(Three weeks later)
Louis was joined at his locker by Twitty, who was looking more excited than usual. "Hey, Lou, I have the most awesome idea for a Christmas present for Allison," he said straight away. Twitty and Allison had gotten back together at the beginning of the school year, much to Louis's relief. This way, both he and Twitty could preoccupy themselves with their relationships, with neither of them feeling left out. The price of it all was, of course, that Louis's previous life of spending most of his time on outlandish schemes with Twitty was now over for good. They were still friends, of course, but they had both moved on to new things. And the relationship Louis now had with Tawny was something that he wouldn't give up for anything.
"Tell me about it, Twitty," Louis said, somewhat matter-of-factly. His thoughts about doing something for Tawny for Christmas had receded after Thanksgiving night, but they now inexorably clawed their way back into Louis's mind.
Louis looked blankly at Twitty as he recounted all the things he had planned for Allison. The details of it all really didn't matter to Louis. He was preoccupied with his own thoughts, trying to fight back the old demons trying to force their way back into his head, only to find that he couldn't.
"And what about you, man? Anything you have in mind for Tawny?" Twitty asked with a sly grin.
"Uh, I'm still thinking about it," Louis just said. "It's really hard to decide, you know?"
"Well you'd better not take too long… Christmas is just around the corner! And if you need any ideas, I'm your man!" Twitty exclaimed.
Louis and Tawny sat down for lunch that day. Louis thought again about the thoughts that had returned to his mind that morning. Maybe it would be better to just talk about it with her, he thought to himself. Even if his preoccupations were misguided, he could learn something from what she would tell him. He always turned to her first for advice ever since they had been friends, after all. And he was comfortable with her, knowing that he could be sincere with her and that she would be sincere with him, as she always was.
"Tawny," Louis said. "I've been wrestling with these thoughts lately…" Louis trailed off, thinking he should start over from the beginning. "Tawny, I cherish so much the words you said to me on Thanksgiving night. I'll never forget them." He stopped to take in the radiance in her eyes, which somehow gave him strength to carry on with what he had set out to say. "Yet at the same time, I can't suppress this urge to do something for you this Christmas. In the knowledge that you already have the greatest gift you could have asked for, but just…just something extra. Something that would still mean a lot to you. I somehow feel my Christmas would be incomplete without doing that something."
Tawny gave Louis a smile, a smile that told him he had done the right thing in telling her how he felt. Louis smiled back, waiting for her response. And he knew it would be something powerful and sincere, something that could come only from Tawny.
"Louis, do you know the story of 'The Gift of the Magi?'" Tawny asked.
Louis's smile widened. "No, but I bet you're going to tell me," he responded. There was something magical about Tawny's storytelling, her ability to narrate a story in a way that would connect uncannily with Louis's state of mind – like that time she told him about "The Tell-Tale Heart."
"It's a short story by O. Henry," Tawny began. "It's about two lovers who want so much to do something for each other for Christmas." She looked meaningfully into Louis's eyes. "But they are destitute and have little in the way of material possessions. Della has her beautiful, long hair, which Jim adores so much, and Jim has his treasured family heirloom, a shiny gold watch. On Christmas Eve, Della is so desperate to find a gift for Jim that she sells her hair to a hairdresser and uses the money to buy an expensive watch chain for Jim. Jim comes home that evening to find that Della has sold her hair to buy him the gift, and reveals to her that he sold his watch to buy her a set of expensive hair accessories.
They realize how useless their gifts have become, yet how priceless their love for each other is, so priceless that it doesn't matter how useless their gifts have become. They realize that their ultimate gift to each other is their love for each other."
Tawny smiled at Louis and extended her hand, placing it gently over his. Louis just looked into her eyes with a sense of awe, appreciating the gift of wisdom that she had given him, as she had given him so many times before.
Louis lay in bed that evening reading O. Henry's "The Gift of the Magi." His heart stirred at Jim and Della's love for each other. He thought again about Tawny and the wisdom she had imparted to him. He thought again about the pricelessness of their love for each other and recalled what they had said to each other on Thanksgiving night.
He then took a moment to re-read the last paragraph of the story.
"The magi, as you know, were wise men – wonderfully wise men – who brought gifts to the new-born King of the Jews in the manger. They invented the art of giving Christmas presents. Being wise, their gifts were no doubt wise ones, possibly bearing the privilege of exchange in case of duplication. And here I have lamely related to you the uneventful chronicle of two foolish children in a flat who most unwisely sacrificed for each other the greatest treasures of their house. But in a last word to the wise of these days let it be said that of all who give gifts these two were the wisest. Of all who give and receive gifts, such as they are wisest. Everywhere they are wisest. They are the Magi."
Louis then had an idea. He knew what he was going to do. He knew what he was going to do for Tawny for Christmas.