Christmas Gift

Post by **Martin Hash** » Tue Feb 23, 2010 5:58 pm

Christmas gift-giving can be highly stressful, especially if you're young. Marshall's son, James, came over for our family's Christmas Eve gift opening, and I knew he'd be disappointed with the microwave his dad bought him so I slipped him some cash in the kitchen. He thanked me then exclaimed, "I gotta get my dad something!"

"He'll be here in just a few minutes," I commented. "Whatever you give him you'd better have on you now."

Frantically, James started to pat himself down and searching his pockets: his billfold contained only a driver's license.

"Nothing’s going to be open and you don't have time anyway," I said then I heard the doorbell. "That's your dad now."

James' eyes went wide. His head swiveled this way and that as he scanned the room.

"Can I have this?" he asked, grabbing a half-full box of candy.

"You're going to give your dad peanut brittle?" I asked.

James poured the peanut brittle out onto the table, then bounded up the stairs and disappeared down the hall, box in hand.

By this time, Marshall had entered and was greeting everyone. "James here?" he asked me.

"Upstairs... I guess he'll be down in a minute."

Marshall moved on and I saw James sneak down to put the peanut brittle box under the tree. He scribbled "to: Dad" on the top and attached a bow from another package to hold the flaps down.

We gathered in the front room to receive our presents. Heather, my daughter, was handing out the gifts. “Who's this from?" she asked, holding up the peanut brittle box.

"That's from me to my dad," replied James, sheepishly.

Heather handed the box to Marshall, who examined its odd appearance a moment before starting to open it. I scooted a little closer to see what James could have possibly found to go in that box at such short notice.

Marshall reached in to pull out something soft and made of cloth. The cloth unfolded.

"It's underwear," he said, perplexed, but he quickly recovered his composure to say, "Thank you, son."

James smiled.

As Marshall was folding the underwear to take home I edged closer and whispered, "I'd wash those before you wear them."