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A Gifting Misstep

Bryce held Veronica’s hand as he led her into the shop. “Carla!”

The proprietor was a smartly dressed woman with short black hair and a frosty complexion. “Hello? Oh, hi, Bryce. Thanks for coming in today. Who’s this?”

“Carla, this is my friend, Veronica. She is staying at her cousin’s place until she gets herself established and she wants to get them a special present that screams ‘Thank You’.”

Carla smiled and said, “Well, you’re definitely in the right place. Come with me.” She took Veronica by the hand and led her away. Bryce stayed up front and looked around at the gift baskets on the shelves. He had texted ahead to let Carla know that he would be paying for whatever Veronica put on order.

Veronica headed for the door. Carla was beet red and on the verge of tears. Bryce followed Veronica outside. She spun around and pointed a finger right in his face. “I can buy my own presents! Who do you think you are?”

“I’m sorry.”

“You certainly are! How dare you?”

“I was trying to be nice. You don’t even have a job yet. I didn’t want you to have to…”

“Buy a present for my own cousin? I’ve got a Christmas Club, Bryce. It’s not like I just walked away with nothing, you know. I’ve been planning for this for months. You think you’re just going to sweep in like Prince Charming and make everything all better?”

“Whoa. You’re zero to sixty in nothing flat here. What’s this Prince Charming stuff? I just wanted you to have something nice. I didn’t know if you could afford Carla’s stuff.”

Veronica was fuming. Her breath was steaming out of her mouth in the frosty afternoon air. Tears of rage and embarrassment were collecting in the corners of her eyes. “You didn’t know if I could afford it? So you just assumed and called ahead with a ‘her money is no good here’ message? Are you freaking kidding me?!?”

“I didn’t mean to make you feel badly about anything. I just wanted you to be able to pick anything you wanted without worrying about whether you could afford it.”

“Can you?”

“Yes.” He huffed. “Yes, I can. I didn’t mean anything by it, Veronica. I brought you here because I knew Carla could make the perfect gift for you. I just didn’t want it to be out of reach. I wanted you to get the present you wanted, Veronica. That’s all.”

“Well, don’t pull any more stunts like that!”

“Okay, I won’t. Sorry.” Bryce put his hands up.

She leaned over him and pointed right at his face. “Don’t do it! You’re not Prince Charming and I’m not Cinderella.”

“I still don’t know what that even means!”

“Well, just think about it.” She yelled as she waved down a cab. “If you think you’re all that, you’ve got another thing coming!”

Bryce stood there stupefied as she climbed into a cab and rode away. He shook his head and went back into Carla’s shop.

“Are you going to rip my head off, too?”

“Well, why shouldn’t I? Bringing that raving maniac in here. What’s the matter with you?”

“I certainly wonder. Did she get as far as ordering before she flipped out?”

“Yes. We had the whole thing put together. She asked how much it was. When I told her it was being covered, she flew off the handle and bolted for the door.”

“Well, do me a favor and put it together anyway. Send it to my place. If she gets over this Prince Charming rant she’s on, I’ll give it to her.”

“Prince Charming?”

“Yeah, I’m not Prince Charming, she’s not Cinderella and I’d best not ever forget it.”

“Ohhhhhh, I see.”

“I wish I did.”

“She’s feeling guilty.”

“What?”

“I think she was actually hoping you’d do that. When you did, it made her feel embarrassed and guilty.”

“Talk about looking a gift horse in the mouth. I was just trying to be nice.”

“How long have you known her?”

“We met at a party on Sunday and I ran into her on the train back from JFK this morning.”

“And you’re already playing the ‘your money is no good here’ angle? Boy, you’re a blockhead.”

“We went Dutch on lunch but I could tell she was a bit stressed about it.”

“So, you rubbed her face in it by bringing her here? You’re really a piece of work.”

“God, I’ll be single ‘til the day I die. Not one of you makes a lick of sense.”

“Bryce, you’re the dumbest smart guy I know.”

“Are you telling me I shouldn’t buy this for her?”

“And deprive me of a sale? Bite your tongue. I don’t care if she wants it or not. You’re buying it.”

“Only if you promise to start making sense.”

“Bryce, for Pete’s sake, she’s feeling insecure because she hasn’t got a job yet and she doesn’t need you swooping in like a guardian angel trying to save the day.”

“I guess I shouldn’t have pulled her out from under that bag of coal, either.”

“You did what?”

“She invited me to watch her audition today. On the way into the place, there was a bag of coal dropping down from the roof.”

“A bag of coal?”

“Big red Santa bag.” Bryce held his arms out. “Two hundred pounds of coal from what the cop said.”

“You saved her life and then you played the ‘your money is no good here’ card? What kind of a knothead are you? Could you conceivably make her feel more insecure? God!”

“So, where does Prince Charming enter into it?”

Carla grabbed him by his shoulders. “Bryce! You saved her life! That’s your good deed for the day. You don’t get to do more than one a day until you’re married or at least dating steady.”

“Is there a book somewhere with all these crazy rules in it?”

Carla laughed and let go of him. “You couldn’t possibly afford it.”

“Is she likely to call me back?”

“Give her some time. It will take a while for her to get over your stupidity.”