The Mysterious Gift

I apply the final touch to the small Christmas tree, then switch on the lights. The tree is only small, but as a newly single mother, it is all I can afford. I observe the two small bags of wrapped presents under the tree there aren't many, but I know that Charlotte and Rose will be grateful for them. There are only three presents each in the bags, that is the price families pay nowadays for being on a low income.

Tears fill my eyes as I remember Christmas gone by when I and my ex-husband used to have fun wrapping presents for the children most of Christmas Eve. We had to make up many excuses just to try and keep the children in their beds.

"Sssh! Santa will hear you." I would say.

"Santa won't come if you're not fast asleep. He doesn't like being caught." My ex would say.

I pour myself a stiff glass of Red Wine as I feel the tears trickling down my cheek. I'd hate for the girls to come downstairs and see me crying.

Christmas can be a lonely time for me, I spend every spare penny I have on trying to make Christmas better for the children, and I can never afford to treat myself. Everyone puts together to buy for the children, but it's very rare that I get gifts for Christmas.

****

Christmas morning arrives, and the girls wake me up at 4 A.M.

"Merry Christmas Mummy," Charlotte and Rose chorus in unison with each other.

"Merry Christmas girls!" I tell them, putting on a brave smile.

The girls bound downstairs before I can stop them. They head straight for their presents. Charlotte uncovers a talking doll, while Rose uncovers a pink teddy bear. Both girls squeal with delight, even though they do not have much to unwrap.

Suddenly, there is a WHIRRR! outside my door. It sounds like a helicopter flying overhead. I think nothing about it until my doorbell rings. It is pretty early in the morning, so I'm not expecting any visitors! I tell the girls to stay in the lounge, though they really don't need me to tell them as they are happily playing with their new toys. I open the door, and to my surprise, there is a large box on the doorstep.

I wonder who it could be from, as I never get anything on Christmas day!

I take the box into the kitchen and put it on the table before pouring myself a large sweet, milky, cup of coffee. I then sit on a chair at the table and observe the box. There is a small note, which I read.

"Sent with love."

No name!

Just three simple words.

I shake it, but it's no use. It doesn't feel very heavy either!

I decided to call Jamie, my friend who has been very supportive since I became a single parent.

"There might be a bomb in there!" Jamie exclaims.

"Well, if there was; we would all be dead now as I have shaken it," I tell him, laughing.

"Does it smell?" Jamie asks me suspiciously.

Jamie's tone seems a bit over-cautious, to say he doesn't know anything. Suddenly he starts laughing!

"Well, excuse me but what are you laughing at?" I ask.

"A mystery box delivered by a drone is not exactly something that happens every day!" Jamie says.

"Jamie! It's true. It's sat on my desk, in front of me, right now, and I never said that it was delivered by a drone!" I tell him between giggles.

"Well, I'll be over at 5 p.m. tonight, so maybe you can show me. There may just be a secret admirer in the box!" Jamie tells me.

We end the call there.

I roll my eyes. I am certain that he knows something about that box! I am tempted to open it, but I decide to refrain until he gets here. Besides, I have two hungry children waiting for breakfast right now, and I have no time for opening a box that might turn out to be empty!

I head to the cupboard and take out two bowls. Charlotte and Rose decide on Christmas tree crispies, so making breakfast is pretty easy. I pour two small glasses of fresh pineapple juice, then I put the box in a cupboard where the girls can't see it while they have their breakfast, so that it doesn't distract them. The girls and I are exhausted; I from having been up since the early hours this morning, and they from excitement.

I am not surprised when they go back to bed at 7 a.m. I do the same, as not only do I need the energy to get through the day; I need the energy to be able to deal with 'wind-up Jamie,' tonight!

***

I am just serving dinner when Jamie knocks on the door. I left the door unlocked so that he could walk straight in. I call Charlotte and Rose to the table, complete with Charlotte complaining that she doesn't like roast potatoes even though I know that she does, then Rose complains that there aren't enough pickled onions on her plate, even though she has three!

"Girls please!" I complain.

Charlotte rolls her eyes.

"...but mummy, you know I don't...!" she starts.

I put my hand up and scrunch up my face. Charlotte picks the potatoes from her plate one by one, though she does eat the rest. I try to encourage her to eat them, but I give up.

Besides, it's Christmas, and I would like to eat my dinner with Jamie in peace just this once!

After dinner, the girls settle down to watch a movie in the lounge, while I and Jamie talk over coffee in the kitchen.

"I heard a whirring sound, so I went to the door and found this box on the doorstep," I tell him, placing the box on the table.

A smirk breaks out on Jamie's face.

