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.
"So should I just leave it here?" he asks, and these words actually register. "Or I can spread it out for you if you like. Just tell me where you want it."
"What is it?" I ask, confused.
"Um...a rug."
"I didn't order a rug."
He sets it down with a frown and checks his clipboard, reciting my address and name to me. "Perhaps it's a gift," he offers. "An early birthday present."
"Her birthday is months away, but this is fine," Jisoo interjects authoritatively. "You can just leave it here. I'm sure we can manage."
"All right. I'll need your signature," he says. I quickly sign and send him on his way.
Jisoo and I stare at the rug for a minute. It's still rolled up, wrapped with some kind of clear tape to hold it together, and leans with a slight drop against my wall.
She speaks first. "Who the hell would send you this?"
I shrug, though I have a tiny inkling of who it could be. Who else has been sending me random gifts all week?
But a rug? Why?
"I have no idea," I lie. She approaches the rug and begins tearing at the tape. "What are you doing?"
"Opening it," she says, stating the obvious. "We need to at least see what it looks like. Damn, I can't rip it. Do you have a knife or something?"
I get some scissors from the kitchen, and we open and spread the rug on the floor. It's red and dark blue with some flowers and designs. It's completely not my style. "It doesn't match any of your stuff," Jisoo says with a huff. "Is this some kind of crazy gift from your mom again? Or maybe your dad. He has pretty awful taste in décor."
"I don't know..." I muse, running my fingers lightly over the fabric. Something about the rug is just so... familiar. I can't place it.
"What are you going to do with it?" Jisoo goes on. "You're not going to use it, are you? It'll clash with everything in here."
So familiar...
And then it hits me.
"I know this rug," I say with a gasp.
Jisoo's eyes widen. "You do? Well, who sent it to you?"
"It's from The Big Lebowski."
"The big what?"
"The Big Lebowski. The movie."
She looks at me, confused.
"Christ, Jisoo! I told you to watch that movie like a thousand times!"
"It still doesn't explain who sent it to you. Does it?"
I stare at the rug and debate telling the truth.
"Is there something you're not telling me, Jennie?" she asks, her tone accusing. I look up innocently.
"No...well, maybe."
"Go on."
"I think the rug is from Lisa," I say in a rush. Her eyes widen slightly in surprise at first; then she just looks confused again.
"Why the hell would she send you a rug? And no offense, Jennie, but it's not even a nice looking rug. It looks like something my Grandma would rock on in her knitting room."
"It's not that bad," I say defensively, looking at the rug in reverence.
So it's not very chic, but it has... character. And it's a duplicate from my favourite movie, which makes it all the more desirable. I kind of like it. And that's not even getting started on the fact that it came from the person I'm admittedly missing more than is probably considered healthy.
"Why would she send you a rug, anyway? Of all things? Hasn't she heard of flowers?"
"Um, have you not seen my kitchen? It looks like a wilting greenhouse in there," I say, referring to the dozens upon dozens of flowers she sent me last week. She looks in the direction of my dying faux garden and softens.
"Okay, well, chocolates? A card? A teddy bear? Something! Moving from flowers to giant rugs isn't very traditional."
I sigh, then go on to explain the very un-traditional gifts I've been receiving. She salutes Lisa for the scooter lesson idea, claiming it will likely save many lives in the future should I get a sudden burst of stupidity again, and she even smiles over the DVDs and Tiramisu.
"Tiramisu: the way to any woman's heart," she muses.
I don't agree, as I feel as though I may never be able to eat the stuff again after my irrational binge yesterday, but she's absorbed in her own thoughts anyway.
"But why the rug?" she asks, and I explain how we watched the movie together the day I met her parents. The memory brings a smile to my face.
"So have you spoken to Lisa?" she wonders.
"I did earlier this week, but it was only through text," I confess. "I thanked her for the first gift. I've kind of avoided talking to her since then."
Jisoo studies me for a moment. "Do you not want to talk to her?"
"You know how I feel about this, Jisoo."
"Is that really how you feel? Or is that just how you think you should feel?"
"How would you feel?" I ask defensively.
"I'd be upset," she answers quickly. "And pissed. But I don't know. She had a decent reason, and while she should have handled her affairs in a more appropriate, mature manner, I don't think you can really fault her for making a mistake. It's not like she forced you or anything. And you were just as wrong as her because you knew about the whole thing and played into it anyway to get something you wanted."
"Exactly. All we did was use each other," I say sourly.
"Yes, that's true. But you both learned from it and actually came to like each other despite the whole thing. It won't do you any good to hold a grudge, Jennie. You both deserve a second chance. Lisa's willing to give you one, so maybe you could consider doing the same. You know...start afresh." I look at Jisoo, the fear and hesitancy written all over my face. I touch the rug, feeling the scratchy fabric beneath my fingers, and the coarse fibres give me comfort.
"You really think I should?" I wonder.
"Sure, Jennie. Go out on a few dates with her. Get to know the real her and let her get to know the real you. And if you don't like where it's going or things still feel weird then... I don't know... you can dump her ass for real this time." She smiles kindly, and I know it's to give me hope and assurance. I already feel as though a huge weight has been lifted from my shoulders.
I hug Jisoo, taking her by surprise. I'm suddenly just so damn happy I can't contain myself.
I really love this bitch sometimes.