Tawny's phone rang the next morning, as she had been waiting for it to. She picked up to find a familiar voice at the other end.
"Hey," it just said.
"Hi," she said back.
"So… I saw a tape last night." The unmistakable familiarity of that line wasn't lost on her.
"Yeah, I… I saw a tape, too," Tawny responded.
There was a brief silence. "So…?" Louis kept playing with her, making her chuckle.
More silence. "So, what should we do?" He now left it to Tawny's wisdom to come to the rescue.
Tawny had an idea. "How about we both start walking toward each other's house at 9 and meet in the middle?"
Louis chuckled at the simple ingenuity of Tawny's suggestion. "Sounds like a plan," he just said.
Louis and Tawny met each other in the middle. They first just stood there looking fondly at each other, stopping to appreciate the gift they had brought for each other, the gift they knew so well and cherished so much. They then embraced each other tightly.
Louis drew back just far enough that he could look into Tawny's eyes. "So, what should we do?" he whispered.
Tawny was looking intently into Louis's eyes. He knew from the look that what was to come would be something powerful and sincere, something that could come only from Tawny.
"It doesn't matter, Louis," she finally said. "What matters is that we're there for each other." She smiled and took Louis's hand in hers. They started walking, though they didn't know where. What they did know was that they were there for each other, and that was all that mattered. The streets were mostly empty, being as it was Christmas morning. Most of Sacramento snuggled warmly at home, exchanging and opening gifts. Louis and Tawny, on the other hand, had an entire day ahead of them to keep giving each other the gift they considered to be the greatest of all.
And here I have lamely related to you the uneventful chronicle of two children in a loving relationship who most unwisely spent their Christmas Day walking around aimlessly in the cold, talking, laughing, hugging, smiling, savoring the priceless gift they had given each other. 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.