Chapter 2

"I need to find something fast...preferably something that will please Judy" thought Nick as he drove towards the metropolis. He guessed that the queues would be huge, due to it being the last time to do the final pre-Christmas shopping to be ready for Christmas. Judy and Nick had everything planned so that on 23 December they would be ready and have everything. In theory they did, only the fox had forgotten about a gift for his girlfriend. He remembered that he was supposed to buy something for Judy, but due to a lot of shopping and obligations he completely forgot about it, and it's not appropriate to forget about your partner on their first Christmas together, right?

Entering the city, Nick was greeted by Christmas neon signs on literally every side, white and red lights hung from every skyscraper, lighting up the city in festive colours. On some buildings instead of colourful neon signs there were illuminated figures of Santa Claus or Christmas trees, it was impossible not to feel the atmosphere of the holidays that were about to come.

The fox decided to start his search at the central shopping mall, which consisted of many shops where he could be sure to find a suitable present for the rabbit. Because of the variety of shops, that's where Nick decided to go.

"I've got to find something there, it's impossible that there's nothing interesting in so many shops" thought Nick, when he saw in front of him a huge, oval building constructed mainly of glass, so you could see the contents of the mall from the outside. Even from under the car park, the beaming lights of the Christmas decorations that were in the shops could be seen.

Entering the mall car park, Nick checked the time, the clock showed 11.30 a.m.

'I should be back by 4 p.m.' thought Nick. He didn't want to get back at the last minute, in general he should get back as early as possible, he had promised for Judy to help her in the kitchen when they were preparing Christmas. Rabbit had mentioned it for days, as if that seemed to be the most important thing for her - cooking together. Fox didn't quite understand the idea, after all, Christmas is all about giving each other presents and enjoying each other. Preparations are just a foretaste of the Christmas fun.

Entering the mall, the fox saw a crowd of people in the building, everyone walking around with bags filled with shopping or gifts. There were also those who carried cardboard boxes decorated with Christmas paper and bows, a huge gift impressed the fox, but he was not looking for something like that for Judy, he wanted something special, especially for her. To the right of the entrance was a drugstore with perfumes and paraphernalia. That's where Nick decided to go to get a special gift for the rabbit.

In the shop, as it seemed to the fox, there was a lot of traffic, in every aisle someone was looking for some kind of gift, or a gift that could satisfy his gift-giver. As the fox strolled through the aisles looking at all sorts of perfumes he had a problem because he himself did not know exactly what to choose for his partner. That it was to be something special he knew, but what exactly could it be? What could Judy be so pleased with? He didn't want to disappoint her, but he also didn't want to waste a lot of time looking for a gift. It might seem like a simple thing to choose a gift for a partner, he expected that even if he didn't hit her expectations she would still be happy for a simple reason - he remembered her. Giving a gift to your partner meant that you remembered him and that was already a nice gesture. However, Nick felt he wanted the gift to be perfect, there would be no reason for Judy to have to fake her joy, she would just thank him from the bottom of her heart for the gesture.

As the fox strolled around the shop he stopped at one set for women, for $200, it caught his eye because of the rich, festive packaging and for the brand itself "Mark's"

This was one of the more popular perfumes available for women, and it wasn't the cheapest, but according to reviews, it was well worth the price.

"Excuse me sir, can I help you with something?" A woman asked as she approached the fox. She was a medium height shop worker who approached virtually every embarrassed customer asking if there was anything she could do to help. It was certainly a very tiring day for her. Everyone was looking for a unique gift to please their partner making it hard to find something perfect for everyone.

"I need something special...something to please every girl..." The fox replied.

"Hm...you're looking at one of the more expensive sets we have, but we have something even more special, follow me" replied the woman leading Nick through the aisles to finally reach another set of perfume, this time for $300. The packaging was even larger and the contents looked even more promising. Three exclusive vials wrapped in festive packaging looked great!

"This is our most expensive set, your girlfriend will certainly be pleased" the woman said pointing to the set. Although Nick was initially pleased with what he saw, after a while his face grumbled a little shaking his head from side to side.

"Perfume won't be something special...maybe some sort of handbag will be something like that" Nick thought.

"You know what though, I'll look somewhere else, goodbye"

"I see, merry Christmas and goodbye. Please just go through the checkout"

"Why?"

