Chelsea eyed the present one more time hoping it was the right choice. She'd spent months mulling over the present before she'd actually bought it. It taken Chelsea a while to find it, but once she had she knew it was perfect. She checked her watch. She was running late. Raven and Eddie were going to be waiting for her at Chill Grill.
She spotted them right away in a booth. She walked over to them and sat down next to Eddie. "Sorry I'm late, guys. I sort of lost track of time." She looked over at Raven and felt the butterflies in her stomach flutter. Raven had been having that affect on her lately. Every time they saw each other, which hadn't been often considering the holidays had come and gone, she felt like she was looking at Raven for the first time. Was it possible that Raven was more beautiful every time she saw her?
"It's cool, Chelsea, we ordered loaded fries, hold the bacon, of course." Eddie said next to her.
"Okay, lets get to the presents because you know I can hardly wait for mine." Raven said with the enthusiasm of a kid.
"Okay, okay, well open mine first." Eddie said handing a wrapped box across the table.
She tore at the wrapping paper excitedly, and when she opened it, she found the Juicy Couture Goddess necklace that she'd been talking about for the past two months. She stood over the table and hugged Eddie tightly "Ooo, thank you Eddie! I love it."
"I knew you would. You've been going on and on about it for months."
"Okay Chels, open mine next." Raven said, sliding an envelope over to her friend.
Chelsea wondered what it could be. Last year Raven had gotten her tickets to her favorite Broadway musical. She tore at the envelope impatiently, and pulled out what looked like a gift card. Then she flipped it over to the front. "It's a National Park Pass! I've always wanted one of these. That's so sweet. Thank you, Rae." Chelsea said sincerely she stood up and hugged Raven over the table.
"Yeah, that pass will get you into any national park, monument, and museum all over the U.S. for free. I figured it might be something interesting for you to do over the summer." Raven explained.
"Yeah, I totally will. I am so excited. It's a really great present." Chelsea said. She was really touched by the gift. She'd always gotten the feeling that her friends never really understood how much the environment and nature meant to her. She looked up just in time to see Raven watching her. She wasn't quite sure what it was she saw in Raven's light brown eyes, but she couldn't look away.
"Okay Chelsea it's my turn." Eddie said breaking the connection between the two girls.
She unwrapped a small box, and lifted the lid. There she found a silver charm bracelet with a crown on it. She knew he was trying to remind her of the time she was queen of the dance, and tried to make everyone dance to that horrible music. She smiled at him and slid her arm around his shoulder, giving it a squeeze. "Thanks Eddie, it's beautiful."
Eddie really enjoyed his new computer program that Raven and Chelsea had bought together. It was the latest program for DJ's. It was supposed to connect something to something else. Chelsea couldn't remember everything the guy at the store had said, but it had been pretty expensive. And judging from Eddie's reaction to it, it was worth every penny. She couldn't remember ever having seen him that excited over something.
Then came the moment that Chelsea had been anticipating and dreading. She handed the box over to Raven, and watched her face. Raven smiled over at her, and the unwrapped the small box. When she lifted the lid, a little frown appeared, followed by recognition and then astonishment. "It…it's just like…the one my grandmother had." Raven said, her voice cracking.
"I know. One of my first memories of you is when you told me you wanted to have a ring just like hers some day." Chelsea said looking over at her friend. This moment made it all worth it. She gladly pay a million dollars to see the look that graced Raven's delicate features.
"How did you ever find it?" Raven asked removing the ring and sliding it on her finger.
"I went around to a few antique stores, but eventually I found it." Chelsea replied, trying to appear nonchalant, when inside she felt like jumping up and down.
"It's the best present I've ever gotten. Thanks so much, Chelsea." This time Raven stood up from the table, and pulled Chelsea up to stand with her, she immediately wrapped her arms around her friend in a tight embrace.
Yes, it was definitely worth it.