"Maybe, it's a secret admirer." He replies.

I place my hands on my hips and purse my lips.

"Jamie, stop! No secret admirers my way, and if you know something then you'd better just say so, now," I respond.

"No! no! no! Not me, I don't know anything. All I know is that whirring could have been Santa's helicopter, or maybe Rudolph has learned to fly!" Jamie responds while giggling, adding,

"It could've been delivered by drone; people do those things nowadays!"|

I give him a friendly slap, followed by a laugh; the first laugh I've had all day!

"We haven't even invented drones yet! We aren't living in a science-genius world!" I respond, with intended sarcasm.

I am very sure that Jamie knows what the box is, and who sent it. I have been friends with him for over seven years, so I think I know him well! If it wasn't him who sent it, he is behaving very strangely; not to mention, a little overly flirty!

I need to deal with the girls, as Charlotte is arguing with Rose over a pink crayon.

"It's mine, Rose!" Charlotte exclaims before hitting Rose on the head with a cushion.

"No, it isn't yours. It is mine!" Rose tells Charlotte before throwing an empty box at her, hitting her on the legs.

"Mam, tell Charlotte the crayon is mine!" Rose complains.

I sigh and close my eyes, just for two minutes of escape to another planet for some peace.

"The crayons are for you both to share!" I tell them, firmly.

"But mum!" they both chorus.

I shake my head, and both children go back to playing together. I watch them with a half-smile. I feel sad because Christmas day is a lonely day for me. It used to be a happy and merry day; the children would open their presents smiling, and I would open mine with their dad. Today, I only got to see the children open theirs while there was nothing to open for me. I smile and sigh, because although lonely;

at least I had them, and that is all I need.

Tea time arrives and the girls are hungry. Jamie has helped me to set up a mini Christmas tea party for them, complete with crackers and streamers. Rosie and Charlotte sit down excitedly and sing along to Christmas Carols blasting on the stereo. I am curious, because funnily enough,

the box has been placed in the middle of the table, and I know that I didn't put it there!

I daren't open the package because I dread to think what might be inside it if Jamie didn't send it. I have never had a box delivered by a drone at Christmas before; there might be a dead finger in there for all I know!

It's just weird!

"Do you want to play pass the parcel?" Jamie asks the children, picking up the box.

"No Jamie, you mustn't! We have no idea what is in there," I protest.

"We have no idea...what's in there!" Jamie says, making spooky gestures with his hands, then cackling.

"We can play, but we are NOT playing with that box! I have parcels here, already wrapped up for the children," I tell him, forcing one of my ready-made parcels into his hands.

He nods, still laughing!

The music starts, and Jamie and the children become absorbed in their game. Laughter fills the air as Rosie uncovers a baby doll, and Charlotte a blue teddy bear. I decide to take the box into the lounge where I can examine it in the quiet. I find another note underneath, which I didn't see before.

"To the one I love, and her wonderful children. Christmas is going to be better this year."

Now, this is weirder than ever!

It won't be my ex Carl, because he is too engrossed in his new life now, and we decided that the split was permanent.

It can't be my mum; she wouldn't know what a drone is, and the message is too sloppy for her.

My next thought is Jamie.

I shake my head; it isn't possible, I and Jamie are just good friends, and we vowed to stay that way.

I shake the box, but it still doesn't shake, and I can't hear anything inside it. It is a big box, though it isn't that heavy. It is plain brown, so it can't be a Christmas present.

I think back to the noise that I heard before I opened the door.

It did sound like a helicopter!

Maybe it really was a drone

I tell myself not to be so stupid!

Drones don't exist. You see them in movies; not in real life!

Jamie disturbs me by barging into the lounge, carrying a very tired Rose and Charlotte.

"Sorry, Anna. It's 7:30 P.M. and I have two very sleepy children in my arms, so I'm going to settle them to bed for you," Jamie tells me.

"That is sweet Jamie, and thank you, it is so appreciated," I respond smiling.

"You should grab yourself a nice hot bubble bath and a glass of Prosecco. You've been busy all day, and somebody has to give you some TLC at Christmas," Jamie suggests.

"I will when the children are in bed and we have resolved this mystery box!" I reply.

***

Charlotte and Rose don't sleep straight away. They have had an exciting day, and they are wide awake. My living room is beneath them, so I can hear them jumping on their beds and screaming at each other like banshees!

"Go to sleep!" I shout upstairs.

As usual, they ignore me. I decide that the best thing to do was to close the door and pretend that I couldn't hear them.

"Coffee?"

Jamie asks me.

"Yes please, and throw a gag in with it!" I respond.

