“I think that this is a brilliant idea,” Mason tells me over the phone. “You and Andrew desperately need to get it together.”
“I know,” I sigh. “I think we’re doing okay.”
“So you’re not fighting anymore? Why do I find that hard to believe?” She wonders skeptically.
“You know, there was a time that we made a really adorable couple,” I remind her as I sit down on the edge of Andrew’s bed and start running my fingers through my wet blonde hair. I’d just taken a shower since Andrew and his whole family went to visit Marie’s parents a few hours away. It’s Christmas Eve and tomorrow, there’s a huge Christmas party at Andrew’s uncle’s house but because Marie’s mother can’t do road trips, they drove up there to celebrate Christmas on Christmas Eve with her parents. They invited me to go with them but I declined since I thought that it’d be awkward to join in on their small family gathering when I’ve never even met Marie’s parents. “We’re working things out.”
“Well, good for you. I’m happy for you guys,” She says. “Just please don’t get pregnant while you’re gone. You have a bright future.”
I let out a little laugh. “Did you join a teen pregnancy prevention club while I’ve been gone?”
“Okay, excuse me for not wanting one of my best friends to wreck her future with a baby. I mean, right now is when you’re the most vulnerable. You’re excited and happy to be back together and all reasonable thinking just goes out the door,” She tells me slightly joking.
“I never said that we were back together,” I tell her.
“I know but that’s just because you like to complicate things,” She says and I can practically hear her eyes roll through the phone. “Once you are back together, though, make sure that you take precautions.”
“It’s not complicated, Mase,” I laugh at her. “We’re just taking it slow. And again, I’m not going to get pregnant. We’re at his parents’ house for God’s sake.”
“Yeah, you should probably wait until you get back then,” Mason agrees with me. “Anyway though, I’m still excited that you guys aren’t fighting anymore.”
“I think everybody’s excited for this,” I mutter with a small laugh. “I think he’s planning something big. Probably for after the Christmas party or New Year’s but he’s being suspicious about something.”
“He is somebody who’d do something romantic like that,” She says. “But I didn’t know that you were going to a Christmas party. With his family?”
“Yeah, it’s a big party at his uncle’s house or something. It’ll probably be majorly awkward considering I don’t really know any of his family except for his parents and his brother. I don’t even know how he’s going to introduce me to his family considering his parents still think that we’re really together. Big families always make me a little nervous,” I explain to her as I grab the remote to his TV and turn it on, turning it to a station that I like to watch.
“See? I told you that it’s complicated,” She chuckles. “But you’ll do fine. Just go with it and relax. His family is really nice. I mean, I’ve only met his parents but I’m just assuming that they’re all as nice as his parents, so you don’t have anything to worry about.”
“I hope they’re all as nice as his parents,” I sigh. “Andrew says that they’re nice but he could just be saying that to make me feel better about it. It didn’t work very well though. I’m not nervous that much about meeting his family as much as I am about seeing his family and comparing it to mine. His family is like, everything that mine isn’t and it’s really awesome that he has all of these amazing people around him, you know? It just sucks that whenever I’m with his parents, I’m wishing that mine could be more like them. It just sucks.”
“Does Andrew know that?” She wonders quietly.
“No. It’s not a big deal, really, it’s just a thing,” I assure her. “I don’t want him to feel bad or anything. He shouldn’t feel bad but I know that he would if I told him something like that.”
“You’re too kind,” Mason jokes. “Seriously, though, you should open up to him with that kind of stuff. Isn’t that what you guys are doing now? Opening up and everything?”
“Yeah, yeah,” I sigh. “We’re still figuring things out. It’ll be fine.”
“Okay then… if you say so,” She sings through the phone.
“Well, how’s your vacation going so far?” I ask her to change the subject from me and onto Mason.
“I’ve been living like a potato,” She tells me. “I’m either eating, sleeping, or hanging out with Brian and/or Sienna. It’s basically paradise and I might just never go back to school.”
“Yeah,” I scoff. “Just a few more months and then you won’t have to go back.”
