THE GIFT
a short story by Mary H. Collins

It was beginning to snow when Kimberly got off work. She loved it and remembered how excited as a child she used to get when it would snow. She tried to muster up some of that excitement now, but with no one to share things with, it wasn't as exciting as it once was. Memories of the holidays at home came rushing to mind and brought a hint of a smile to her face, but it was too painful to dwell on the memory.
She ran into the street to hail a taxi, but wasn't fast enough. A man came out of nowhere and jumped into the cab and it sped away. Well so much for riding home in a nice warm car...I'll just walk, she thought.
She kicked snow with the toe of her shoe as she walked, now she was wishing she'd worn a pair of boots, her toes were freezing already, and she still had six blocks to go. She thought of Chad and wondered how he would be spending the holidays. She still missed him and wondered if she would ever get over him and love again.
The temperature here in New York was much colder than in Tennessee. Sometimes it snowed in her home town of Chattanooga, but usually didn't lay for long. She missed Tennessee and the southern hospitality there. Everyone was so impersonal here, after living here for three years she still hadn't made many friends. The only people she knew were the girls in the office and a few of the people in her apartment building. Back in Chattanooga she knew almost everyone, or at least everyone that she needed to know.
A car blowing it's horn brought Kimberly back to the present; the snow was coming down so hard she didn't see the car and stepped off the curb right in front of it.
“Are you crazy? Watch where you're going,” a man yelled at her. Another sign of how obnoxious people are here in New York. She knew it was her fault for almost walking in front of the car, but a toot of the horn was enough to scare her out of her mind, she didn't need the harsh remark. She was sick of this town, and wanted to go home. Tears spilled down her cheeks and felt like icicles in the cold wind.
Her feet and hands were numb by the time she reached her tiny apartment in Astoria, she could barely move her fingers to put the key into the lock, but finally after a few minutes she turned the door knob and felt the heat hit her like a warm cloud. How wonderful it felt. She walked inside, feeling secure in the coziness of her little apartment, but knowing she would never get used to the coldness of the city outside of it.
Kimberly turned on her laptop which was sitting on the counter between the kitchenette and the small living area where the sofa let out to serve also as a bed. She didn't especially like the apartment, but it was all she could afford right now. Her job as a photographer didn't pay that much, at least not yet. She came to New York in hopes of finding herself, dreaming of becoming a famous fashion
photographer, but as of yet all she'd found was a cheap place to live and a job as a glamour photographer in a small studio. She hoped soon to be discovered and sign a contract with one of the top fashion magazines.
When she wasn't working in the studio, Kimberly was constantly attending seminars or capturing shots to send into magazines. She entered every contest she could find and had won a few small amounts of money, but nothing big yet.
Being from a small town just outside of Chattanooga, Tennessee, she knew she would have to travel away from home to realize her dream of becoming famous. When she was in high school, she had done some contract work for several of the photography companies around town, and had been offered permanent jobs, but Kimberly wasn't interested, she knew what she wanted and she would do whatever she had to do to get it. The only thing she regretted was that Chad wouldn't be a part of that dream.
She had never been popular in school, as a matter of fact she was known as a dork by the other kids. When she turned sixteen and was a junior in high school, she had her first real date. Actually she'd had a crush on Chad Farmer since they were in the fifth grade, but he didn't notice her until her junior year. They'd met through their parents. Her mother and father became friends with the Farmers when they'd met at a church social. They introduced her to Chad and the two of them hit it off. After a few months of casual dating, they were inseparable. They dated through their junior and senior years of high school, and she thought they'd be together for life.
She and Chad had a lot in common, they were both nerds, or at least that's what the other kids called them. They were both engrossed in their studies, and getting their education was top priority for them. They cared deeply for each other, but unlike the other kids weren't having sex, they wanted to save that for marriage. Chad had never told her that he loved her, but had led her to believe that he did, and Kimberly knew that she loved him. He was the man that she wanted to spend her life with, but after graduation Chad left for college and she didn't hear from him again, she was heartbroken. A month later she left home and moved to New York.
