Cliffhanger! Who: a Parker narrative What: Parker sees the perfect gift for Hardison Where: Walking by herself in Lawrence When: Daytime, counting down the days til Christmas
Christmastime always excited Parker. She loved everything about it. There were the obvious things, like presents, that made the holiday fun, but also things only a professional thief could appreciate. For one, the crowds inside of stores made it much easier to simply walk out with merchandise casually tucked under her arm. She had more presents to obtain this year as she’d met so many nice people at the apartment complex in Lawrence, Kansas, and Parker happily took this on as a fun kind of challenge.
Most people would poke around, asking their friends about things they might like to receive come Christmas day, but Parker thought that procedure was crazy. She would much rather surprise people than give the whole thing away. That was no fun at all.
Parker was sneaky. Even when people didn’t know just how closely she was observing them she was drinking in every single detail. It was kind of like being a spy. A spy Santa. She liked that title and repetitively mumbled it to herself as she was going about her preparations for Christmas.
She had some ideas as to what she would get her friends, but Hardison had her stumped. She had no idea what to get him and every time an idea popped into her head she dismissed it as not being good enough for him.
It was on her way home from buying (Buying!) wrapping paper that she had an epiphany. She had seen the perfect gift for Hardison. Parker froze in her tracks, a big smile spreading across her face. He would love it.