Ethan
Christmas was tomorrow, and I was wrapping Lyla’s last present. Also, it was the final one that I would allow her to open. It wasn’t much, but since I was too chicken shit to tell her what was on my mind, I wrote it down, and stuck it into an expensive box from Pandora.
When I was sure she wasn’t looking, I snuck up the stairs, and into the living room. She was nowhere to be found, which was weird. I ignored that thought and added the small present under the tree. I smiled, and began turning around when a squeal stopped me in my tracks. It was coming from outside. I furrowed my brows slightly.
I went over to the front window and peered out, squinting at the brightness. There, standing in my driveway, was Hannah and Katie and Lyla. Hannah had two small bags of presents.
“Okay, I guess it’s gift time.” I said to myself.
I grabbed their stuff from under the tree, and went over to the door, popping it open.
“Hey, you guys can come in!” I hollered, waving the gift bags around enticingly.
Cold air soaked into my skin, but it felt good.
All three of them came running, and stormed into the house. It sounded like they were trying to bust my floor out. I didn’t know one-hundred-twenty pounds of each girl could make that much noise… wait, Lyla was probably one-hundred, if that. But the thing about her was that she wasn’t overly skinny like you think someone that weighed that much would be. Everything on her was just really tiny.
We all sat on the couch, and I was handed the first bag. I tore into it, and gasped. Hannah got me a Mariners teddy bear. It was so perfect that I could have cried.
“Thank you.”
Everyone knew I loved the Mariners, the baseball team.
She shouldn’t have got me anything. Her family really didn’t have the money to spend. MBL stuff was always expensive, and I knew she probably had to order this online considering that was the only way to get the team’s stuff.
“You’re welcome. Now, here, Lyla.” She gave Lyla her present, and Lyla took it, and her eyes got really big and round.
She dug her hand into the bag, and pulled out a pink teddy bear that was wearing a pink dress and ballet slippers. Lyla hugged it to her chest, and cried a “thank you” so high-pitched that I didn’t really catch it until I thought about what she said. “She’s so cute! I’m naming her Molly!”
I picked up their bags from off the floor, and handed them to each. “These are from Lyla and me.”
Hannah went first, pulling out a bedspread that was pink and had different colored stripes on it. She pulled out a matching pillowcase and drapes and everything else that was supposed to be in a bedroom set. I had the women at Macy’s pick it out. I was leaning more towards something blue and black.
“Thank you, how did you know I needed new stuff?” she asked, hugging it all to her chest.
I chuckled. “Well, I sort of overheard you talking about it a few weeks ago at school. You were trying to be secretive about it, but I still caught every word… and then some.”
Hannah and Katie looked at each other and blushed. Lyla looked at me to elaborate, and I mouthed later. I hoped she didn’t want me to repeat what I heard those two talking about, but if she wanted to know I would tell her.
When Katie got her present, she dug her hand into the bag, and pulled out a case of different scented oils, clear bottles to store them in, and a few mixers. She made her own perfume, so I thought this would be a good present.
“Awesome!” she sang, putting everything away. “Lyla, I so have to make you a scent. You will love it.”
Lyla smiled and nodded. I don’t think she knew what Katie was talking about.
After a little while, the girls left, and it was already getting dark out. I wanted Lyla to open that small present so bad, that when she wasn’t aware of what was going on, I snuck back upstairs to grab it. I cradled it in my hand, and debated on giving it to her… what if she didn’t feel the same why and I made a fool out of myself?
I walked slowly into my bedroom, and met Lyla over on the bed. I climbed in. She looked back and forth from me and the small gift before I handed it to her.