Kimberly got out of her clothes and put on her old flannel bath robe, and a pair of fluffy house shoes. She went over to the cabinet and took a packet of cocoa out of the box, she then mixed it with hot water and put it into the microwave to heat. She walked over to the coffee table took the remote and turned on the TV. She listened to the six o'clock news while reading her email, which were mostly junk from different sites she'd joined.
The hot chocolate took the chill out of her bones and soon she was relaxed and watching reruns of 'Rosanne' on 'Fox Network'. This was her nightly routine, she didn't mind it, but she wanted so much more. She'd dreamed of coming to New York and being discovered right away, she never dreamed she would still be living in the tiny studio apartment and working in the same little studio for three years. The only good thing in her life at this time was that she was taking some assignments on the side and saving the extra money. Her parent's had offered her money, but she wanted to make it on her own, besides she knew they didn't have the extra money, since her mother had to quit her job due to her rheumatoid arthritis, they were barely scraping by themselves. Her father had a good paying job, but with all the medical bills, his insurance had canceled their policy and the cost of her mother's medicine was hundreds of dollars a month. She hoped to be able to help them out one day.
Thinking of her parents made her sad, she always missed them around this time of year. With the holidays coming and knowing that while everyone else had plans to be with family, she would be alone. The only people she ever got to be with, on holidays, were the ones like her that met at Benny's, the little bar at the end of the street. They were there most every day, but she only went there when she was bored and had nothing else to do. She felt sorry for them and knew that someday she would have a better life, but that's all they had to look forward to. Sometimes she would day dream of becoming famous and making lots of money to bring back and give then all gifts. She would love to give Maggie, the old lady that came in there with her small dog in her purse, a new coat, the one she always wore, had holes in both elbows. And then there was Pete, the old man who had lost his wife to cancer a few years back, her sickness had taken all of his money and he could use a new pair of glasses. She would watch him sit at the bar and try to read the newspaper, sometimes he would get frustrated, throw the paper down and say, “Oh...what the hell?”
It was 10:00 when Kimberly finally got up and opened a can of tuna for her dinner, after eating it, she got into the shower, she wanted to get some sleep because she had a photo shoot early the next morning before going to the studio. It was at a daycare and she was dreading it, she'd photographed lots of school pictures, but the kids got on her nerves. She preferred doing glamour photography.
She arrived at the daycare at 6:30, just as they were opening the doors for the children whose parents had to be at work early. She set up her camera and worked solid for two hours before packing up and going to the studio. She photographed twenty kids and expected to make a few hundred dollars from the shoot, that would give her money to buy Christmas presents for her parents and the few friends she had at work. She wanted to give her mother a bracelet that she'd seen in the window of Fuller's Jewelry store. It was 14 carat gold with small hearts on it. Her mother loved jewelry, but her father couldn't afford to buy any for her. For her father she would buy a new pair of thermal underwear, that's what she always gave him, because he worked for the water company, and most of the time was out in the cold.
Kimberly wished she could give her parent's more and someday she would. She knew how hard they'd worked to give her what she'd needed growing up. But then when her mother's condition got so bad, it put a hardship on them, but they never let her know how hard they were having it, until she got older and figured it out by herself. That's when she decided to find work, so she could earn the money to move to New York and pursue her dream.
Kimberly worked from 9:00 to 5:00 in the studio, and then she clocked out and headed for the photography lab, she had to get the pictures printed from her photo shoot that morning. She wanted to put the packages together and drop them off at the daycare the next day before going to work. She knew the parent's would buy the pictures and leave her a check with the daycare provider.
After going by the lab and waiting until the pictures were printed from the digital card, it was 8:00 when Kimberly arrived home that evening. She warmed a can of soup in the microwave and after eating it and reading her email, she headed for the shower. She was in bed by ten.
