Four stories about “a gift.”
For the past few months, One Big Blank has been bring you original poems and short stories. For October, we wrote short horror stories of 500 words with keywords that had to be used. For November, we wrote villanelle poems giving thanks.
For December, with Christmas in mind, we chose to write stories about “a gift.” The parameters were looser- no keywords and we doubled the link to 1,000 words. Enjoy our entries.
The Last Gift
Ray Goldfield
“Sir, whatever we have on the shelf is what’s available.”
Tom sighed, pulling out the well-worn flyer one more time. “Do you think you could check in the back? I’ve been checking all over and – “
The underpaid clerk rolled her eyes for the third time. “Sir, there’s a long line behind you.”
“Yeah, buddy! Get out of the line!” The loud jeer from the guy in the Santa hat, who looked distinctly un-jolly, convinced Tom that it was time to call it on this location. He had been around the mall, with no luck.
Which wasn’t a big surprise – after all, who goes shopping for the hottest toy in town on Christmas Eve?
Maybe some coffee would perk him up. A quick visit to Starbucks involved waiting through all the teenagers getting Peppermint Mocha Frappes, but he was soon sipping on a hot latte and trying to get his strength up for another round of searching at the toy shops.
“You too, huh? I know the look of a last-second shopper.”
Tom was startled out of his thoughts by the chuckle of the older man sitting on the bench across from him. He was large, bearded, and wearing what looked like a lumberjack’s jacket – but Tom recognized that common look of Christmas Eve panic about him.
“Yeah, our kid…she wants this toy, I don’t even know what it’s called. Labooby? And the order was cancelled at the last minute. I’ve been searching in the stores for days now, but with no luck. Getting down to the wire.”
“Labubu. Yeah, that’s a popular one this year, I hear.” The old man extended his hand. “My friends call me Nicky. You’re a good dad for battling the crowds.”
“Thanks. Tom.” The bearded man had an iron grip, which Tom tried his best to return. “What brings you here? Shopping for the grandkids?”
“Oh, no. Christmas is a big thing where I’m from. We’ve been prepping for…well, what feels like the whole year. And with a big operation like that, well, it’s easy to forget one gift along the way.”
“Oh, no. Don’t tell me – “
“The missus.” The bearded man chuckled ruefully. “She’s really the anchor of our whole holiday, and she’s been as busy as me. And then, suddenly, I realize there are gifts everywhere and not a one for her.”
“Well, what are we waiting for?” Tom jumped up from his seat. “We’ve got a whole mall to find the perfect one for her.”
“Oh, no – I don’t want to keep you from your shopping.”
“I’ve been going around in circles all day. This’ll be a nice change of pace before I have to get home.
—-
Soon, the two men were busy sifting through the scarf section at the nearby department store – which, of course, was loaded with kitschy Christmas options.
“Do you ever realize that you don’t know someone as well as you think?” Nicky said as he placed another scarf back on the shelf. “We’ve been married so long, and I lost track of how many years I bought her a simple scarf or necklace. She was always grateful, of course. But I feel like I’ve been phoning it in.”
“I know how that feels.” Tom sighed. “We sent our oldest off to college two years ago, so I thought we were done with big Christmases. But after my wife’s sister died…well, we’re raising her daughter now, and I really want to make this a special one for her. Growing up, both my parents worked. Christmas always had a lot of stuff, but they were usually too busy to really go all-out. I’ve been trying to switch that up.”
Nicky laughed, the kind of laugh that felt like a breath of relief. “That’s honestly good to hear. Around this time of year, it feels like everyone just wants more, more, more. But it wouldn’t be the season if I didn’t manage to make it home in time to spend it with the missus.”
They spent a while longer, combing the aisles as the crowds started to lighten. It was then that Nicky’s eyes fell on the old music box, sitting by its lonesome in the discount section. His eyes, tired from hours of shopping, lightened as soon as he heard the lilting tune.
“This is it. She used to hum this tune while baking cookies back when…I don’t even know how long ago it was anymore. When you’re my age, the years start to blend together. But I remember it like it was yesterday. It’s perfect. Far better than another scarf.”
The mall was emptying out now, and checkout was quick. Tom made one last sweep of the toy section, but no luck. He sighed a defeated sigh as he headed for the exit.
“Hey.” The kind-eyed old man said, as if he could read Tom’s mind. “She knows, you know. You don’t have to get her a specific toy to prove you care. She knows.”
“I know.” Tom sighed. “It’s just…no kid should have their life upended like this, but she’s such a good kid despite it all. You know she’s out tonight, helping with her school’s toy drive? I just wanted to do this one thing for her.”
“It’ll all work out exactly like it’s supposed to, if you ask me. That’s usually how this season goes.”
The two men made their way out to Nicky’s beat-up old station wagon. It looked like it was overstuffed with presents, but the old man quickly found a spot to carefully situate the music box. He then turned around to hold out a strange gremlin-like doll.
“This silly thing…it wouldn’t happen to be what your kid is looking for, would it?”
“Oh my – How did you get ahold of that? I’d be willing to pay double – “
“Nonsense.” Nicky chuckled. “I think it’s exactly where it needs to be. You helped an old man out today at his lowest point, and please tell Emily we givers appreciate all the help we get this time of year.”
Tom looked at the toy in disbelief, grinning as the sound of Nicky’s car firing up could be heard behind him. And then it hit him.
“Wait. How did you know her – “
Tom spun around to see no car in sight, and only the faint sound of laughter and hoofbeats fading away into the Christmas Eve sky.