“Right. This vacation is just nice, I guess. Tomorrow will probably be my busiest day since Brian is coming to my family’s Christmas party and then we’re going over to his family’s Christmas dinner which means that we’ll only have tomorrow night to celebrate our own private Christmas.”
“Don’t go into details please,” I joke with a small laugh.
“No, I don’t mean it like that, you pervert,” She chuckles. “I just mean that a few hours by ourselves will be nice on the holiday. And you remember what I got for him? I can’t wait to see his face when he opens it.”
“Yeah, he’s going to love it. Anyway, I should go get something for Andrew before they get back,” I decide. “He probably got something for me and I’d feel shitty if I don’t get him something too.”
“Gift shipping is so hard for guys. I mean, us girls are so easy because just a cute little necklace or a romantically personal bracelet is all we need to break out into tears but guys… it took me forever to find the perfect thing.”
“Yeah. Well, I have about two and a half hours to find the perfect thing so I guess I’ll need a miracle. I have no idea what I could get him that’s not too romantic and personal but still a great gift,” I explain to her.
“You need to stop talking to me then,” Mason jokes. “You need to get thinking like, yesterday.”
“I know. You’re right,” I agree with her. I hadn’t decided if I should get Andrew a present yet because I wasn’t sure if that would be too weird or not but just now, talking to Mason, I realized that he’s definitely going to get me something. That’s just how he is. Even if we were still fighting, he’d make sure to get me a Christmas present. So the obvious answer is yes, I do need to get him a present. Not just because he’s getting me one but because a present is a little reminder that somebody cares about you. And I do care about Andrew therefor, I need to get him a present and it needs to be an awesome one. “Well, I should go figure this out. I’ll talk to you later?”
“Yeah, we’ll talk later. I want to know how this goes so call me later,” She tells me.
“Right,” I chuckle. “I’ll do that. Merry Christmas, Mase.”
“Merry Christmas, Stell,” She chimes before hanging up.
I toss my phone into my large purse and then grab Andrew’s keys from his nightstand. He rode with his parents in their car to their relatives and Andrew said that if I want to go anywhere that I can use his car. He made a joking remark about making sure that I don’t get lost and then he gave me the keys.
I have no idea where to go or how to get there considering I’ve only been to New Mexico one time before and we spent all of that time here at Andrew’s house. Before I get to leave the house, I pull out my laptop and start to search for stores nearby that sell types of things that I can get for Andrew for Christmas. The issue with this, however, is that I have no idea what to get him that lies between friendship and relationship.
It takes me a little while to get a small list of addresses to stores that might have something that I can get for him. Most of the stores are expensive versions of Sears which might not be the best idea but I’m hoping that it’ll jog some ideas free in my brain.
I scribble down the addresses and leave a note for Andrew that I’m going shopping just in case they get back before I do and then I get in the car and head off to the closest store. Just a few steps inside, I get a whiff of pure masculinity and overcompensation. There’s an electronics area with TVs and laptops and then there’s a clothes section that looks a lot simpler than the clothes sections that I’m used to considering this store is strictly for men so there’s no purple (real men might wear pink but purple is just out of the question) or frills or skirts or anything exciting. And then there’s tools and watches and ties and cologne that’s filling the whole entire store with a potent stench.
As I’m walking through the aisles of all of the belts and appliances, I notice a few middle-aged men giving me strange looks as they inspect their high end DVD players and suit jackets. I suspect it’s because I’m a bit misplaced in this store that basically sells masculinity when, in contrast, I am basically the definition of femininity. This store and I are like mortal enemies. I push through it though because I hope that if I can’t find a gift here, I can at least get an idea.
I pass by a few other people- there are some men who are probably searching for those Christmas sales and then there are some women who are most likely hastily grabbing some last minute Christmas gift, much like myself. I doubt that these women have such complicated relationships with their gift receivers.
I can’t buy him something ridiculous like a tie. A tie is something that you give your father or grandpa. He already has a nice TV in his dorm so I can’t get him a TV either.
“Hello. Can I help you with anything?” I hear somebody ask me as they approach me while I’m looking at a shelf of iPads even though I’m pretty sure that I’m not going to get him one.