Jamie chuckles.

I am still convinced that he knows something about the box, but Jamie can be very mysterious and stubborn.

He wouldn't tell me; he'll just wait until I open it!

Jamie comes in with two steaming hot coffees.

"This tastes so good!" I tell him, relieved that I finally get to sit down.

"Now, about that box!" Jamie tells me.

He brings it from the kitchen and puts it in front of me before I protest.

"It's ok! We'll open it together. That way, if you get blown up; therefore, so do I," he reassures me, still smirking.

I grimace. I really do not want to open it!

I suddenly hear a loud and fast WHIRRR! Something strange flew past my window. It looked like a flying robot, though I was sure that I was hallucinating! I opened the door, and to my surprise, it dropped three parcels on my neighbor's porch!

"What!?" I exclaim. "Whoever is behind this, obviously has a plan to get rid of us!

"Just open the box!" Jamie tells me.

I am curious now. With shaking hands, I pick up the box.

"Should I keep my eyes shut, in case we get blown up, or a monster jumps out?" I ask.

Jamie shakes his head.

Jamie hated seeing me frustrated, and he obviously wanted to know what was in that box too. However; I couldn't help but wonder if he had planned this, because he was being pushier than normal. I am almost desperate to satisfy my curiosity, despite my reluctance. I knew that I wouldn't sleep until I opened up that damn box!

I tore the paper little by little, then I took a break before opening the rest. It took two hours of shaking, sweating, crying, and stopping before I finally got the box open.

Once I had opened it. I sat speechlessly! It then took me another hour to empty the contents.

The box contained three beautifully wrapped Christmas presents. Each with no name just signed'

"With love!"

There was one for Charlotte, and one for Rose. It was a good thought that whoever had done this had put their names on them, otherwise I wouldn't know whose was whose!

Still, in all the excitement; I was unsure about what these presents contained until Jamie told me to reach into the bottom of the box.

I did he said, and I pulled out a very small present.

"Make sure that there is nothing attached underneath it!" Jamie told me.

"Was that a hint?" I thought, almost out loud.

I checked underneath the present and sure enough, there was a note.

"My darling Anna,

I couldn't see you and the children sad this Christmas, so I

did a little something to make you smile. I know you will be

terrified by the nature of how these were delivered; though

They are sent with much love. This leaves just one thing; will

you be mine?"

I almost drop the box.

There is no named person who signed this parcel, and I have no idea who would be asking me such questions.

Jamie suddenly pales; he turns to me with pleading eyes, and quietly asks,

"Please will you open your present?"

I nod.

By now, I am almost in tears. I have an idea that Jamie sent the box, though he won't say; I still don't get why they were sent via those stupid robots!

I almost pass out when I see what has been wrapped.

I unwrap the most beautiful engagement ring that I have ever seen.

I just look at it, stunned and in amazement!

"I didn't want to tell you. I wanted it to be a surprise. You have been my friend for a long time; I love you, and I love the children. Drones do exist Anna, and it was the only way I could deliver these presents without you knowing! I also treated the children because I love you and them too much to see any of you have a miserable Christmas... Will you marry me, Anna?"

It takes me a while before I can reply; then I burst out laughing so hard, I think I'll never stop! It feels good to laugh since I haven't laughed in a long time.

I suddenly throw my arms around Jamie, and I kiss him for almost a whole hour. I realize at that point that I love him; despite his mischievous and annoying ways.

I then proceed to say a big, loud,

"YES!"

I forgive him for scaring me to death!

This was the best Christmas that I had ever spent, and just for once, I knew that I wasn't alone; and what's more? with the unknown presents, Charlotte and Rose can have another Christmas day tomorrow. They truly deserve it after all they have been through.

I go to bed excitedly; I can't wait to see their faces in the morning.

***

When the morning arrives, Charlotte and Rose see the extra presents under the Christmas tree. They both cheer and say

"Yay! It is Christmas day again!"

My eyes flood with tears; I have never seen them so happy. I get bigger hugs than I have ever had from them before. To my delight, they even hug Jamie!

The children do not know that Jamie surprised us all this Christmas; nor do they know that we are going to get married. However; I am sure that they will be just as excited when they do.

I put my arms around Jamie, and I get a lot of comfort from squeezing him tight.

"Mummy! Who sent you that beautiful ring?" Rose asks me.

I tell her that it is a surprise and that she will find out when she becomes my bridesmaid. Both girls jump for joy and dance around the room when I say this.

I have never seen my children so happy, and I have never felt this happy in a long time.

I can't wait to marry Jamie. I know for sure now, that I do love him very much indeed!