12. Why did you get this for me?
Liz closes the door to her apartment, her eyes drooping shut as she shuffles inside. She drops her bag somewhere near the table meant to hold all her going-out essentials and peels her coat and scarf off, aiming for the chair next to the table but missing entirely. She stares at the pile of outerwear on the floor for a moment before shrugging carelessly and heading towards the living room.
She can't wait to climb into bed and sleep.
It's Christmas Eve tonight but the only evidence of that in her apartment is a sparsely decorated tree, sitting sadly in the corner of her living room. She glances briefly at it as she passes. With no one to celebrate with and no one to buy gifts for, she didn't see much point in getting any –
Liz stops short, doing a double take as she spies something under the tree.
Something she didn't put there.
A present.
Liz frowns and moves cautiously over to the tree, peering at the small, beautifully wrapped box to see a sticker addressed in red pen:
To: Lizzie
From: Red
Liz's huffs out an incredulous laugh. When the hell did Red break into her apartment to leave this here? She shakes her head fondly. She shouldn't be surprised, the man's never understood the concept of personal space.
Figuring that she has nothing to lose – and knowing that this is the only thing she'll have to unwrap this Christmas – Liz picks up the box and tears off the paper, removing the lid to see –
Liz's mouth drops open.
It's a delicate bottle of perfume. But not just any perfume. Liz's favorite perfume. The perfume from that fancy French store in the inner city that she could never afford. The perfume that she was admiring two weeks ago as she stood outside the store with Red, waiting for another one of his tardy contacts.
Liz feels her eyes fill with tears. She hadn't even said anything to him, just glanced at the bottle through the window a few times. Ridiculously observant man.
Liz sit heavily on her couch, trying to tear her eyes away from the gorgeous bottle, and digs her cell phone out of her pocket, fumbling to dial Red's number.
"Merry Christmas, Lizzie," he answers on the second ring.
"Same to you, Red," she says, smiling to herself. "Say, I found something rather curious under my Christmas tree. You wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would you?"
"Certainly not," he responds, so much false bravado in his voice that she has to cover her mouth to keep from giggling. "After your rather stern lecture on the importance of respecting privacy, I would never dream of breaking into your apartment again, even to leave a gift."
Liz gives in and laughs softly for a moment, pinching the bridge of her nose, and she can hear him chuckling with her on the other end of the line. There is a quiet moment between them before she speaks again, soft but insistent.
"Why did you get this for me, Red?"
For a moment, all she hears is his breathing. Then he says, "Because you never would have bought it for yourself. And you deserve the best in life, Lizzie, I've told you before." He pauses for a heartbeat. "And I'll keep telling you until you believe it."
Liz feels her throat tighten and she squeezes her eyes shut.
(Sweet, sweet man.)
"Thank you, Red," she says simply, knowing he won't except anything more.
"You're welcome, Lizzie," Red says softly.
She thinks for a moment. "Can I call you tomorrow? Even though it's Christmas…I just thought…maybe we could chat for a while?"
"Of course," Red says quickly. "I'd like that very much."
"Good," Liz murmurs.
"Although I think you mean today," he says, talking louder now, bringing the intimate moment they shared to a natural close. "It's past twelve already."
Liz glances at the clock. "So it is. I'll talk to you later today then. Merry Christmas, Red."
"Merry Christmas, Lizzie."
And, feeling excited for Christmas morning for the first time in a long time, Liz hangs up and heads to bed. But not before carefully placing her new bottle of perfume on her bedside table where she can admire it as she falls asleep.