Ivan stepped out of his office and sighed. "Right. Back at three. Christmas shopping, never an easy or a pleasant task."

Natalia turned in her chair and smiled. "Are you going to get me something?"

Ivan paused. "Er... I don't know, I hadn't thought. Where's Raivis, by the way?"

Natalia smirked and leaned forward. "He couldn't make it in today. Family thing."

Ivan chuckled. "There's a word for hangover I've never heard before. See you later."

Just as he was walking away, Natalia responded. "Yes. Looking forward to it. A lot."

As Ivan walked to the mall to meet up with Yao, a thought occurred to him, and he called up Natalia at work. "So, are you going to give me something?"

On the other end of the line, Natalia sat at her desk, twirling the phone chord in her fingers. "I thought I made it clear last night. When it comes to me, you can have everything."

Ivan made a disgusted face and changed the subject. "So, erm, what do you need? Something along the stationery line? Are you short of staplers?"

Natalia laughed lightly. "No. I don't want something I need. I want something I want. Something pretty."

Ivan hesitated. Something pretty? "Right. Right." He hung up, and just as he put his phone away, he spotted Yao not too far off. "Sorry I'm late - had to drop off Im Yong at rehearsal, aru." They shared a chaste kiss and walked further into the mall. Yao stopped Ivan and turned to him. "Right, listen, you keep yourself occupied for ten minutes while I do the boring stuff for our mothers, aru." Yao laughed as he wondered off, leaving Ivan to his own devices. He found himself wondering over toward the jewelry section where another customer was being helped.

He was looking around at the jewelry when another salesman walked up to him. "Looking for anything in particular, sir?"

"Yes...ahm. That necklace there…" He pointed to a golden heart. "How much is it?"

"It's ￡270."(Roughly $397 USD!)

Ivan deliberated for a second. "Erm, all right. Er, I'll have it."

"Lovely. Would you like it...gift-wrapped?"

Ivan raised an eyebrow. "Yes, all right."

"Lovely. Let me just pop it in the box. There."

Ivan looked over his shoulder. "Look, could we be quite quick?"

The salesman smiled at Ivan. "Certainly, sir. Ready in the flashiest of flashes." He tied a gold bow around the box. "There."

Ivan was getting impatient. "That's great."

The salesman held out a finger. "Not quite finished." He pulled out a clear gift bag.

Ivan shifted from one foot to the other as he looked over his shoulder again. "I don't need a bag; I'll put it in my pocket."

The salesman smiled. "Oh, this isn't a bag, sir."

"Really?" Ivan deadpanned.

"This is so much more than a bag." He proceeded to dump two scoops of candy into the bag with a flourish, taking his time.

"Could we be quite quick, please?"

"Prontissimo." He pulled out a small brown stick."

"What's that?" Ivan was getting exasperated.

"A cinnamon stick, sir."

Ivan looked over his shoulder. Shit, was that Yao? "Actually, I really can't wait."

"You won't regret it, sir."

"Want a bet?" Ivan practically growled.

"'Tis but the work of a moment." He threw the cinnamon into the bag and tied it closed. "There we go. Almost finished."

"Almost finished. Are you gonna dip it in yogurt? Cover it with chocolate buttons?"

"No, sir, we're going to pop it in the Christmas box." The salesman pulled out a gold box.

"I don't want a Christmas box!"

The salesman looks at him confused. "But you wanted it gift-wrapped."

Ivan winced. "I did but..."

"The final flourish."

"Can I just pay?"

"All we need now..."

"Oh, God."

"Is a sprig of holly…"

Ivan slammed his fist into the counter. "No, no, no, no. No fucking holly."

"But sir..."

Ivan could see Yao fast approaching. "Leave it. Leave it, just leave it."

Yao came up to Ivan, who was trying to look like he hadn't just been arguing with a salesman over a box. "Ooh! Loitering around the jewelry section, I see, aru."

Ivan sighed and started walking. "No. I was just looking around."

Yao scoffed. "Don't worry, aru. My expectations are not that high after thirteen years of Mr. Oh-But-You-Always-Love-Scarves…"

Ivan would just have to come back…. And maybe get that salesman fired.