March 2nd, 1964
"Yes, Mother. I promise I won't serve alcohol at my party." Laura gave her mother a quick goodbye and hung up the phone. Her father ("Daddy") had given his birthday wishes near the beginning of the call, and had taken over the rest of it. Before advising Laura not to serve alcohol, told Laura that her gift was currently in Kate's care. Laura sighed when she thought about it. Their mother's gifts were usually unpleasant in some way. She tidied up the apartment she shared with Maggie and began to thaw out a few deserts when she heard a knock at the door.
"Kate!" Laura gave her a quick but affectionate hug.
"Just thought I'd drop this off before the party," said Kate, who was holding a moderately sized box. At Laura's quizzical look, Kate explained that the gift was from their mother and it "would be best if you opened it now".
Laura took the box from her sister and opened it. Inside was a necklace wrapped in a silk handkerchief, and a brand new Sears Roebuck dress. Laura looked at the necklace with disdain. It was worse than she'd thought. The necklace was passed down through the Camenzind female family line. Typically, it was given because of one of three things; becoming a woman (this was Laura's 23rd birthday, so that was cancelled out), a marriage/engagement (if their mother wanted to give it to someone who was engaged, then it would've been Kate who received it), or as a good luck charm. But not just any charm- it was given to aid a girl's courtship.
In this modern age, the necklace was usually handed down for the first two occasions. (Judith Caffey received hers when she married Joseph Cameron. It went nicely with her dress. Grandmother Mattie had gotten the necklace on her 19th birthday. The reason it was her 19th instead of her 18th was simple. It was lost, and wasn't found until her 18th birthday had already passed, so her parents had decided to wait.) It wasn't that hard to guess why Mother had given the necklace to Laura.
"Here, Kate, you should have this." Laura held it out to Kate.
"Mother wanted you to have it," said Kate.
"But- you're the oldest, Kate, and you're getting married soon!" Not only was Laura aggravated because of her mother's reasons for giving the necklace to her (again- the first time was at her and Greg's wedding), but she believed that the necklace rightfully belonged to Kate.
Kate just shook her head and laughed. "Laura, there is no denying that you are mother's favorite. Just hide the necklace in a box, and shove it into your closet. Make sure it's in the very back where you'd never find it on accident."
Discouraged, Laura brought her hands back to her lap and took one last look at the necklace before re-wrapping it with the handkerchief and unceremoniously throwing behind the couch they were sitting on.
"Or you could do that," noted Kate. "And about the dress. I would've returned it for you, but Mother didn't include a sales receipt with it."
Laura pulled the dress out of the box and stared at it. It was a pale blue, and probably fitted her perfectly. There wasn't really anything wrong with it, except for it being too showy. The skirt puffed out, covered in tulle. There was a darker blue sash, which, when the dress was turned to the back, was revealed to be tied in a neat bow.
"I can't wear this," said Laura firmly. "But what could I do with it?" She looked at Kate.
"You could save it for your wedding day," she suggested. "Mother would have an absolute fit about the dress being improper, etcetera, etcetera. And, if you pointed out that she bought it for you, she'd just faint with embarrassment."
"Very funny, Kate."
"Laura, the only thing you can do is just put it in your closet until you need it, or until it goes out of style."
"It already is," giggled Laura. "Well, I might as well follow your advice." She stood up and shook the dress out. A note dropped from it.
Laura, you'll look beautiful in this dress at your party. Don't forget to wear the necklace with it.
-Mother
When Laura finished reading the note aloud, she shook her head. "Not a chance."
*Three Hours Later*
It was 2PM, and guests were beginning to arrive. Laura, true to her word, was not wearing the dress, but instead a more casual ensemble consisting of a lilac blouse and taupe high-waisted pants.
"Great éclairs, Laura," complimented Dean. "Say Colette, being a Frenchwoman, how do these compare?"
"Better. They are sweet, but not too much. There is a lot of sugar in our deserts." Colette smiled at Laura. "Thank you for inviting us, chéri."
All of the partygoers seemed to be in the apartment. Dean and Colette, Kate and Roger, Ted, and Maggie with.. Sam. Which was a bit unusual, considering that Maggie never really brought Sam to parties, and if she did, he wasn't her sole companion. Laura asked Maggie about it.
"I considered bringing Mike, but I decided I didn't need a boy at my side. Besides, it's not that kind of party."
"Oh," said Laura with a nod of understanding. "I hope Sam is enjoying the party." Laura was never quite sure about Sam. At parties, he seemed to just talk in philosophical quotes while whoever he was talking to tried to escape unsuccessfully.
"He's been talking to Kate's fiancée. Surprisingly, they both seem to be getting along great. Roger is either a martyr, sparing the rest of us from having to avoid Sam, or he's genuinely interested in whatever eccentric stuff Sam is spewing." Maggie just shrugged, eyeing a pile of Laura's birthday gifts. "Roger's a pretty nice guy. Are you going to open your presents soon?"
