Jamie searched through the racks of the department store and was underwhelmed at the lack of options. He'd been at the mall for a few hours now and was ready to call it a day. He was searching for a perfect Christmas present for his wife but had no luck. There was nothing that caught his eye. He was one who liked to start his shopping a few weeks early so he didn't get caught in the holiday rush. He actually didn't have the best track record in giving gifts, but his wife didn't seem to mind. She always accepted his gifts happily but he could always tell when she truly didn't like something.
He loved his wife to the ends of the earth but she wasn't the easiest person to shop for. She wasn't easily impressed with jewelry or lavish gifts. For their first Christmas together, he had given her a necklace that matched with her engagement ring. She wore it every once in awhile but he knew that she didn't truly love it as much as she claimed. Last Christmas, he gave her a high end cashmere scarf. They had actually said that they weren't going to get each other anything since they had decided to gift themselves a nice vacation to the Caribbean for the new year but he felt bad and got her something last minute.
Eddie, on the other hand, was a pretty great gift giver. She always put so much thought in the gifts she got for people. For their first Christmas together, Eddie had actually repurposed his great grandfather's old pocket watch into a wrist watch for him. Last Christmas, she was the one who actually came up with the idea of taking the vacation as their gift.
He really wanted to get her something great and meaningful like she always did for him. He scoured his brain for ideas but sighed in frustration when nothing was coming up. He decided to go ahead and leave the mall, knowing that his frustrations would grow if he stayed.
He got to his car and sat for a long moment before he turned it on. As he was about to drive away, something suddenly came to mind. He remembered Eddie mentioning something about it a few months back and the more he thought about it, the better it sounded. A plan started to formulate in his head. He knew it would be a long shot with being only a few weeks out from Christmas but thought it would be more than worth it to give it a try.
Eddie eyed her husband curiously as he finished making their breakfast. It was Christmas morning and they had just finished opening their gifts to each other. He had seemed slightly dejected for the past few days and she couldn't figure out why.
She had hoped that the holiday would perk him up a little bit and was surprised when it didn't. She wondered if something had happened and he just wasn't telling her. She walked up behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist, then laid her head against his back.
Jamie gave a small smile as he felt the familiar pair of arms around him, "Hey you."
"Hey," she replied.
"You okay?" he asked.
"Well… that's what I came over here to ask you. Are you okay? You seem kind of down, Bub."
"I'm all good," he responded.
"Okay… now tell me the truth because I know you're lying." She lifted her head and turned him around to face her. "You're not okay, Jamie. You've been down for a few days now. Did something happen? You can tell me."
"Eddie…" he trailed off.
"Did something happen at work?" she continued. "With the family?"
Jamie sighed. He knew that his wife wasn't going to let it go and that he was going to have to confess sooner or later.
"Okay… it's about your Christmas gift."
"My Christmas gift?" She eyed the new twisted silver and diamond band on her ring finger. He had gotten the band so she could it stack along with her engagement and wedding rings. It was actually a unique design that wasn't seen very much, which made her love it even more. "What about it?"
"That wasn't supposed to be your gift," he said.
"Oh? Well… I still love it anyways." She admired the new ring happily. "What was it suppose to be?"
"Your cousin Mila."
She gave him a confused look, "Mila? But she's in Serbia."
"I know. I was actually going to fly her here to surprise you. But she was denied a visa last minute."
Eddie's eyes widened slightly, "Whoa. Really?"
Jamie nodded, "I reached out to her a few weeks ago. I know the process is lengthy but I thought it was worth a shot. She was immediately on board. I helped her get the visa application and we thought things were looking in our favor since they gave her an interview pretty quick. She went about two weeks ago and she said that things went really good so she was sure they'd give it to her. She got an email on Thursday saying that she was denied. I'm really sorry, Ed."
"Oh. Well…" she trailed off, then looked down and away from him.
Jamie took her reaction as disappointment, which started to make him feel worse. He had been so excited thinking they were close to making it happen and had been hoping to give his wife better news.
"I'm so sorry, babe. I should've done it with more time. I thought I was finally going to give you a present that you would love."
All of a sudden, he felt himself being pulled in for a tight hug. She wrapped her arms around his neck and laid her head on his shoulder, letting out a quivering sigh. His eyes widened slightly in surprise, but also worry.
"Eddie?" he said gently. "Talk to me, honey."
"I love it," she managed to let out.
"What?" Jamie responded, eyebrows furrowing in confusion.
"I love my gift," she replied.
"But… Mila isn't coming, Eddie," he said cautiously.
She gave a nod and pulled back from him, "I know that. But, the fact that you would go through all of that just for me makes it the best gift I could ever get. To help her get the application and guide her through the process just to surprise me? That's the best present of all. I couldn't ask for anything better than that. I really couldn't."
Jamie leaned down and pressed a kiss to her lips, "You're more than worth it, babe. You really are."
They swayed from side to side together as she hugged him again. Then, after a few minutes, she spoke up again.
"Jamie?"
"Hm?"
She pulled back to look at him, "Why did you say that you were finally going to get me something that I'd love?"
He sighed, "I just feel like you always get me really good gifts and mine are not that great. You always get me something meaningful or things that I didn't think I'd ever use but I do. I just wanted to do the same thing for you."
She gave him a look, "Jamie… any gift that I've ever gotten from you always means the world to me. And do you want to know why? Because it's from you. You took the time to pick it out for me. Out of everyone in the world, you know me the best. It would've been great to have Mila here but things happen, Jamie. The thought that you put into it to just try and do it for me is enough. There hasn't been a gift that you've given me that I haven't liked."
"What about the cashmere scarf?" he questioned with a joking smile.
"Well… that's a little different," she chuckled. "But I still wear it! And you know what else?"
"Hm?"
"There's no denying that we're going to get older… and as I think about it, besides our memories, the gifts we give each other are going to be another way we remember each other by whenever one of us goes. Hopefully we don't have to worry about it for a very long time but when it does…. I know I'm going to cherish everything I received from you, even that dang cashmere scarf. It will always have special meaning for me and will be something I can pass down to our kids too."
Jamie gave an affectionate smile, "I've honestly never thought of it that way."
She held both of his hands between hers, "That's why days like these and any day for a matter of fact is important. We need to be in the moment because one day, all of this is going to be a distant memory of us. The gifts are great but nothing beats being with the people that you love."
He pressed a kiss to her forehead and hugged her. "I love you. Merry Christmas, babe."
"I love you too. Merry Christmas, Jamie."
