The Gift of Christmas Magic

Everything I do is so last minute including Christmas shopping. Procrastination is about to make me giftless for my job’s secret Santa exchange. We decided to do the gift exchange during our Holiday party tomorrow night since everyone would be together. My job even went to the extent of providing us with wrapping paper so we all used the same one to keep anonymity.

At 5 pm in NYC, the week before Christmas, shelves are half-empty, lines are longer than an amusement park, and even with Christmas cheer everywhere, there’s a lot of pushing and shoving going on. I’m going home. Maybe I will not show up to the party? No, that would be indecent of me even if the colleague’s name I pulled is my frenemy.

Jemma was hired a year ago and you would think she married into the company with her attitude. She and I had a smooth beginning to our work relationship as I conducted her onboarding and training sessions. We spent her first 6 months together as I wanted to make sure she knew the ins and outs before taking her training wheels off.

Once I left Jemma to handle her assistant administrative duties to her assigned Administrator alone, it was like we never knew each other. I am still not exactly sure why our dynamic changed with distance, but I have heard through office gossip vines that it has something to do with the fact that I left that particular site. Work first, personal sh*t off the clock, so I am completely unbothered with her opinion, but she has become arduous to work with from afar.

I wake up the next morning and as I am in my closet looking for a shirt, I see the pink box in the corner of the shelf. I get an idea that averts my focus from finding a shirt to grabbing it. This box contains a 1930s Minnie Mouse. This Minnie Mouse gets passed around with a note left in it for the new owner. I found the box in the library and my note said “Here is the gift of magic. You choose the magic you bring into your life by the magic you choose to bring to the doll” I accepted the doll with love and good intentions, did nothing with it. I could say my life has been pretty uplifted ever since, well except for Jemma.

The night of the party everyone watched Jemma open up Minnie. Some people laugh while others awed. Jemma reads her note aloud,

“I gift you the most magical doll on Earth. Whatever magic you choose to bring forth towards Minnie will be gifted right back to you.”

Jemma laughs and makes a comment about the doll being a trash gift, so the trash is where it belongs. I watch as Jemma strides to the bin and tosses all the magic away. Will Jemma’s magic return to her a bunch of trash? They do say karma’s a bitch.

The Monday after our party, Jemma is out sick. Minnie? I shrug it off and I go to her site to provide support in her absence. I provided support for three days before she returned. She did not look well when I saw her and she was surprised to me,

"Nice to see you, Eve. I didn't think I would be seeing you today." She says half heartedly.

"Pleasure to see you, Jemma. Glad you're in good health to be back. My intentions are to stay half the day to ensure all is well then I will on my way." I return matter of factly.

"Oh yes, my health is fine even though I was suffering from migraines, but that was a result of multiple home issues I have been having ever since the night of the party,"

Minnie?

"It began with me entering my home to a disgusting scene of a backed up garbage disposal line, the next morning part of my ceiling collapsed from a backed up gutter that I was unaware of, more backed up of sewage, walls falling apart-" I cut her off, sneering,

"Sounds like your house is turning to trash."

She rolls her eyes at me and as she picks up her purse, a handle breaks off. I stop myself from chuckling,

"Anyway, I am in a hotel until my ceiling is fixed so I may be a grouchier than usual." I couldn't stop that chuckle.

The next couple of weeks I supported Jemma's office at least once a week due to her continued stroke of bad luck. Should I tell Jemma about the potential curse she brought upon herself by throwing away Minnie? Would it even matter if Minnie was at the city dump by now? I decided to visit the venue after I left to office in hopes of finding Minnie.

"Hi, I'm Eve and I am from the office party that was here on Friday," I say to a beautiful golden woman working the bar. I don't remember seeing her the night of the party.

"Hey Eve, I'm Nora. What can I do for you?" She says as pouring me a water.

"Thank you," I take a sip of the water, "This is a long shot, but someone threw out a Minnie Mouse doll that night that I was hoping someone plucked out the trash."

"You mean this Minnie Mouse?" She reaches under her counter without bending or moving really and tosses Minnie atop.

"Yes! This one!" I laugh at my own excitement, thank Nora and the staff, and go about my business. My business being to stop at Jemma's office before going home to leave Minnie on her desk waiting for her arrival in the morning.

Around 11 am the next morning, an email is received from Jemma. Initially I assumed it was just to me, but upon opening it she emailed almost everyone who was at party using words like trespassing, harassment, and human resources.

Ping.

An email response comes through that states "One man's trash is another man's treasure", and that was the only response.

I keep going about my business until New Year's Eve. We are all working half a day so I make my rounds to each office to ensure a smooth closing for everyone. I leave Jemma's office for last, purposely, in case the visit was longer.

The office seems empty upon my arrival, but Jemma should at least be here for another 30 minutes. I sat my bag and coat on the desk and begin to sift through some mail. I open the draw to grab the letter opener and there is Minnie. When I go grab her, one of the office doors swing open and out comes Jemma. She looks a little roughed up.

Her voice is low and depressed as she explains to me that her hair has been falling out from all the extra stress she has been enduring. I couldn't take it anymore. She needed to know the truth so I told her. At first I was met with a silent skepticism, but then she said,

"You see, that's why I don't mess with that voodoo shit."

I laughed and tried to explain the best I could the mechanics of energy reciprocation. What you put out is what you get back especially if the intentions are in conviction. Jemma looked at the doll as if it came from outer space, but her own convictions convinced her to take the doll and care for it.

Jemma held onto that Minnie Mouse for a couple years. I saw a different Jemma throughout those years and our friendship became more like a sisterhood. Jemma says I put a spell on her to make her be my friend and I say the gift of Christmas magic will always keep on giving.

Originally posted on Medium.com.

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