A Freeing Christmas

Day One-Prue and Roger

"Prue!" Roger called out, "Hurry up! We are going to be late! You know how bad the traffic can get at this time of the year!"

"Coming!" Prue responded, running down the staircase as she fastened her last earring in place. She almost ran into him standing at the bottom.

Roger gave an exasperated little sigh as he moved out of her way and grabbed his coat. "Ready to go?" he asked.

"Just as soon as I-grab-this," she said as she picked up her own coat and purse as well as the gift bag sitting by the closet. Inside the gold and red bag was a beautiful blue vase that Prue had picked up at an auction. All she needed to do was wrap it up in tissue paper so she could give it to Roger's mother, Mrs. Clairemore, for Christmas. With one final look around to make sure she hadn't forgotten anything, she followed Roger out the front door, pausing long enough to lock it behind her.

It wasn't until they were about fifteen minutes from Roger's mother's house that Prue remembered that she needed to make the bag look nice. She began fishing around for the tissue paper she had brought with her when Roger, who up until now had been distracted, finally spoke up. "Prue, whatever are you doing?" he asked.

"Trying to put the finishing touches on the gift for your mother," she said. "I've been so busy this week working on the DuBois exhibit for the museum that I forgot all about it."

"Can I see it?" he asked.

"Yeah, sure," Prue said. When they stopped that a red light, she handed him the vase.

"Prue, honey, don't take this the wrong way," Roger began. Prue hated it when he started his sentences like that because it usually meant that by the end of the conversation she was going to be upset. "It's just that I already got her something from us," he went on. "And it's a good thing too," he added as he handed her back the vase.

"What does that mean?" she asked curtly.

Roger looked at her. "Well, it's just that you and my mother have very different tastes and I didn't want her to think you were cheap. So I bought her a nice bracelet and signed the card for the both of us."

Prue couldn't believe her ears. "Cheap?" was all she said.

"Well, it looks like something you could pick up at the Walmart down the street," he answered.

She shook her head in disbelief. This vase had cost her over $200 and was an antique from the very late 1800s. She couldn't think of anything to say to him, so she simply put the vase back in the bag and folded the tissue paper so that it rested inside as well.

"Prue, don't be mad," Roger said. "It's a very nice bracelet. Phoebe helped me pick it out before she left. It's gold and has-" but Prue didn't hear anymore. Phoebe, her black sheep of a sister who had, according to Roger, made a move on him, had helped him pick it out? Before she had left for New York?

"Why was Phoebe with you?" she asked.

"Like I said," Roger began, "she was helping me shop. You were busy that day, and she had nothing better to do."

"Was this before or after she hit on you?" she asked.

Roger realized his mistake in mentioning her name. "Prue-"

"Don't," was all she said. By this point they had pulled into the driveway of a nice two story home.

"Prue, honey, don't make an issue out of it, ok?" Roger said. "Let's just go in and have a good time at the Christmas party with my mother and some other family members."

The last thing she was in the mood for at this point was to go and be friendly. "You go on in," she said. "I need a moment to 'not make an issue' of it, ok?"

"Fine," he said. "I'll see you inside, ok? Please don't take too long though." With that, he got out of the car.

Prue just sat there for a minute in shock. She was fed up with a lot of things in her life right now, and Roger seemed to be at the source of a lot of them. She began to unconsciously twist the engagement ring on her finger until she suddenly got the urge to pull it off. She felt liberated and lighter.

When Roger came out a little while later, all that he found in the car was a note that when he unfolded read "Roger, Merry Christmas," and a diamond ring right underneath it.