The Christmas Present

Sharni lowered her eyes to the box and untying the white ribbon she opened the lid. Her eyes widened as she looked at its contents. Nestled in the soft white interior was a circular silver charm with a fine silver chain threaded through it. Sharni remembered it from their search for his niece’s present. She had secretly admired it and had suggested it as an option for the required gift but he’d gone with something else. “It’s beautiful” she said looking up at him. “How did you know I liked it?”

He smiled. “Your face lit up when you looked at it. I wanted to buy it for you right then. That’s why I didn’t pick it. I didn’t think you’d have accepted it though.”

“No” she said removing the necklace from the box and fastening it around her neck “I wouldn’t have then. Thank you.”

“My pleasure” he said and leaning towards her he kissed her.

While they kissed Sharni considered just how lucky she’d been that year. She loved the necklace but the best gift she’d received that Christmas was Mitch. And as he rolled her beneath him she hoped that he would be making her Christmas’s and every day in between, memorable for the rest of her life.

The End

The Christmas Present

Sharni shrugged. “I’ve been single for a while now.”

“All I can say is the men around you must be blind. You turned around in that queue ready to yell at me and I took one look at those big blue eyes and I was gone. I wanted to forget the rest of my shopping and talk to you but by the time I got out of the shop you were gone.”

Sharni smiled. “Did you drop that package on purpose?”

Mitch grinned. “No, but I was trying to speak to you again. I was rushing to catch up with you.”

“I was so happy when you suggested coffee.”

“But not when I stood you up the next day?” he suggested.

She smiled “no for a while there I was pretty angry, mostly with myself. I was really beginning to doubt my instincts.”

“I’m sorry” he said “I wanted to be there.”

“It’s fine” she said. “It wasn’t your fault and you made up for it.”

He smiled “and speaking of making up for it I’ve got a present for you.”

Sharni frowned as he reached for his jeans and pulled out a small box. He held it out to her.

“You didn’t need to buy me anything” she said.

He smiled “yes I did, it’s Christmas.”

“But I didn’t get you anything” she said feeling very guilty.

“So you’ll make it up to me” he teased with a wink “take it.”

She smiled and taking the box she said “thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

The Christmas Present

“I used emotional blackmail, tried to manipulate her" Mitch said. "It’s not something I’m proud of. In the end it came down to us wanting different things” he said. “We still loved each other but not enough to change. My work is here, my family are here. My life is here. After I’d calmed down we tried to make it work long distance but that was never going to happen. By the time we admitted that though, she’d built a new life for herself there, so earlier this year we did the only thing left, we divorced.”

Sharni let out a breath she didn’t know she’d been holding. She understood now that she’d been wrong. The betrayal he spoke of was his wife moving away. Mitch felt she’d been disloyal by not putting him first. She could tell he also felt guilty that he’d done the same to her. Reaching out to squeeze his hand she said again “I’m sorry.”

“Thanks” he said and releasing her hand he pulled her into his arms and hugged her. 

But feeling guilty now for doubting him, Sharni felt she needed to tell him. She didn’t want anything sitting between them. Easing back she looked at him and said “when you said betrayal and talked about doing things you regret I thought you meant something else.”

He smiled and shook his head “I’d never do that, to anyone.”

“I’m sorry” she said.

“That’s okay. I can’t expect you to know everything about me, yet” he finished.

She smiled “yet?”

“Yes, I’m not planning on going anywhere.”

She knew he was offering her a commitment and it thrilled her. Things were moving fast between them but they felt so right she had no compulsion to slow it down. With a smile she shook her head, “no neither am I.”

With a smile he leaned forward and kissed her. Then easing back he said in a lighter tone “enough of my pathetic life history, tell me about you. How did I get so lucky as to find you unattached?”

Loss and Longing

 Three nights later Stevie was a little nervous as she waited for Grant to arrive at her house. Her mother had spent the afternoon in the kitchen. Stevie had done what she could to help and she could tell, her mother was going all out to impress him. She smiled to herself as she was shooed out of the kitchen and she went to check she had packed everything she’d need.

Stevie had told her mother two days ago that she’d be staying at Grant’s house and apart from giving her a smile, Nina had offered no comment. No one needed to be anywhere in the morning so Stevie was happy as she could be on that score, about not being there. She was certainly looking forward to waking up with him. But first she had to get through this meeting and as the door bell rang, she prayed they’d all like him.

Stevie opened the door and smiling at Grant, she said “hey.”                                

“Hi” he said and he bent to kiss her.

As she shut the door, he said “you still staying over?”

She grinned and nodded.

“Good” he said with a smile.

“Come in and meet everyone” she said as she grabbed his hand and led him down the passage “hopefully they’ll behave.”

Grant chuckled “you make them sound like kids.”

“Two of them are” she said.

“Ah, good point” he said with a laugh.

Nina met them at the kitchen door and Stevie watched her mother’s face with amusement as she introduced Grant. She expected some surprise, she was still a little surprised herself when she looked at him. He was so gorgeous. And she certainly got that, but Stevie had also expected to see approval. However that was not what she saw on her mother’s face and she frowned. Taking Grant into the living room to meet her siblings she left him there for a minute, to get some drinks and took the opportunity to have a private word with her mother.

The Christmas Present

Later having worked up an appetite they sat close together on the couch and shared a plate of left overs. “Can I ask you a question?” Sharni said, having had enough to eat and laying her fork down.

“Sure” he said continuing to eat.

“When we first met you mentioned you were married once, can I ask what happened?”

His expression went serious and without looking at her he said in a hard tone “oh the usual stuff, betrayal, pain, divorce.”

“I’m sorry” she said wondering if his wife had cheated on him. Poor guy. She couldn’t begin to imagine how that felt. She’d had many relationships of varying length in the last ten or so years but none of them had ended that way. And being married must make the betrayal that much more painful. “How long were you married?” she asked.

“Five years.”

Sharni didn’t know what else to say and in the sombre mood that ensued she regretted bringing the subject up. Not that she didn’t want to know, she was glad he felt able to tell her, but it could have waited. She didn’t need to ruin such a magical night. 

Then all of a sudden Mitch started talking “Marie, my wife, my ex-wife” he corrected himself and Sharni could tell how difficult it was for him to say.  “She was offered a job interstate. A good job. She didn’t want to turn it down. I didn’t want to move. She left and for a while I couldn’t forgive her. I did things I regret.”

Sharni drew in her breath and her heart skipped a beat as she stared at him. He had betrayed her not the other way around. 

But before she could gather her thoughts he was talking again.