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Lucy— There’s an omelet mixed up in the fridge, ready to go. You were out of juice so I ran to the store and got some. Drink up, you need the vitamins. Talk soon, D
It was so blunt and matter-of-fact, but I felt ridiculously touched by it. He saw that I was out of juice, so he bought me some. He took care of my breakfast, even though he wouldn’t be here to eat it with me. I felt the sting of tears and had to close my eyes to hold them back.Get your shit together, Cooper,I said to myself, straightening my spine determinedly and starting to fix my breakfast.
Plate of eggs and glass of juice in hand, I turned to the table and gasped. There was a wrapped present in the middle of the table! I’d thought Dante was just kidding when he’d told my family we’d run out of time to exchange presents. Sitting down, I ate a mouthful of omelet before hefting the small, flat box in my hand. Jewelry. I took a photo of it and sent it to Dante.
Me:What is this?
Dante:Hmm, looks like a Christmas present to me.
Me:Funny, I didn’t think we were going to exchange presents.
Dante:Why would you think that?
WhywouldI think that? I guess because our situation was so fraught and confusing, I wasn’t sure if a gift exchange would make it better or worse. But I didn’t really feel like saying all that, so I just said,
Me:No reason. Can I open it?
Dante:Of course.
Smiling, I took another bite of omelet. It really was delicious. Then I slowly pulled off the wrapping, drawing the process out since no one was here to hassle me about it.
Dante:What’s taking you so long?
That made me giggle.
Me:I’m savoring the moment.
Dante:*Eye roll emoji*
Giggling some more, I folded the paper and placed it neatly on the table. One more bite of eggy goodness, then I lifted the lid. Grabbing my phone, I hastily typed.
Me:This is too much.
Dante:No, it isn’t. Put it on.
I lifted the delicate gold chain out of the box and held it up. A small diamond pendant hung from it, catching the morning sun just right, sending a prism of light dancing on the wall behind the table. Pulling my hair to the side, I put it on, then took a quick selfie so I could see how it looked. I had to admit, the man had impeccable taste in jewelry. On impulse, I sent the photo to Dante. I wasn’t exactly looking my best, but oh well. Fuck. Was that too much? Should we be sending selfies to each other? Three dots hovered, indicating Dante was typing, then disappeared, replaced by…
Dante:Beautiful.
Did he mean me, or the necklace? How should I respond? If I said thanks, would that make it seem like I thought he meant me? Was I massively overthinking all this? Of course I was. Best to keep it simple.
Lucy:It’s lovely. I did get you a present, by the way. I’ll give it to you next time you’re here.
Dante:No problem.
Lucy:And thanks for the omelet. It’s delicious.
Dante:Also no problem.
That seemed a natural finishing point, so I didn’t reply again, just finished eating my breakfast. Ten minutes later I was putting the clean dishes away when there was a knock on the door. Going to answer it, I was surprised to see Ally.
“Hi! I wasn’t expecting you, was I?” I was worried I’d forgotten if we’d made plans. I’d gapped on a few things lately.
“Not at all,” she reassured me. “I stayed at Zara and Matt’s last night and just thought I’d get out early to give them some peace. Plus, I’ve got some stuff for you.”
“Oh, thank you. Come on in.” I swung the door wide, taking a bag from Ally and following her down the hallway into the kitchen. “What is all this?”
“Zara was telling me how you’ve got really bad morning sickness, and one of the ways to manage it is frequent small meals. So I made you some.”
