I Came Out of the Woods by Choice... WHO Jacqueline Young OT Levi Whitby WHAT Your everyday, ordinary, standard birthday gift delivery. WHERE Outside of Levi's downtown office. WHEN Sunday May 22, early evening WARNINGS TBD
After work, Jackie ran to the grocery store to buy deodorant and mouthwash. She picked up her dry cleaning. She got a coffee to go. Carlos was free to go wild with the takeout that night because she had errands to run. Nothing he would be interested in, of course. Just a list of activities that became Charlie Brown static three items in. She said she had a birthday gift to deliver, but his attention had already returned to his television show. Jackie didn't take it personally, but that was because she was a reasonable wife, not because she wanted Carlos to zone out on her. If the gift was an issue, she would want to hide it, wouldn't she? And she didn't. She told him. It wasn't a big deal at all.
She knew this was true because when she thought about it, Jackie didn't think of the gift in grand, sweeping terms. She didn't think of gestures, or mending fences, or olive branches. It was just a birthday present. It was just something she thought an old friend would appreciate. If anything, Jackie thought it was overdue, but why wouldn't she think that? She'd already missed five birthdays. A 'Happy Belated Birthday' card was only appropriate within a few weeks of the missed occasion. Not years. There wasn't a Hallmark aisle that would help her here. Hallmark didn't have a Sorry I'm Years Late For Your Birthday section. If it did, Jackie would probably avoid it anyway. Too many absent parents. She definitely needed a proper gift. And it was easy enough to figure out, once she put her mind to it. She didn't devote a suspicious amount of time or effort to the endeavor. Nothing about this was notable, honestly.
After the grocery store, and the dry cleaning, and the coffee, Jackie headed downtown. She parked and got out of her car with her coffee in one hand, and a small black box in the other. She didn't check her appearance in her visor mirror, because what would that matter? She did, however, fix the red ribbon tying the box shut. The bow got squished a bit somewhere between work and parking. The appearance of the gift was what mattered, after all. Once everything was in order, Jackie made her way towards Levi's office. Even after five years, Jackie knew he would still be a busy man, and that business took him all over Willow Creek. She honestly figured she could drop the box off with a secretary type, and be on her way. Sign a note to go with it, but leave it at that. One gift, and the ball firmly out of her court. Seeking him out wasn't necessary, just like how delivering the gift on his actual birthday wasn't a required factor. Part of her thought Levi would better appreciate the present dropped off than delivered in person anyway.
But that theory couldn't exactly be tested when Levi strolled out of the building before she even made it to the door. It wasn't like she could let him walk on by before carrying out her original plan. He started towards her and she stopped walking. She realized how long it had been since she really saw him. When he looked at her, Jackie managed a smile and the world's most ridiculously cliched utterance of 'Hey,' like it was fine to be casual.
A birthday gift after five years wasn't a big deal, but Jackie thought unearned familiarity was pushing it. They weren't on 'Hey' terms anymore. But there was nothing to be done, except maybe bury the 'hey' beneath a few dozen rambling words. "So I got you something. For your birthday. I was just going to drop it off, but here you are, so. It's not much. I just thought you'd appreciate it." It was kind of on the cool side that night, but Jackie felt warm. "So here you go. Enjoy." She extended the box.
And immediately started rethinking her stance on the whole belated birthday card thing.