Well, Quen wasn't one to ignore an elephant in the room, especially one so obvious. She smiled brightly and said, "Oh, yes, that's right! Congratulations on your first kiss, Merri."
Had she acted this silly after her own first kiss? Quen couldn't remember, but she doubted it. She'd been thirteen at the time, walking hand-in-hand around the Founders Festival carnival with a really sweet fourteen-year-old mage. In a moment of daring, he'd leaned forward and kissed her on the cheek. She'd responded by kissing him back, but on the mouth. So you really couldn't say Quen had waited around for someone to want to kiss her. She'd taken matters into her own hands.
Of course, she knew it wasn't really fair to compare herself to Merri. He was polite to a fault, and he overthought everything. Quen knew more than anyone that some people just needed to do things at their own pace. So even if she was a little jealous, part of her was happy for him.
The table where Quen had set Ari's gifts was between herself and Merri, so she picked up the castanets and offered them to Merri. "Ari brought me these castanets, and that conch shell," she said. "But really, I love all of my gifts. I'm so lucky."