Gifts

Hello, everyone. This was suggested by Brankel1. It is Guthrie- Gifts- during.

Guthrie huffed downstairs and plopped down on the couch. He looked at Adam who sat in his chair taking a nap.

"Brian's birthday is in two days and I still don't have a gift for him." Guthrie exclaimed. Adam groaned and looked at Guthrie.

"Well, you can't get him socks, shirts, a pocketknife, a pair of boots, a hat, or a pair of pants." Adam answered.

"How do you know?"

"Hannah's upstairs making him a new shirt. Crane just bought Brian a pair of boots. Daniel bought him a new hat. Evan bought him a new pocketknife. Ford just bought him a pair of pants."

"And what are you getting him?"

"I bought him some new socks."

"Why?"

"He keeps putting holes in them and then he comes and steals my socks. I only have two pairs of socks."

"Now, I know what not to get him, but I still don't know what to get him."

"You could always go browse around Murphys and see if you can come up with any ideas."

"OK."

The next day, Guthrie went to town and looked around. He saw Brian in the hardware store looking at a nice tool kit. Guthrie could tell that Brian liked it and he knew that Brian needed a new toolset. Brian took a look at the price and walked away sadly. Guthrie waited till Brian left and then he went in and saw the price.

"$60. I only have $35." Guthrie whispered to himself. Then he had an idea. He walked up to Mr. Gunn and saw that he had a lot of work but no one to help.

"Mr. Gunn, how would you like it if you had some help?" Guthrie asked.

"I"d pay for it, Guthrie. Think you can help?" Mr. Gunn answered.

"Sure. Just tell me what to do."

"Ok. I'll pay you $5 an hour."

"Ok."

"You can start by moving these crates to the back of the store."

Guthrie went to work. An hour later, Adam walked in.

"Guthrie, you ready to go?" Adam wondered.

"I promised that I'd help Mr. Gunn." Guthrie answered.

"I could use his help tomorrow if you can spare him." Mr. Gunn explained. "I've been pretty busy and Guthrie's been willing to work."

"Well, tomorrow is Saturday. If he finishes his chores soon enough, I can have him here around 10." Adam replied.

"Perfect. He can finish up here and come back tomorrow."

Guthrie finished up and went home. On the way home, Adam sighed.

"Did you figure out what you were getting Brian?" Adam wondered.

"There's a toolset that $60. I only have $35." Guthrie answered.

"SO you're trying to raise some cash."

"Yeah."

"How much are you getting?"

"$5 an hour."

"That's pretty good. What are you gonna do after you're done earning the money needed for the toolset?"

"If he needs me, I'll help him."

"Ok."

The next day, Guthrie woke up early and did his chores. Adam took him to Mr. Gunn's and Guthrie worked as long as he was needed.

"Is that everything, Mr. Gunn?" Guthrie asked.

"Indeed it was. Guthrie." Mr. Gunn answered. "Now, let's see. You worked about 2 hours yesterday and 5 hours today. You've earned $35."

"Thanks."

Guthrie walked over to the toolset and looked at it. He smiled and grabbed it and took it over to the counter. Then he pulled out the money needed to buy the toolset.

"Mr. Gunn, the main reason why I wanted to work was so that I could earn enough money to buy this for Brian." Guthrie explained.

"Well, Guthrie, to tell you the truth, I knew about that. I knew Brian wanted the toolset and I knew his birthday was coming up. So, when you come to me asking for a job to do, I decided to help you out by letting you work here." Mr. Gunn confessed.

"Thanks. If you ever need any help, I'm willing."

"Good. I'll be sure to call on you if I need ya."

Guthrie bought the toolset and Mr. Gunn wrapped it up. Adam arrived and saw Guthrie waiting.

"Did you get it?" Adam asked.

"I sure did." Guthrie answered.

"Great."

Guthrie ran out to the jeep and Adam smiled at Mr. Gunn.

"Thanks for helping him out." Adam thanked.

"He's a good worker and he has a heart of gold." Mr. Gunn answered. "I was more than glad to help."

Adam went to the jeep and got in.

"You knew that Mr. Gunn only hired me because he knew I wanted to earn some money for this, didn't you?" Guthrie questioned.

"Yeah, I did." Adam answered.

"You see right through everyone and everything, don't you?"

"No. The trick is to listen and watch. Sometimes, talking gets in the way of observation. I was with Hannah when she bought the fabric and she told me what she was making. I watched Crane look at Brian's boots and measure them. I watched Daniel take a look at Brian's hat and then look in his wallet. I heard Evan talk about getting Brian a pocketknife. I saw Ford buy Brian a new pair of pants. I also knew that Mr. Gunn didn't have a lot that needed to be done and he wasn't very busy. Then when you told me he was paying you $5 an hour, I realized what he was doing. If you watch and listen, you'll see how people react to things and you may be able to do something about it." Adam explained.

"Yeah." Guthrie answered. They arrived home, and Guthrie hid the present.

Hannah had made Brian's favorite meal for supper and Brian enjoyed it. After supper, Brian opened his presents one by one.

"I was needing some more socks." Brian said.

"I know. You stole mine again." Adam answered as he threw the ball of wrapping paper at Brian. Brian opened his gift from Hannah and smiled.

"New shirts. Just what I needed."

"Now, you can pass down those older shirts." Hannah suggested.

"She made you a new shirt, but she just keeps mending mine." Adam teased. Hannah slapped Adam's back and smiled at him.

"I'll make you a new shirt when you stop giving me a hard time about not needing one."

Brian opened his present from Crane and tried on the boots.

"Just in time. I just put a nice size hole in the other pair." Brian explained.

"You put a hole in everything." Crane teased.

"So do you."

Brian opened Daniel's present and tried the hat on.

"Thanks, Dan'l. I needed a new hat." Brian thanked. He picked up the gift from Evan and noticed that it was small and heavy. "Did you get me a metal bar?"

"Nope. Open it." Evan answered. Brian opened it and saw that it was a pocketknife.

"Thanks, Evan. I've been needing a new knife."

Brian opened his gift from FOrd and smiled.

"Now, I have a whole new outfit." Brian said.

"Open mine's." Guthrie exclaimed. Brian picked it up.

"What is it?"

"Open it."

Brian unwrapped it and saw that it was the toolset. He opened it up and saw the brand new tools in it.

"I couldn't even afford this. How did you manage it?" Brian asked.

"Mr. Gunn helped me out. I had half of the money, but I needed more. So he let me work to pay for it." Guthrie answered.

"Thanks, Guth. I really mean it. This has been the best birthday I've had in a long time and you made it even better."

Brian hugged Guthrie and Hannah stood up.

"Clean up this mess while I get the cake." Hannah suggested. The boys cleaned up and went to the kitchen. Brian was happy for all of his gifts, but the toolset was his favorite because Guthrie had put a lot of time and effort into buying it and it made Brian very proud.

Finished with the Gs and now onto the Hs. I only need three prompts for the letter V. SO please sent them in. Thank you, guest, for your review on the previous chapter. You melted my heart. You guys are amazing.