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The Xbox was the second biggest present. By itself it was pretty cool. It was the special Crystal Edition, with the clear white case and copies of Fable and Crimson Skies included (two games I particularly wanted to play). But it wasn’t the big present. So with the newly unwrapped Xbox in my lap, I turned a puzzled expression to Lisa. “If this is the second biggest,” I said, “what the hell is in THAT box?” She just smiled. Lisa had been planning this present for an entire year. Everyone I know was in on the secret, and no one was dropping any hints. I knew it was expensive, whatever it was. I had deduced that much. A laptop, I thought. That would be pretty expensive, but not so much that it would break the bank. One of those nifty new Dell laptops with the wide screen and such. But I didn’t really need a new laptop, as my old clunker worked great for the writing I did on it. Maybe one of the new iPod Photo dealies? But I hadn’t asked for one and Lisa was said quite strongly this was something I had talked about. Plus they only came out on the market this year, so probably not. So I set aside the Xbox (with a loving pat) and lifted the final present. It had disturbingly little heft to it, suggesting that it only contained a note or picture of the actual present. Let me state right now that I am generally excellent at predicting my presents. Part of that is my excellent deductive skills, but part can be attributed to the fact that I generally only ask for a couple things anyway. The Xbox, for example. But this? Something that costs in the thousands of dollars? I had no idea. I lifted the top off the box. Inside, nestled in tissue were four more packages, each wrapped and each with a number written on it. I opened the first one, a small rectangle. It was a copy of Fodor’s How to Pack, a small soft cover book with lively pictures of luggage on the front. My mind went blank. All thoughts of laptops or iPods went right out the window. I glanced at Lisa. Her eyes were scared and nervous and anxious and happy all at the same time. All my mind was saying was, “…we’re going somewhere?...” Package number two. Passport application forms. Two of them. My mind amended its previous thought. “…we’re going somewhere good?...” I started to experience tunnel vision for the first time, that phenomena where all perception narrows down to a point. I couldn’t hear Pippin clucking or the rustle of cats in the pile of discarded wrapping. I opened the third one. Two small credit-card sized items. Each one was a five-day Park Hopper pass to Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida. My mind was incapable of thought at that point. We had talked about Disney World as something we’d throw in as an extra if we ever went on a... Oh. It was like I was in a sensory depravation tank. All I could hear was the roaring of silence in my ears. My hands felt thick and clumsy as I slowly opened the last parcel. It was one of those plastic travel cups. The kind with a lid and flexible straw. And on it was the logo for Carnival Cruise Lines. I turned my eyes to Lisa, complete astonishment on my face. “…we’re…,” was all I could say. She nodded, tears coming to her eyes. On May second, two days after the wedding, we fly to Orlando, where we will spend five days at Walt Disney World. Then we will rent a car and drive to Miami, where we will board the Carnival Victory for a seven-day Western Caribbean cruise, stopping in Cozumel, Mexico, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands, and Ocho Rios, Jamaica. She gave me a honeymoon for Christmas. It was the most amazing present I have ever been given. Something I could never have hoped for us, something I thought that couldn’t possibly happen unless we won the lottery. Something from my dreams that might never become real. And my Lisa gave that to me. I am man enough to admit that I cried. I simply couldn’t control myself. I love my girl. She is very good to me. |
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