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She beckoned toward one, which, when pulled out, depicted the 1960s movie versions of Rudolph, Santa, the elves, and the Abominable Snowman across its colorful blue and teal background.
“Like this one. And that one.”
Her next gesture drew his attention to a mostly depleted roll, which housed surprisingly lifelike and detailed renditions of various dinosaurs. All save for the bright red Christmas caps that each one was wearing.
“That one’s old,” he said, capable of remembering when he’d first seen this wrapping paper used. He’d been seven years old, and he, like most boys that age, had been knee-deep in a dinosaur phase.
“Makes it even more perfect for Victoria,” Avril chuckled.
Over the course of the next five minutes, they decided who would get what wrapping paper. Not that they weren’t all festive, but Victoria certainly ended up with the most blatantly childlike options. And, well, he’d already forgotten about impeding Avril from having her way at the severe college professor’s expense.
Soon after, when they began grabbing presents from the horde of bags, it became apparent which of them was better at measuring how much paper they needed and cutting straight lines.
“Shut up,” Avril grumbled, though he hadn’t said anything—yet.
For her myriad of talents and endless self-confidence, Avril’s skill at arts and crafts—at least, this part of it—lagged severely behind his. She wasn’t great at cutting a straight line with the scissors, but where she really fumbled things was determining how much wrapping paper each gift would need. Too much, not enough—she hit both sides of the spectrum regularly. Her preemptive attempt at stifling his teasing had come about when they were wrapping up the expensive chocolate that she’d gotten for the other three women. Even though they were all identical, even on the final one, she still couldn’t seem to correctly eyeball how much wrapping paper she needed.
“Nobody likes a perfectly wrapped gift,” Liam said, withholding a smile that he knew would birth a dark glare in the beautiful but currently inept woman sitting next to him. “They’ve got character.”
“Oh, fuck off with your character bullshit,” the redhead grumbled, scrunching her nose up. “Just make them look nice. I’ll do the stickers and names.”
His forthcoming efforts were reasonable enough for a general uniformity for the remainder of the presents, though the handful that Avril had wrapped would undoubtedly stand out as… unique. About halfway through the process, she huffed at her work and suggested that he should rewrap them.
“I don’t think we have enough paper from these rolls to get away with that,” he noted.
At about three-quarters of the way through the process, they both realized that the shortage he’d foreseen would arrive sooner than expected. With about thirty presents already wrapped, they’d created a veritable mountain of glossy gift wrap. About ten more still needed hidden under dinosaurs and reindeer, though that might not be possible.
If there was any saving grace to their problem, it was that Avril hadn’t purchased anything too large. No gargantuan TVs, no five-foot long skis, no behemoth standing mirrors. On that front, they were fortunate.
However, they eventually starved four of the nine rolls dry. Three more had enough for a present or two if they were on the smaller side. With just five more to go, they scraped by without needing to reach back into the tub and find another roll.
He wondered what his parents would make of it when they checked on their Christmas supplies next year and found them so dwindled.
When Liam finally set the scissors and tape down, he checked his phone. They’d been at it for over an hour, and a message he hadn’t felt vibrate his phone waited for his response.
How’s it going over there?
Tess had sent the text about twenty minutes ago, and Liam hastily tapped in his response while Avril continued scribbling names on the final few presents.
We’re almost to the end. If I end up shopping with her next year, I’m going to need backup.
How many are there?
His initial count brought him to forty-two, including his three presents for Tess, Anna, and Victoria, which were in there somewhere. He supposed that, at the very least, Avril hadn’t gone full Dursleys. There were three people she’d be giving gifts to from this pile, not one obese, spoiled kid.
Forty-two, counting mine. So, I hope you all are ready.
I see that the concept of restraint continues to exist outside of Avril’s lexicon,Tess replied.Do you two think you’ll be coming over for a late dinner in a little bit? I haven’t started on anything yet.
“Oh, absolutely fucking not,” Avril scoffed moments later, after he’d posed the question to her. “This, this, this.” She pointed to three separate heinous splotches of discoloration on her neck. “There’s no way I can go over for even a quick visit tonight.”
“So, what should I say?”
“I still haven’t finished making your gift. Just tell her I have to head out of here in a little.”
“Okay,” he said, still wondering what she had in store for him as he typed out such a reply.
He’d wondered about it throughout the whole day. While he’d kept himself from feeling any envy about the slew of presents that the other three would receive tomorrow, he had no idea what Avril was planning with her “homemade” gift for him. Knowing her, it’d be something risqué or designed to give him the same experience she’d given Victoria last year. Hopefully, she’d at least diminish the collateral damage that it would cause to Anna and the others.
