders. She gazed up at me lovingly as my trembling hands attempted to put the little clasp into the little loop. It was not as easy as it looked.
"Take your time." Nina said breathlessly, pushing herself closer to me.
I nodded, finally getting the two ends to fit together.
"There." I said, trying to pull away. But she dropped her hands from her hair and put them around my back, holding me firmly to her, refusing to let go.
"I'll look later." She said, pulling me against her.
Our lips met in a soft kiss and her arms squeezed me tight, allowing me to feel her chest pushing against mine. Instead of touching her lips to mine and then withdrawing as she usually did, she kept them there, pressing them, letting them taste me. For the first time since our first embrace by the river I felt the tip of her tongue reach out hesitantly, touching the underside of my upper lip. Her tongue was warm and soft, wet with her saliva as it touched briefly and pulled back into her mouth.