The next day when she got off work she picked up her pay for the photo shoot at the daycare, and headed straight to the bank to deposit the checks. Every family had purchased the whole package and she'd made enough to do her Christmas shopping without going into her savings. She smiled as she headed toward the mall. Being that she didn't have to work the next day and didn't have to hurry home, she might go see a movie before returning to the apartment.
Kimberly couldn't get her mind on shopping and everywhere she looked in the mall, she saw families laughing and having fun. It only reminded her of her own childhood, how her parents used to take her to the mall with them to do their Christmas shopping. The only time they didn't take her was when they were buying her gifts, they were always secretive about that. She never knew what they were giving her for Christmas. It was always a wonderful surprise.
It was only five days until Christmas and the loneliest time of all, the other girls at work were busy with their shopping and getting together with family and friends, no one hardly knew Kimberly existed.
Kimberly picked up the gifts for her parents, and left the mall. If she hurried she could get them to the Post Net on the corner before they closed. She hoped they would arrive on time.
After shipping the packages and not wanting to face the loneliness of her apartment, she stopped at Benny's. As she sat at the bar and sipped on a glass of wine, she looked around the room at all the lonely faces. In that moment she felt as if her life were passing her by, and knew that she had to change it now, or she could end up like these people.
She had some vacation time due her, she decided she would take it and go home for the holidays. She wouldn't even call her parents, she'd rather surprise them. She got up, leaving the half empty glass of wine setting on the bar, she was too excited to spend any more time here, she had places to go and people to see.
She called the airport and found that there was a flight to Chattanooga, Tennessee, leaving the next morning at 5:45, she could make it and be home before noon. She gave the representative her credit card number and booked a seat on the flight. She then threw some clothes into a suitcase and went to bed.
As she got into the cab that would take her to JFK, she smiled and thought of the wonderful dreams she'd had the night before, probably the best she'd had since leaving Tennessee. She was surprised that she'd slept at all, as excited as she was.
It was Saturday and she knew there would be no one at the Studio until 10:00, so she would wait until she arrived in Chattanooga at 11: 00 to call her boss, she knew he'd be unhappy that she'd taken off with such short notice, but she didn't care, she just wanted to see her family.
When the Plane landed at Lovell Field she felt tears spring into her eyes. She wiped them and rushed out of the airport and found a waiting taxi. As the cab drove up Shallowford Road and headed for Interstate 75, she looked around at all the familiar buildings. To her left was Olin Mills, where she'd worked a few days a week while she was a senior in high school. It seemed so long ago, but it had only been three years. She hoped her parents were home, if not she knew where they kept the spare key.
As the cab neared the exit that led to her childhood home, Kimberly could feel the goosebumps on her arms, she was so excited she could barely contain herself. As they went by the Farmer's home, she saw Chad helping some girl into the car. She was gorgeous, with thick red hair that fell down to her waist, the type of girl that she'd always pictured him ending up with. He looked great too, and she felt a twinge of jealousy, he still made her heart do flip-flops whenever she saw him. She'd been in love with him since she was ten years old and would probably love him for the rest of her life. She remembered how after moving to New York, she'd pretend that he was there with her, sometimes she would set two plates on the table and talk to him as if he was really there. Then other times she would pile the pillows up on the sofa and pretend it was him lying beside her. As a matter of fact; it hadn't been that long ago that they'd had one of their romantic dinners, and then she dreamed that he'd made love to her all night long. Now she would have to give up on the hope of them ever being together, Chad was happily married, she could tell by the way the beautiful red haired girl was looking at him, and the way he protectively held his hand to her back.
She wished she hadn't seen him. Now her visit would be ruined; she'd come here to feel less alone and now felt more alone than ever. But she was here and would have to make the best of it. At least she would get to see her parent's. She hadn't seen them since the day she'd left.
There was no one at home, so Kimberly felt around under the broken step and found the house key, good thing her father had never repaired the step or she wouldn't have known where to look for it. They'd kept it there ever since she was in junior high and she'd run her four-wheeler up onto the step and it had broken due to the weight.
