[Jennifer walked into her office several hours after the package had been placed on her desk. As she flung her jacket onto her chair, a glimpse of the wrapping paper caught her eye against the formidable mounds of folders and half-finished paperwork. She stopped immediately, her stomach churning. Her first reaction went to the playing card, the Joker--the robbery just days before that even then filled her with an inconsolable amount of dread. No, no it couldn't be, she carefully tried to convince herself. If anything it was another mix-up from mail services.
Her expression all but dire, Jennifer tentatively picked up the item. With careful fingers she undid the wrapping, neatly at the edges, unfolding the paper until she gazed down at the book itself. Cheeks already flushed with undue anxiety, the fact that she'd received a present did nothing to stop it. Setting aside the paper, she turned the book carefully in her hands. A paper slid out from the inside and Jennifer scrambled to grab it. She read the note intently, and again, until the gesture started making even a fraction of sense against the scrambled up worries clouding up her thoughts.
Nevermind simple gifts, how long was it since someone had given her a book? She sat down, the first edition copy of The Bloody Chamber cradled carefully in her lap, just like Emily's present so very many years before. It took a while, but when Jennifer finally smiled, it was more open and honest than she remembered in years.]