We finished eating, and cleaned up our dishes. Mom seemed to be stalling, and I understood why. Neither of us was really looking forward to opening the gifts from Dad. Finally, I had to say, “Mom, Dad’s gifts aren’t going away, just because you’re tidying up the kitchen. He would say ‘They represent my love for you two, so get to it.'”
She chuckled. “He would say it, just like that. And you’re right, I’m stalling.” She took a deep breath, before saying, “Okay, let’s do it. We can leave the stockings for later, no surprises there, since you helped me fill them.”
Most of my gifts were typical, video games, clothes, a couple books I’d told my folks I wanted. My dad had written inscriptions in both: “Merry XMas 2012, Drew! Love, Mom & Dad.”
Searching under the whole tree, Mom had only one gift under it from Dad, but it turned out to be a wowzer – a beautiful tennis bracelet, with both diamonds and rubies. Mom had tears in her eyes as I helped put it on her wrist. “A beautiful bauble, but not as beautiful as the woman wearing it,” I whispered, remembering something Dad had said a few years earlier, when putting a necklace he’d bought her around her neck.
“You remembered that line of your Dad’s?” she asked, putting her hand to my face.
“Figured I’d use it on a girlfriend of my own some day, when we got to the jewelry stage. Patti and I are almost there, but not quite, given what I can afford. Never figured I’d be using it on my own Mom. If Dad were here…” I couldn’t say any more.
She gave me a quick kiss on the lips, and said, “If your Dad were here, he’d be proud of you for helping to make this day easier for me. I love you.”
“I love you too, Mom.” I shook myself, trying to regain my Christmas spirit, and said, “Well, that’s the gifts from you and Dad to me, and from Dad to you, all that’s left are mine to you and the ones we each got for Dad. Let’s start with yours.”
I handed her the two clothing boxes I’d wrapped the day before Dad died, and she started opening. Both were new sweaters, one in blue, the other red. She looked up at me when she’d opened the second one. “Patti helped you pick these out, didn’t she? They’re both beautiful.”
“Yeah, she suggested half-a-dozen different sweaters in the store’s online catalog, then challenged me to pick the two that I’d like to see her in, not what I thought would be ‘mom-appropriate’. Do you really like them?” I asked. “I got Patti another in the same style as the blue one, but in a light green color, and a different style in a gray color.”
She nodded, and said, “Love them, and love that they’re from you even more. So that just leaves Dad’s gifts. Drew, bring me the ones I got Dad, please.” There were just two, and one was obviously a clothing box. After I handed them to her, she set the clothing box aside, saying, “This won’t fit you, because you’re taller than Dad, but it ought to fit your Grandpa Dave. This one, I want you to have instead,” handling me a smaller box.
It was a new Seiko watch. I checked, and there was an inscription, ‘For All Our Hours Of Pleasure – Tina’ I actually blushed, making Mom laugh. “Mom? Are you sure you want me thinking about that inscription every time I look at this watch?”