"Well, because of the crowds we let everyone through the checkout"

"Ugh...well, merry Christmas" replied Nick walking towards the checkout. Looking at the queue that was forming at the entrance Nick understood the idea behind this. It really did make sense. When he stopped at the queue at the ticket office the fox was stunned to see more than 10 people in front of him in the queue who each had something in their hands. It wasn't a good sign, he didn't want to waste much time but as you can see there was no other option anymore. He had to wait.

After half an hour of waiting, the queue was already down to 3 people who were standing in front of Nick. The wait dragged on endlessly and it seemed that the fox would never leave the drugstore again. As Nick drifted off in his thoughts, thoughts of no idea what, the queue dwindled to 1 person in front of him. Fortunately, it was served quickly, making it safe for Nick to go through the checkout and out into the mall hallway. As he left the shop his phone buzzed, he took it out and was surprised to see Judy calling. It wasn't something he wanted to see, but he didn't want to not pick up so as not to anger her further.

"Hey, honey what's up?"

"Nick, where are you! Have you seen the time?"

"No, what time is it?"

"1.30 p.m.! Nick what are you doing?"

"Me? Ugh...I have to do something...I'll be there in a minute..."

"Hurry up, I'll already start cooking myself..."

"Okay, I'll be there soon" replied Nick then hung up.

"The hell with this! I need to find something quick" thought Nick as he walked through the mall looking for some women's accessories shop. He had to find something quick and get home as soon as he could. He didn't want to ruin Christmas for Judy, but he also didn't want to leave her without a present. On the other side of the mall, he spotted, a women's accessories shop that caught his eye.

"Maybe I can find something here," thought Nick as he walked inside the shop.

The shop inside embedded with various Christmas decorations at the beginning of the aisles displayed various models of handbags, dresses, or other accessories for women as perfect gifts for any lady, even a fussy one. Nick knew that Judy would be pleased with any gift, but his ambitions were much higher than she would have assumed. As they walked deeper into the aisles Nick honestly still didn't know what he was looking for, he was looking for something special, something that would steal his heart and he would love it immediately. Unfortunately the longer he searched the more he got lost in what he saw, he saw a lot of nice objects but none were a good choice according to the fox. This caught the fox a little off guard as he continued to search for the gift and time was running out, the clock was showing 2.30 p.m.

The fox didn't even know what the time was passing by on, it was passing by far too fast, usually it goes by much slower, as if he's in no hurry. Today, it was passing quickly, too quickly. Seeing that he was running out of time the fox tried to pick out some nice handbag that he thought Judy would love, but the problem was that every one looked nice to him and no matter which one he picked, the rabbit wouldn't be entirely happy with the gift. While the others were choosing handbags or dresses, Nick was still walking between the aisles calmly looking at the different items looking at the design, colour or material of manufacture.

"They all look nice, but none of them will satisfy Judy...at least I don't think so..." Thought Nick as he finally gave up on also sticking it together to look for a gift somewhere else.

As the clock struck 3.00 p.m., Nick had looked around some of the smaller shops for a present for Judy, but still couldn't find anything that would please Judy. He didn't really know what she would like to get himself, he could rely on his intuition and she was telling him that she would like to get something that would stick in her memory for a long time. At least, that's what he considered, he expected that Judy had certainly given him a wonderful gift. As the fox was making his way down to the ground floor of the mall to resignedly go home with nothing on the first floor he noticed, a jewellery shop that caught Nick's eye.

"Well there I must find something perfect" thought Nick, observing the shop from the stairs. He walked down them, then headed towards the shop, which looked like it was about to close, due to the lack of customers in the area.

"Sir, we'll be closing in a moment," boomed the voice of the cashier behind the register as Nick entered the shop. Fox was dazzled by the amount of shiny rings, chains, jewels. Everything looked so beautiful, every ring appealed to Nick, he had no doubt anymore - he must find something here for Judy.

"Just serve me please, I'm looking for something to delight my girlfriend" Nick asked. The cashier after a quick glance sighed heavily bending down from behind the counter as if looking for something.

"Something to delight a girl..." The man sighed as he looked for something from under the counter. A moment later he pulled out a diamond ring, set on a gold ring adorned with small sparkling stones. Nick's eyes opened wide at the sight of it. It was perfect! It looked gorgeous, its shiny materials perfect for a gift Judy would never forget.

"I'll take it!"

"Wait! It's one of the most expensive things we have, it costs $3000, I doubt..."

"I pay by card," replied Nick pulling out his card. Money did not play a role in this matter. The cashier nodded in slight surprise with a movement of his head.

