I gave my family their presents on Christmas day as we opened up our gifts. My step-father was surprised at the tackle box, and my mother looked at the montage for a long time. I saw her smile in recognition of the events that she recognized in the montage. Finally, she looked up and thanked me, and I ran over and hugged her. (Later on, my mother would thank me even more when I explained that the pictures in the montage were only copies; the originals were once again safe in her albums.)
Merry hung her heart around her neck creating a makeshift necklace made of used ribbon from other presents. She came over to me and gave me a big kiss. That night, she would hang that heart using that same ribbon in her room over her bed, where it would remain for a long time.
Kristen came over at about eleven o’clock and brought gifts for everybody. She spent a bit more than I spent on her gifts, but like me, she made sure each of them was special for the person receiving it.
For my parents, Kristen gave them tickets to a charity event that her mother was sponsoring for New Year’s Eve in Chicago.
Merry received a charm bracelet from Kristen. It was similar to the one that I bought for Sherry. On Merry’s, there were four charms.
Merry puzzled over the charms for a bit. Finally, I said, “The first one is a sack of sugar.”
“OK,” Merry said, a bit confused. “That makes sense. What about the next one?”
Kristen answered, “That one I needed to order special. Those are spices. Do you see? Cinnamon sticks and an onion?”
I saw Merry work it through her head. “I see: sugar and spice. I get it.”
The third charm was actually half of a charm that originally said, “Merry Xmas.” It now just contained the first word.
Merry got it. “Hey! I’m everything nice!”
“Yup,” I answered, smiling.
Merry puzzled at the fourth one a bit, trying to make it out. “What’s this tiny one? It looks like a circle with a stick on it.”
I looked at Kristen. “Do you want to tell her?”
Kristen smiled. “That stick is a candle. It’s as close to a ‘short cake’ that Jim and I could find.”
This drew laughter from my entire family, Merry included.
Kristen had a small present for me. The foil wrapping was perfect, and unlike any of the other presents that I opened that day, I felt that I needed to be careful with the wrapping on this gift.
The wrapping revealed a box, and inside the box was a gold pocket watch. I looked at it, and then up at Kristen.
Kristen said, “Read the inscription.”
I looked on the back of the watch, and it said, in beautiful calligraphy, “For my love.” I read it a few times, and then realized that there was something hanging from the stem. It was a lovely and long braided lock of blonde hair.
I looked up at Kristen. “O Henry! That’s one of my favorites!”
Merry was confused. “The candy bar?”
Kristen and I both laughed aloud at that. I showed the watch to my parents, and they smiled in recognition of the reference.
“It’s from ‘The Gift of the Magi,’” Kristen explained to Merry.
I quoted, “’Of all who give gifts these two were the wisest.’”
Merry still didn’t get the reference. I made a mental note to see if there was a copy of that particular story in my room.
I looked under the tree and found Kristen’s presents. I gave Kristen her first gift. I watched as she carefully removed the wrapping from the gift, revealing the manuscript. “Oh, Jim!” Kristen said, full of emotion as she opened it. “It’s wonderful! I love the cover!”
I handed her the second present. Kristen opened it and found the necklaces. “Two necklaces?” she asked.
Without answering Kristen, I took one out of the box, and moved around to place it around Kristen’s neck. I then took the other one, and placed it around my neck—with a little technical help from Merry.
“There,” I explained, intertwining our two necklaces. “We’re hooked on each other.”
This earned me an almost-R-rated kiss from my favorite kisser. I imagine that this may have caused my parents, or Merry, or all of them for that matter, to blush. Neither Kristen nor I minded at all.
Our family ate our traditional turkey dinner with Kristen there as guest of honor. During the meal, Kristen and I tried to recount the O Henry story for Merry, who finally understood the meaning of Kristen’s gift. Kristen surprised everybody by reaching into her pocket book and pulling out a coin purse. She showed Merry the eighty-seven cents—with sixty-two of it in pennies! Apparently, when Kristen researches a present, she makes every effort to impress.
Kristen and I helped clean up the dishes, allowing Merry and my parents some time to sit and talk and watch TV, and also allowing Kristen and I some private time alone.
Kristen said, “I hoped you’d get the reference to O Henry.”
“Like I said, he’s one of my favorite authors!”
Kristen looked at me. “I’m also surprised you knew the quote.”
I sighed. “I’m a hopeless romantic. That also cost a bit more than twenty-one dollars! Now I wish that I thought of giving you a set of combs,” I said, smiling. “But then you would need to shave your head, and that I would never allow, my fair Goddess!”
Kristen shook her head. “I love the fishhook necklaces!”
We kissed, knowing that there was nobody watching us to be worried about the rating. (Some readers may want to avert their eyes for a few minutes here.)
Later on that evening, Kristen and I drove to her house, my parents following us in their own car, to a party that Kristen’s parents were throwing for their close friends. My parents felt honored at the invitation.
In Kristen’s mostly remodeled apartment, I received some more presents from Kristen. One of my gifts was a formal tuxedo.
“That’s the tuxedo that you’ll be wearing at our wedding,” Kristen told me.
“Hmm,” I pondered. “What if I don’t get married in that tuxedo?”
Kristen looked at me sweetly. “That’s no problem, Jim. It will then be the tuxedo you will be wearing when they bury you.”
Oh, fuck. Why did I say that? I hadn’t really meant that. I looked at Kristen; I saw a sparkle in her eyes, but behind it, I knew that she wasn’t really joking. I quickly backtracked, quietly wondering why I would blurt out such a stupid remark. “I would be happy to be married in that tuxedo, Kris.”
That earned me a grudging kiss. Afterward, Kristen pointed out the watch pocket. I smiled.
Kristen also showed me a suit with another watch pocket for me to wear for the party, and we dressed each other to make our fashionably late entrance to the Swift’s holiday party.
Kristen proudly showed everybody the necklace that I ordered for her, and told the story that went along with it (with the addiction part removed, of course). She even managed to embarrass me sufficiently by having the cassette that I made for her in her purse, and she played it for everybody at the party.
For my part, I showed everybody my gift of the Magi that I received from my lovely blonde Goddess, nicely fitting in my new watch pocket.
Being around the adults, especially wearing that suit, made me feel so much older and more mature. During the entire evening, however, I kept on yelling at myself about that stupid, stupid, stupid remark that I made about the tuxedo. I thought I was making a wisecrack, and it backfired on me. I needed to watch my mouth in the future.