What to get your boyfriend for Christmas?

They really should make pamphlets for people like me. 

I put on my purple summer dress and took a walk to the shopping center with a bit of extra money I had around. It wasn't much, but enough to get Angus...

Something.

I knew enough about him to know the kinds of things he might like. But I also knew those were too obvious. And his family would be showering him with presents over the holidays and I wanted to get him something different. Something he'd really appreciate and love. 

And treasure forever. 

One store displayed their clearance rack front and center. Plenty of socks, a few hideous shirts, a grumpy looking teddy bear, and some kitchen appliances. I wasn't sure what kinds of food he cooked in his spare time other than what we ate in his flat. Did he even need more pots and pans? A blender? 

The tea kettle looked promising until a spider crawled out of it. 

I left to visit the cosy area of the store where they sold pillows and blankets. Which was silly of me. Who needs blankets in summer? Plenty of candy cane designs and the Australian flag. One of them had a sailboat on it and I had to physically restrain myself from buying it. 

I didn't need any blankets either. I was here for somebody else. 

The next aisle contained sports equipment. Footballs, croquet mallets, and even kiddie pools. They were having a holiday sale and everything was half off. I found a badminton racquet with a jet black handle and once again I found myself pulling myself away. 

Someday I'd play again. But for now....

Did Angus need shoes? I didn't even know his size. A vacuum? That felt rude. A watch? I couldn't afford one. 

I was about to knock everything off this shelf and just make him a present myself.

That's...not a bad idea...

Making him a present might mean more to him than buying something. If I were artsy and craftsy I could come up with something real good,  something that could end up in a museum. Like Maude's projects. Unfortunately the best I could do was crude sketches and glitter glue. And after burning a batch of cookies, baking was out too. Sighing, I grabbed my new badminton racquet, grabbed the sailboat blanket and headed for a counter to pay. With one last look at the clearance bin, I made one final selection. 

**********

A two year old could draw better than me. Humming the Christmas songs stuck in my head from the shops, I stared down at the stick figures of me and Angus surrounded by proportionally questionable dogs. Glitter glue would have been a disaster waiting to happen so I forgot about it. Signing my name at the bottom I folded it up and placed it in an envelope. I tossed the envelope on a poorly wrapped box that sat next to my new racquet. 

I'd love to play with him someday...if he didn't break up with me first.

The front door opened revealing Mum holding a cat carrier. She closed the door and sighed. One wordless look and I knew. 

"It came back," Mum said setting the crate down and letting Ivy out. She ran out meowing and sneezing, licking herself clean and calling for Magnolia. "The vet says it's not as bad as last time but I got more medicine." She held up a brown bottle with pink liquid. "And since we leave for our trip tomorrow..."

Fuck. I'd have to try and pour that down Ivy's throat. Her claws glinted in the sun.

"She may eat her food with it," Mum said as I followed her to the kitchen. She put the medicine in the fridge. "Just be sure to give her the chicken flavour and not the fish. She's picky."

"What about Magnolia?" I asked. She trotted up to her sister, fur sticking out, and groomed her. 

"She's not sneezing like Ivy is but it wouldn't hurt to give them both the medicine," Mum said. "And Magnolia will eat anything."

Ivy sneezed, spraying the floor and my foot with snot.

**********

"Are you sure you know what to do?" Mum asked as she stuffed the Esky in the car. She and Dad were sweating something awful as they packed. 

"I think so....always keep dry food in the cat dish and leave out wet food every night at five...put medicine in it or attempt to feed it directly to Ivy..." I searched the sky for more directions. "Ivy likes chicken, not fish...do the laundry, water the garden, trim the roses, do the dishes..."

"And?" she asked giving me a look. I pouted.

"No company."

"Good. It's not that I don't trust you, I just don't trust your rocker boyfriend. Who knows what he might try if you're alone." 

....I certainly wasn't going to tell her....

She closed the boot and wiped her brow. "Enjoy the new A/C while we're gone, I know I would," she said heading for the passenger seat. "And don't make a mess."

"I won't," I promised. 

"Don't get into the whiskey in the fridge," Dad said pointing a finger at me. 

"I won't." I rolled my eyes. 

I watched my parents drive away from the house and turn the corner, heading for my sister's house to reassemble then make the trek to Bondi Beach. It was the perfect day to swim. Crystal blue sky and a burning sun. Before I could get another sunburn I went back inside, a blast of cool air hitting me. My envelope went flying across the room and I caught it, setting it on the table instead. 

Our Christmas trees were a big hit with the kittens this year. Plenty of ornaments and baubles for them to knock around and fake pine needles to eat. One more thing I'd have to be watchful of. Ivy was already rubbing herself against a low hanging branch and I kept my eye on her. 

Christmas Eve and no family. This was a first. I spent every single Christmas of my life with the house filled with people and now I was all alone. 

It was kind of nice, to be honest. I had a feeling I wouldn't burst into tears this year.

I collapsed on our couch and hummed more Christmas songs to myself, thinking of bringing out my record player and blasting some tunes. Not too loud for the kittens, but louder than my folks would have liked. But then the phone on the wall caught my eye. 

Mum said no company. But I said otherwise.