She ran upstairs to her old room, everything was still the same, nothing had been changed or moved from the way she'd left it. The same posters and school banners were still on the wall, the picture that her mother had taken of her and Chad at the church carnival was still hanging on her mirror. Why hadn't her mother thrown it away or put it into an album as she usually did with pictures?
Kimberly picked it up and looked at it, her heart did a flip, the way Chad was looking at her in the picture, she'd never noticed it before, but he was really looking admiringly at her. She put the picture back and laid down on her bed, she'd gotten up so early, maybe she could take a nap before her parents come home. Before long she was sound asleep.
She was at the school dance with Chad, she'd hoped he would asked her and he did. They were dancing close and he was looking deep into her eyes, the same way he was looking at her in the picture, he pulled her close and she knew that he was getting ready to kiss her, as their lips touched, she heard her mother's voice.
“Kimberly?...is that you?”
She opened her eyes and her mother was standing over her looking as if she'd just won the lottery.
“Yes Mother it's me, I wanted to surprise you and Dad, but when I got here no one was home.”
Her mother wasn't listening, but had grabbed her up into her arms and was squeezing the breath out of her. And then she heard her father running up the stairs to see what was going on.
“Who's up here? Who are you talking...Kimberly...is that you? Her father ran to the bed and grabbed his daughter and with both parents holding her she could hardly breathe.
“Yes Dad, it's me. I wanted to surprise the two of you.”
“We saw your suitcase setting downstairs and knew you were here. Besides you left the key in the lock, someone could have come in on you,” her father said.
“Get up and come downstairs we're having company for dinner,” her mother said.
“who is it?” Kimberly asked.
“I'm not telling you, you'll find out.”
“It's someone you'll be glad to see,” her father told her.
She couldn't imagine who would be coming for dinner, but when she got up and looked at the clock she realized she'd slept for four hours. She would barely have time to take a shower and get dressed before dinner time.
She took a pair of jeans and a t-shirt from her suitcase, and went into the only bathroom at the foot of the stairs, to take a quick shower. When she came out she heard people talking in the kitchen, and recognized Chad's voice. What is this? Why would her parents want Chad and his wife to come to dinner? Knowing how she'd always felt about him. Was it some kind of joke? Was his parents in on it too? Kimberly didn't think it was funny, she didn't want to face Chad and his new wife, she was afraid of what might happen. What if she broke down in front of them, what if his wife guessed how she felt about him? She couldn't face them, she would have to fake a headache. She ran back upstairs to the safety of her bedroom. She would stay there until they left.
She'd just closed the door and laid down on her bed when she heard voices on the stairs, and again recognized Chad doing the talking. Why would he be coming up stairs? There was only her bedroom up here...her parent's bedroom was downstairs. The house originally had only two small bedrooms downstairs, but when she turned ten years old and wanted more privacy, her parents had turned the attic into a bedroom for her, and knocked the wall out downstairs to make their bedroom bigger.
She heard the knock on the door, but laid still and didn't make a sound. She heard the door open and her mother calling her.
“Why are you back in the bed Kimmie? We have guests waiting to welcome you home,” her mother said as she turned on the bedroom light and walked across the room to the bed.
“Hey Kimberly! It's good to have you home. How long are you staying?” Chad asked.
Just the sound of his voice made shivers run up her spine. She was still madly in love with him, but now that he's married, she would have to get over him. But how could she with him so near? She would have to forget her visit with her parents and go back to New York. She laid still and didn't open her eyes, hoping they would go away, but her mother didn't fall for it, instead she continued to talk to her as if she was still a little girl.
“Come on Honey. Get up now, someone wants to talk to you.”
Kimberly slowly opened her eyes and saw Chad and her mother standing over her, “I'm sorry I have a headache and won't be coming down for dinner,” she said.
“Hey girl!” Chad said, ignoring her statement, “I've missed you so much...have you come back to give me a second chance?”
