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As he slid off his seat, my heart froze in my chest, nervous to be left alone, but as I watched Victor leave, I could see the car from where I was. I turned back toward my plate, taking the opportunity to eat what I could while he was gone. As I chewed, I kept an eye on him as he opened the trunk of the BMW and pulled something out.
When he returned, he was carrying a small iPad. “There’s no reason why I can’t give you this,” he said, and placed it in front of me, next to my plate. “Turn it on.”
Is this an early gift? It wasn’t wrapped, and the device looked to be used. It was still very nice, though. I took some napkins from the dispenser and wiped at a section of table in front of myself to make sure it was clean and dry so I could move the tablet closer. I looked at the darkened surface, found the power button and turned it on, curious as to what he wanted me to do.
The screen lit up, asking for a numerical code to unlock it.
I looked up at him, and he flashed four digits with his fingers. I entered the code and got beyond the splash screen to the front page. “Now what?” I asked.
“Use it to shop,” he said.
I raised an eyebrow, angling the tablet his way. “Victor...”
“If you’re going to start with Luke and Gabriel, then you might want art supplies for Gabriel, or get them all a game they can play with you.”
“But I can’t pay in cash,” I said. It was a nice idea. My family had never bought items over the Internet, so it hadn’t occurred to me. I realized online shopping was a normal thing and I suddenly felt silly I hadn’t thought of it. “I don’t have a credit card.”
“Here,” he said, pushing his plates of food away and reaching for the iPad. “Let me show you how to get it to work.”
He placed the iPad between us, facing me, and used it upside down to show me different websites. Some were his favorites to shop at, and others were ones he often used to buy things for Gabriel, Luke, and the others.
Then he went to a bookmarked page: a retail department online.
“I’ll show you how to use the credit card autofill app,” he said.
“Victor,” I said. I’d been leaning forward to look at him, and then reached out to stop his hand before he could touch the screen again. “I shouldn’t use your card.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Victor said. “They all use it when they need something.”
I’d not seen anyone use a credit card that was like Victor’s. Most of them had their own debit cards or carried cash. “I can...give you the money I’ve got so far from the diner this week,” I said. “To help pay for it. And I can get more...”
“Sang,” he said, his eyes brightening. “Just say thank you.”
I sighed. It was normal for them to share what they could without asking for anything in return, like when they had taken me clothes shopping. I settled back into the seat. “Thank you, Victor,” I said quietly.
“Don’t feel awkward,” he said. “I agree with you that they should get some surprises this Christmas. They’ve gone too long always knowing what they’re going to get. It’s hard to surprise them anymore. It’ll be good for you to give them a surprise, especially if they think they’ve wrapped everything already.”
“How can I get the gifts and make sure they’re wrapped and at the house?” I asked. “I can’t just get them sent to Nathan’s house. Any one of them might open a box that comes in. Or at the least, they’ll know I’ve gotten more stuff. It’ll ruin the surprise.”
Victor drummed his fingers on the table, his fingers tapping like he was playing a tune at his piano. He did this quietly for a moment and then nodded. “You’ll send it to my house,” he said. “I’ll make sure they are wrapped and will bring them on Christmas. I’ll hide them under the tree when I’m sure everyone’s asleep.”
I got more excited about the idea, liking that the others would really be surprised. “You’ll know what I got you.”
“Maybe the shop you buy from will have a gift wrap option,” he said. “But you’ll just have to trust me this year if we’re going to surprise the others. Maybe next year you can surprise me.”
I smoothed my fingers over the surface of the now dimmed tablet, bringing it to life again. I might not be able to collect all the boxes without the others noticing, but maybe I could get one sent to Nathan’s house. Nathan would understand, and wouldn’t give away my secret. I’d pretend I only did it for Victor, and then Nathan would still be surprised at his own.
I asked Victor for ideas of what to get for Mr. Blackbourne as we lingered over dessert.
“What do you know he likes?” Victor asked as he spooned out some chocolate swirl ice cream.
I went over what I knew about Mr. Blackbourne. “He likes music,” I said. “Both violin and piano. And I kind of know what types of songs he likes.”
“He composes sometimes,” Victor said. “You could buy him sheet music.”
I made a face. It wasn’t exactly the kind of gift I wanted to give.
He laughed at my expression. “What else?”
I thought some more. I tapped at the little iPad as if staring at it would give me some ideas.
When we were done, and after he paid and left a tip on the table, we walked out together, me still holding onto the tablet. Items filtered through my brain, but I dismissed them all. He had ties and that was a boring gift anyway. He already had a violin, and that would have been way too expensive, even if he didn’t.
Once we were in the car, I was ready to give up. “Victor,” I said, placing the tablet on my lap as I buckled in. “What would you get for Mr. Blackbourne?”
“I’m the one that usually gets him new music sheets,” he said. He started the car and pulled out of the parking lot, heading back to Sunnyvale Court. “And I usually buy him new bowstrings for his birthday.”
I sat up straight, staring out the windshield but not really focusing. “His birthday? When is it?”
“On the twenty-second,” he said. “I try to get something sent to his house, so he gets it on the day. Sometimes I won’t see him that week until Christmas, and I don’t want the gift to blend in with the others.”
“Shouldn’t we do something?” I asked in a rush. I’d missed a few birthdays, and had barely been prepared for Gabriel’s. This time, I had a chance to prepare and do things better. That was important to me, especially for Mr. Blackbourne, who had done so much for me since I’d met him.
“Maybe we should do a little dinner. Or...” I wasn’t sure what else to do for him. Take him to a concert? Would he like that?
Victor pressed his lips together, remaining quiet for a few minutes as he drove. His eyes darted to the mirrors. “Princess, I’ve known him many years, and I
have no idea what he does on his birthday. He usually disappears for the day and tells us all he’s busy with Academy business or something else.”
“Do you not believe him?”
“I don’t think he really enjoys his birthday,” he said. “I’ve never figured out why. Maybe it draws a lot of bad memories. It’s the only time he ever really withdraws from the rest of us. I’ve asked Dr. Green about it, and he says that for now, we should just let him be. Just send him birthday wishes and gifts—from a distance.”
I settled into the seat, staring off at the line of trees whizzing by. I was curious, wondering what happens to Mr. Blackbourne on his birthday.
If Dr. Green said to leave him alone except to send a gift, it made me determined to pick one that would be perfect.
???
For the rest of the day, I curled up in a couch or in bed, looking at the iPad. I kept a novel ready on a reading app, so when Nathan or someone came close, I’d tap on it to bring it up, claiming to be caught up in a new book.
In secret, I carefully went over gift options from every store I could find. One by one, I picked out different gifts for all of them. I had them sent to Victor’s house, and then I’d send him a text message or call him, letting him know which items were for who, so he could label them correctly.
He approved of my choices. “You should shop with me for gifts next year,” he said. “We’ll work with two iPads and drink coffee by a fire while we pick out what to give. We should do that for birthdays, too.”
I adored his idea. I told him I wanted to do that next year.
I’d still go out with Gabriel and Luke if they wanted, but I’d save special gifts for shopping with Victor.
THE SOUND OF SNOWFALL
School whirled by in the couple weeks that were left. No Volto. No Mr. Hendricks. I saw the inside of Music Room B and we cleaned the room and worked on homework as a group. We did homework that would last us several months through the next year, so when we returned, we could focus fully on the task at hand there. Everyone was busy with mid-terms and closing up school for the holidays anyway, so nothing eventful happened.