Roger was actually interested in what Sam was saying.
"This world needs to change. There's too much corruption, you know? And those nuclear bombs.."
"Too much power," said Roger.
"Exactly! I've read up on Hiroshima. World War Two? It makes me feel sick. People just- poof." Sam waved his hands around. "There was nothing left. And the people that did survive? They would've been better off if they didn't."
The conversation turned to many things, but the topic that came up most was humanity. How the world needed to be better.
"We're all people. Blacks and whites. Poor and rich. But for some reason, people become animals, turning against each other. There's been too many things in the news," said Sam agitatedly, running a hand through his curly hair.
Roger was absorbed in his own thoughts as Sam continued talking. He had a sudden urge to tell Sam about things he'd seen. People killing one another for petty reasons. But he couldn't, it would blow his cover. Roger clenched his jaws. "I could trust this man," he thought. "All I would have to say was that I was a journalist forced to keep quiet…"
And so, Roger ended up giving brief descriptions of many of the horrors he'd seen while he'd been working with MI6, except changing a few crucial details.
"I knew it," whispered Sam, as Roger had told him that this had to be confidential. "The media has been covering up a lot of stories out there. Personally, I'd come out with it all, but I'll keep my lips shut for you."
Roger thanked him. "If I'd ever revealed half the things I told you, I'm sure I'd become another covered up story," he offered as explanation. Sam nodded solemnly.
On a lighter note, it came time to open presents. Like at most birthdays, gifts were thrust at Laura, the givers begging theirs to be opened first. Overwhelmed, Laura found the smallest one and opened it. Inside was a copy of The Great Gatsby.
"That's from me," said Maggie proudly. Laura was surprised, since there was already a copy in the apartment that she could read. (Colette and Kate were not, as they'd gotten The Great Gatsby as gifts from Maggie years ago on their birthdays.)
"You need your own," answered Maggie. "Besides, you're not going to live with me forever, sweetie."
The next gift Laura opened contained tea. She turned to Kate and Roger.
"Don't look at me," said Kate with a laugh, "Roger insisted. My gift is separate; it's that striped one over there behind you."
"It'll be the best tea you've ever tasted," said Roger simply. "I recommend squeezing in a bit of orange for a striking flavor."
"Thank you, Roger. I'll make a cup later." She then gave him a quick hug, smiling as she thought what a wonderful brother in-law he'd be. He then offered to make some, but Laura refused, telling him that he shouldn't have to do any work at a party.
"Nonsense." Roger stood up, rolling his shirt sleeves. "It's your birthday." And with that, he went off to the kitchen.
Laura gave a concerned look to the rest of her guests. "He really shouldn't have to do this for me."
"Don't worry Laura," soothed Kate. "You should know by now he does this kind of thing all of the time. Just between you and me, I'm surprised at how much tea the British seem to drink. Jasper and him down over 10 cups a morning!"
At the sound of the unfamiliar name, Laura cocked her head. "Jasper?"
"Oh, I forgot you've never met him. He's an old friend of Roger's." Turning to the rest of the group, she added, "He'll probably be at Roger's birthday next month, if anyone wants to meet him."
Since Kate had pointed out her gift, Laura decided to open it next. There was a stuffed giraffe. Laura gasped. "Gaffy- how did you get him, Kate?" When they were little girls, Laura had a giraffe named Gaffy until the age of fourteen, when she decided to donate him in an act of 'maturity'. She regretted it for a long time.
"It's not actually Gaffy, Gaffy," replied Kate. "He just looks the same. I found him in a thrift shop in Spain." When Laura wasn't looking, Kate quickly winked at Roger. They both knew the real story of how Gaffy came to be found:
"Kate, we must be going now," whispered Roger urgently. "We've gathered all of the necessary photographs and tapes." Ignoring him, Kate deftly swiped a stuffed giraffe from the top of a bookcase. "Kate, we can't take souvenirs."
Kate unbuttoned her coat, stuffing the giraffe in. She re-buttoned it and said, "Let's go."
"Kate, if you take that giraffe-" warned Roger.
"Nothing will happen if I take the giraffe, dear. I'll explain later."
"If you insist," he sighed. Hearing footsteps, he added, "Out the window and down the fire escape." Opening the window, he said, "Ladies first." Kate stepped through the window and onto the fire escape, followed by Roger, who carefully shut the window as not to make any noise. They made their way down and ran towards a red car parked behind a department store.
"I'm driving," announced Kate. And as they made their journey to the airport (where they would travel to New York, and more specifically, CIA headquarters), Kate explained the significance of the giraffe.
"I'd almost forgot about him.." Laura patted the giraffe on the head affectionately.
"There's one more thing in the box," said Kate.
And sure enough, when Laura looked peered into the box, at the bottom she found a giraffe broach wrapped in a blue cloth. Laura beamed and pinned it to her shirt, thanking Kate profusely.