My Christmas Gift

I met Mr. Reader Number Two (my Bonus Dad) for lunch this past Friday. It was his birthday and the lunch date had been made a week earlier. I had been looking forward to it for days, as I gathered all the items I had for him--an InstaPot (for his son and daughter-in-law, from his other son and daughter-in-law that had been living in my basement for six months), a Heinlein book for his birthday and a Far Side calendar for Christmas. Plus, I threw in a few pictures of Buckaroo and Polly, a loaf of pumpkin bread and a Christmas Angel tree ornament I bought for him in St. Louis. Bonus Mom collected angels. I gave him one last year and at the time made the executive decision he and I would be collecting them from this point forward.

Bonus Mom's Hematite Necklace

After he put his presents in his car, Bonus Dad surprised me with a gift. It wasn't wrapped and as soon as I saw it I started crying. Then he started crying. And the two of us stood in the parking lot of the Scottsdale Pei Wei sobbing. But to be fair, every time we get together we sob, no matter where we are.

Last year, when Bonus Mom's death was raw, Bonus Dad asked me if I wanted anything of hers. I said no. I can look around my home in any direction and see five things that remind me of her. I told him to leave it all for his boys and their families. I got thirty years of memories and a Bonus Dad out of the package. I thought I was doing pretty well.

A few months later, I happened to mention a necklace she wore once in a while that I happened to like. It was a comment which was really part of a larger conversation. I didn't think twice about it. Bonus Dad, however, went home and put that necklace in his drawer. He gave the rest of her jewelry to his daughter-in-laws and granddaughters. Except that necklace. He gave it to me instead.