“Um, no thanks,” I say politely. “Just some last minute gift shopping.”
“Having trouble?” He wonders jokingly.
“Tons,” I sigh.
“Well, I know I probably shouldn’t say this because it’s bad for business but you’re not going to find an awesome gift here.”
“No?”
The guy, who looks to be in his twenties with a polo with the store’s logo on the front, nods at me and leans against the shelf. “I mean, stuff that you buy here is so generic- for people who don’t have time to think of anything else. But you’re young, you should go creative.”
“I have like, eighteen hours,” I remind him, realizing how close we are to Christmas day by looking down at my phone. “I don’t have time to be creative.”
He shrugs. “You just have to work harder for it.”
I bite my lip, thinking about what he just said. Make it personal. Show Andrew that I really know him. One thing immediately comes to mind and I know that, although it sounds impossible, it sounds like it could be the best gift ever- one that isn’t too romantic or too platonic. It’s perfect. “Yeah. Okay, that gives me an idea. Thanks.”
“No problem,” He sings before walking away, swinging his lanyard of keys around his finger. “Good luck.”
I hurry out of the electronics section and towards the small area where they have their pretentious collection of coffees and teas and then stare at all of the displays for a long time to attempt to decide which one to buy because I can’t remember what kind of coffee that he likes, I just remember that it’s fancy. I try to remember but I just can’t do it so I finally just decide to grab the most expensive type of coffee they have that fit my plan and then head for the front of the store to check out.
It’s almost my turn in line to check out when I hear my phone start ringing in my pocket. I jump a little before hurrying to grab it and answer, checking the caller ID first to see that it’s Andrew.
“Hey,” I chirp into the phone.
“Hey, are you still out shopping? I got your note,” He tells me.
“Yeah, I should be done soon. You’re back early,” I note, realizing that they were only gone for six hours which means that they only got to spend about two hours actually there considering the long drive. “I thought you’d be gone for at least a few more hours.”
“It was kind of an awkward visit,” He informs me dismissively. “What on earth could you be shopping for on Christmas Eve?”
“Just some stuff,” I say vaguely. “I got hungry and decided to go find food.”
“Okay then…” He chuckles slowly as I’m giving my money to the cashier. “Well, I’ll see you soon then.”
“Yeah, I’m on my way back now,” I tell him before we say goodbye and then hang up so that I can drive back to his house.
Luckily, when I came into the house, Andrew was in his room so I was able to hide his present in the hall closet behind some towels before he realized that I’d gotten there. When I get to the house, everybody else is gone. Andrew tells me that his parents went to his uncle’s house to help set up for the big party tomorrow and Lucas went out somewhere but Andrew isn’t entirely sure where exactly his brother is.
“So, what are we going to do with the rest of the day?” I ask Andrew as we’re walking up into his room.
“Well, I know what I want to do but I wouldn’t really consider them platonic and you know, you have your rules and everything,” He explains teasingly. “So what do you want to do?”
I roll my eyes at him and silently wish that he’d stop being so teasing but I don’t actually ask him to stop because he’d just tease me even more. “I don’t know. Do you have board games? Because I can totally kick your ass at whatever games you have.”
He laughs and shrugs. “I might have something in the back of my closet maybe. But whatever it is, I promise you that you won’t beat me at it.”
I sit down on the edge of his bed and watch as he opens his closet and then he steps on his tippy toes to reach the top shelf of his closet and he reaches back and then pulls out a square box. “Checkers?” I read the front of the box with raised eyebrows. “The only game you have is checkers?”
“Were you expecting a huge collection of board games in my closet?” He laughs a little bit, tossing the game onto the bed beside me.
“I was hoping,” I tease him, opening the box and then taking out the board and the small circular chip-like pawns. “The only way that checkers is just a little amusing is if it’s strip checkers.” Ha, Andrew! You’re not the only one that can tease.
“That is a wonderful idea,” Andrew grins at me. “Especially since I can really kick your ass and you’d end up naked.”
I scoff as we start to lay out the red and black pieces. “You wish. We’re not doing that, though.”
He shrugs and the shine in his eyes almost takes my breath away. “Can’t blame me for trying.”