Why is he saying these things? He's a married man, or maybe not; maybe the woman she saw him with is just his girlfriend. Anyway...he is involved with someone else. And why is her mother going along with him on this? she thought. A few years ago she would have been so glad to hear Chad say that he'd missed her, but now it was nothing short of torture for her, like rubbing salt into a wound.
“I'll be down in a few minutes,” Kimberly said. She knew she would have to go downstairs and see the rest of the Farmer family, including Chad's wife...or girlfriend, whichever.
“I'll be anxiously awaiting,” Chad said jokingly, he'd always had a sense of humor, and that was one of the things she loved about him, but now...she didn't need it.
When Kimberly got downstairs, there was John and Mary Farmer, but where was the girl that she'd seen with Chad earlier?
“It's about time, you showed yourself!” John said as he reached to give her a hug.
“Yeah!” Mary Said, “When Chad told us you were home, we rushed over as soon as possible.”
“Oh...but how did Chad know?” she asked, looking more confused than before.
“We were at the flea market in Sweetwater, when you arrived, Chad was standing outside and saw the cab pull into the drive-way. He immediately called us to let us know that you'd come home,” Mary said as she busied herself in the kitchen.
“Kimberly there is something I need to tell you, let's walk out onto the porch,” Chad said to her.
“Why go outside?” Kimberly asked him, “Just tell me right here. What is it that you want to tell me? That you are planning on being married soon? Or that you are already married?” She was beginning to get hysterical, and didn't know why they were all standing around watching her be humiliated.
“What...? What are you talking about?” Chad asked, he was totally confused.
“I saw you getting into the car with her as I came by your house today,” she said.
“Oh that...?” he laughed.
“I don't think it's funny at all. You should be ashamed of yourself,” she said.
“No! I'm not married, nor am I planning to marry anyone soon...that is unless you want to be married right away...”
“What...? Then who was that getting into the car with you?” she asked, feeling like an idiot.
“That was my cousin, Susan, from California. I was taking her to the airport to catch her flight home. She came here to spend a few days of her vacation, but wanted to be home for Christmas,” he explained.
“But the way she was looking at you...” Kimberly said continuing to embarrass herself, but at this point didn't care.
“When she was three years old her parents were killed in an automobile accident and she came to stay with us. We were like brother and sister, she was two years older than myself. Then when she turned ten, her grandmother in California went to a lawyer and demanded that Susan come live with her. I missed her so much after she moved away, I cried for days, and couldn't sleep. We've continued to keep in touch all these years. I love her dearly, but she's no threat to you, I love you in a different way.”
Was she dreaming or did Chad just tell her that he loved her? She thought.
“What did you say?” she asked to make sure that she'd heard him correctly.
“I said I love you and being that you won't go out to the porch so we can speak privately, I guess I'll have to propose to you right here in front of our parents,” he said as he got down on one knee.
“Wait...hold on one minute, I would have to have some time to think about this,” she objected.
“You'll have all the time you want, but I have been miserable these last three years and I don't want to lose you again...that is if you've not already found someone else,” he said as his face changed to the most pitiful look she'd ever seen.
“No I haven't found anyone...I've never even dated anyone but you...and I do want to marry you, but I need to have time to think things out. After you left for college...you never even contacted me. I thought you had found someone else.
“I wanted to give you time to find yourself. I knew if we married and you didn't pursue your career, you'd always wonder 'what if'. I wanted to call you a million times, but I had to know that you wanted the same things I did.”
This was the most wonderful Christmas she'd ever had. She got everything she wanted. The man she loved and an engagement ring. And when Chad got back down on his knee and slipped the diamond ring ,that was his grandmother's, on her finger she yelled out. “Yes! Yes! I will marry you.”
With all the holiday festivities going on, she forgot to call in to work, so on Christmas Eve, her boss called.
“Kimberly?” he said.
“Yes. This is Kimberly.”
“This is Scott, from the photography studio. You're fired!”
“Thank you,” she said. At that moment she was glad she’d made this trip and knew she wouldn't be going back to New York.

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Tag der Veröffentlichung: 27.11.2009

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