"Wrap it in Christmas wrapping?"

"Yes, please," replied Nick. After payment, everything was ready. Fox proudly walked away confident that the gift would please the rabbit.

Half an hour later

Around 3.45p.m. Nick was already outside his house. He couldn't wait for the moment when Judy saw her Christmas present, in his mind he imagined the moment when she opens the present and can't believe that Nick made her such a present.

Fox, after a brief virtualization in his mind, took the gift wrapped in green and red Christmas paper wrapped with a red ribbon, then got out of the car hiding the gift behind his back.

"Honey I'm back," called out Nick entering the house with a step full of pride. He spotted Judy in the kitchen preparing food for the Christmas Eve table, her slightly red face indicating that she was cranky.

"You're finally back," chuckled Judy when she spotted the fox. As Nick expected, she wasn't in the best of moods, she didn't pay any attention to him, just went on with her cooking. Nick didn't bother with that. He hung his jacket on the hanger and, holding the present behind his back, walked over to the rabbit, who was trying not to pay attention to the fox. Only when he wrapped his free right arm around her waist did she try to push back, but the hug was too strong to be possible.

"Where have you been? You promised we'd cook together...you were supposed to be back earlier..."

"I'm sorry honey, it came out rather stupidly. I feel silly to admit it, but yesterday when we were shopping I was supposed to buy a present, but through a flurry of thoughts, I completely forgot about it. That's why I bought you this," replied Nick pulling a green and red box from behind his back. The annoyance on Judy's face faded and turned to intrigue, she was clearly curious about what was inside but didn't dare approach the box until Nick slipped it into her paws.

"Oh, Nick...you didn't have to..." Replied Judy more calmly.

"Open it," replied Nick calmly. Judy nodded with a motion of her head then pushed the ribbon away. When the Christmas paper fell to her eye a dark blue box appeared. She curiously opened the box then her eyes opened wide when she saw it.

"Nick..." She said quietly when she noticed that she had received such a gift. The diamond ring was something Judy would never have expected to get for Christmas in her life!

"I wanted you to get something special...like you. Merry Christmas," Nick said proudly as he saw Judy's childish joy, who couldn't believe her eyes.

"Nick, you're crazy...how much did you spend on it admit it" said Judy looking at the gift. It looked too beautiful to put on her dirty paws.

"Let's just say money didn't play a part" replied Nick quietly. Judy's gaze, however, made him give in and force himself to answer the question.

"3000$"

"How much!" Repeated Judy almost screaming.

"Are you crazy Nick! No...I can't..."

"Yes, you can...it's for you" Nick replied.

"Ah...Nick...I feel silly saying this now, but do you know what I would like most?" Judy asked. Nick was stunned. She got a $3,000 gift and she's not exactly happy? Nick mused for a moment not knowing what to answer.

"I spent $3,000 for you to..."

"I know, honey. But do you know why I was so insistent that you cook with me?" Judy asked. Nick waved his head negatively.

"Because I wanted to spend this time together. I wanted to be with you all the time, preparing for Christmas is the best time to be together. We do everything together...it's the best gift, being with you."

"Ekh...couldn't you have told me earlier?" Nick asked.

"Sorry...return that ring...he doesn't deserve it" replied Judy. Her ears drooped down, she closed the box then put it back on the table top. Nick could see that she was terribly stupid about how the situation had turned out. Fox, despite his slight surprise and disappointment, wanted Judy to keep the ring.

"You know... I want you to keep this ring, I think it will look beautiful on just your fingers" Nick said giving the box back to Judy's paws.

"You're too good for me...I feel a bit silly, my gift isn't as good as yours..." Replied Judy with a slight blush.

"You are my best gift Judy" replied Nick rubbing Judy's head. A fiery blush appeared on her face , which indicated embarrassment.

"Now let's finish what you've started now" said Nick with a neat motion sneaking an apron for Judy to which she responded with laughter.

"Okay, I'll jump for the apron and let's do Christmas together" replied Judy walking into the kitchen room.

Nick meanwhile looked in the cupboard where the present for him lay.

"I don't need presents as long as you're with me Carrots" said Nick quietly closing the cupboard. Judy was already invading, it was time to cook together.

THE END

The end! Forgive me if some threads were cut short, but I was anxious to release the end of the story today. I hope you enjoyed the short Christmas story. This may most likely be the last chapter released in 2021, next time I will see you already in Christmas and happy new year!