Jennie
I soon begin receiving an influx of gifts from Lisa. It's apparent she's no longer concerned with giving me space; instead, she's hell bent on making sure I never forget she's thinking about me. And they're not normal gifts, either. No. Normal gifts would be too easy to explain to those lifting inquiring eyebrows in my direction.
The first gift comes hidden inside a fancy envelope, the name Jennie Kim written delicately on the front. There's a heart in the corner of the paper and my co-worker, Nina, immediately assumes it's from my romantic suitor who left all those lovely fucking petals on my car.
She stands over me oohing and aahing.
"What is it?" she quirks. "Hurry, open it!"
I rip open the paper, a tad bit nervous as to its sender and a little doubtful that it's even Lisa. All I've gotten so far is the fat cat, but who else would it be?
Another co-worker of mine, Natasha, has joined us. I pull the envelope open to reveal its contents, and we all three gasp collectively.
Then we stare at it, confused.
I'm the only one who knows what the hell this is about. Nina pulls it from my hand and holds it up to the light as if trying to uncover its hidden message.
"Scooter lessons?" she bellows. "Why the hell would he buy you scooter lessons? Do you even know how to drive a scooter?"
"Well, that's the point, isn't it?" Natasha quips. "I bet Jennie's suitor wants them to take lessons together. Isn't that romantic?"
Nina nods reverently as though finally understanding. "That is so romantic," she gushes. "Why doesn't Collin ever do shit like this for me?" she quickly demands.
"I know, right?" says Natasha. "Brady never wants to do stuff with me. All he wants to do is sit around playing Xbox and watching ESPN. I could dance around naked in front of him, and he wouldn't even notice! Not until the commercial break, at least." They both burst into giggles.
They go on and on about how romantic my love life is for a while before finally sauntering away. I fold the certificate neatly and place it in my purse, unable to contain the small smile on my lips.
But it doesn't stop there.
After lunch, I return to find a giant box sitting on my desk. It's white with no wrapping. There's no card or any indication of how it got there.
I pry off the lid to reveal the biggest slice of tiramisu in the world.
I greedily eat the entire goddamn thing, then spend the remainder of work with my trashcan nearby, trying desperately not to puke.
The next day, the available five seasons of the Lost DVD gift set arrive at my door along with a Grease soundtrack CD. I don't call Lisa to thank her for these gifts. I'm a bit overwhelmed, to be honest. I've never had someone dun me with such quirky things before. But each gift makes me smile. And I secretly sleep with my stuffed fat cat at night, hugging it close and wishing it was a fat Lisa instead.
The third day is the most memorable. It's a day that I get off work early, having nothing else to do, and Jisoo meets me at my place so that I can change before we head out for an early dinner and drinks. I'm in my room when someone knocks loudly on my door.
"Jisoo, will you get that?" I call.
I hear the door open and then voices. Quickly slipping on a shirt, I head out into the living room, freezing in my tracks when I see the scene before me. There's a tall, dark-haired UPS worker with a giant, rolled-up rug hoisted over his shoulder. He's talking to Jisoo, making some joke I don't hear. She turns to me in alarm.
