Advent Train Stories: The Most Precious of Gifts (CW)

[Back in May, I signed up to be a part of Ari’s Advent Calendar Story Train. I thought it was a fantastic idea because it would: (1) put a bit more pressure on me to actually write, (2) provide me with a diverse collection of stories to read, (3) allow me to link up with other bloggers who I have not met yet. This post is the product of that.]

Welcome to the Advent Calendar Story Train, where you can read through 24 stories under the theme ‘The Gift’!

(It’s basically an Advent Calendar of stories – a new one is ‘opened’ each day.)

If you have not read the December 14th story, you should. You will find a link to tomorrow’s story at the bottom of this post.

For a list and links to all of the stories, visit Ari’s site.

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Barbara heard the coat closet door close in the hallway. “Where are you going?” she called out from the kitchen. She had been asking her husband to help her with the cooking the entire day, but all of his replies had been in the vicinity of ‘In a moment,’ or ‘What’s the rush?’

Even though they’d been fighting since that morning, Barbara still hoped that they could salvage the day and their marriage. It was Christmas Eve after all – the pinnacle of miracles.

“Shoveling,” Jack answered after a moment of silence. A part of him did not feel like replying, but the other – decent human being – part of him won the fight.

The front door opened and closed before Barbara could consider saying anything in return. She knew shoveling was just an excuse for Jack not to join her in the kitchen and face the issues. She sighed and chucked the tea towel she had been holding onto the counter. It landed among a variety of ingredients, next to a small, neatly wrapped-up box. At the sight of it, Barbara hid her face in her hands and slid down onto the floor.

In an attempt to turn things around, Barbara had thought that it would be a great idea for Jack and her to cook together like they did back in the day and then spend the following few days just enjoying each other and the food. But Jack only complained about the ‘amount of work’ that Barbara insisted on them doing. If it were only up to her, she’d just order a pizza and call it a day, but she was a wife whose marriage was falling apart and who wanted to do everything she could to save it. She could not help but sob.

The sound of the front door slamming shut prompted Barbara to quickly wipe away her tears. She had expected him to be gone for longer. Maybe it’s so cold out there that he just couldn’t stand it, she thought as she made her way into the hallway.

There, she saw Jack with a large box and a bow on it. He handed it to her without a word.

Barbara lifted her eyes up to look at her husband. He hadn’t gotten her anything the year before and she wasn’t expecting anything this time around, either.

“I found it on our doorstep,” Jack said before taking off his shoes and his jacket.

Barbara smiled. That’s cute, she thought. She had accused Jack many times in the past of not caring, not putting in the effort, and not wanting their marriage to thrive. Could she be wrong? Is he trying, after all? She began to feel hopeful again.

As she unraveled the bow, she wondered if it was the gold sequin dress she gushed over when they went shopping last time. He actually listened? Barbara pictured herself wearing the stunning dress to the office New Year’s Eve party.

But there was no dress in the large box. Instead, there was a smaller box.

Could it be the Louboutins I’ve been telling him about for years?

But again – there were no shoes, just a smaller box.

“Jack…” Barbara felt a mixture of frustration, impatience, and curiosity. The third box was small enough to contain jewelry. She let out a slight sigh. Such a cliche… Men buy women jewelry whenever they have no idea what else to get them. Barbara wished her husband was more thoughtful and intentional. However, she quickly chastised herself. It might not have been the dress she had wanted or the shoes, but at least her husband was making an effort and that was all she could have asked for.

As she reached for the final lid, Barbara held her breath. She hoped that was the final box.

“Huh?” The smallest box contained a black thumb drive.

“Who’s it from?” Jack interrupted the silence.

Barbara began to think that the present wasn’t from Jack after all. Maybe it was sent by a woman with whom Jack is having an affair? Without a word, Barbara grabbed the drive and headed for her office. Jack followed.

There, Barbara inserted the drive, and – after a few clicks – her mom’s face filled the computer screen.

“Hi, guys!” Barbara almost forgot how radiant her mother’s smile had been. “If you’re seeing this, it means that – one – I am dead… and – two – you guys are having issues.”

Barbara wiped a tear from her cheek and Jack embraced her. She couldn’t remember the last time he gave her so much comfort.

“Don’t ask about the logistics – it’s not important. What IS important is the two of you. Have a seat, make yourselves comfortable, and listen to what I have to say,” Victoria continued. “Hopefully, by the end of this, you both will agree to take your relationship to new heights.”

Jack pulled up a second chair and they both sat in silence as the video played on.

*** 45 minutes later ***

The recording ended and Barbara was sobbing. Not only was she happy to see and hear from her mother, but she also felt renewed hope for her and Jack’s marriage. They held their hands the entire length of the video and Barbara was able to feel Jack’s heart again – something she had not done for a long time.

“Let’s go cook some delicious food and talk,” Jack proposed.

Barbara nodded and led the way.

As they began to organize the scattered ingredients, Jack noticed the small gift on the counter.

“Open it. It’s for you,” Barbara said, steadying herself against the kitchen island.

Inside the box, Jack found what looked like a plastic thermometer with two pink lines in its window. He looked at Barbara for confirmation.

“Merry Christmas?!” She wasn’t sure how he’d react.

“We’re pregnant?!” Jack yelled out, swept Barbara off her feet, and spun her around.

They spent all evening cooking, talking, and laughing.

“Best gift ever,” they both agreed.

***

Thank you for reading today’s story. The next one will be available to read on December 16th, titled “Kōsetsu“.  The link will be active tomorrow when the post goes live.

If you missed yesterday’s you can go and read it here.

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“Write a story inspired by the word ‘gift.'”
– prompt used for this CW piece.
[Source: Ari’s Advent Calendar Story Train]

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P.S. As always, you are more than welcome to use this prompt to inspire your post. If you decide to write something, be sure to pingback to this post so that I can get an alert and check out your piece. (A post on how to do pingbacks can be found here.) If pingbacks are not your thing, feel free to simply leave a link to your piece in the comment section below. The more, the merrier!

Stay golden,

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