Everyone had plenty, but mine either came in really large packages or very small ones I could hold in my lap. Most had pink rose bows on top, thanks to Dr. Green’s handiwork.
As Luke and Dr. Green were finishing up, Erica waved her hand and said loudly over the boys’ chatter in the room, “Okay you guys. Remember the procedure. Open quickly and toss all your wrapping paper in the middle. Don’t wait on the others. It takes too long to go around the circle. We tried that before and we don’t have all day. We can admire it all at the end.”
I’d never realized how many gifts they all had until they were all passed out and stacked in individual piles in front of each person. The ones who sat on the floor could have made their own mini-forts.
Once Luke and Dr. Green finally sat on the floor with their own collections, Erica signaled for us all to begin.
I was eager to see what everyone else got, but I listened to Erica, and soon there was too much noise and distraction to do anything other than to read the tag, open the box, see the item and toss everything that wasn’t the gift to the floor in the middle of the room. I didn’t want to be the last one opening gifts, so I did my best to hurry along.
I started with the smaller gifts in my lap so I could clear out those before getting to the bigger ones. The first was a 3DS Nintendo game from Luke and Gabriel: A dress-up game called Style Savvy. There were also arrows for the toy bow we all got. Jessica got a bow, too, which she seemed to really like. There were also the matching foam swords that Luke and Gabriel and I had bought, technically for Nathan, but we each got a set, so we could all play.
Then there were gifts I hadn’t known about in advance: a pair of pink gloves and a warm jacket—mostly black with some hot pink throughout. There were thermal pants, too. The clothes had me looking at Gabriel, wondering if he thought the weather would stay cold and we’d be outside more. But when I checked the tags, I was surprised that they were from Nathan. Had he and Gabriel gone Christmas shopping for me?
There were many items from Victor: a pink sleeping bag, a folding cot, a small stereo, a pink heater, and a travel pillow with a waterproof case.
I liked them all but wondered about why he’d buy me these things. Were they planning more sleep-overs? I really appreciated the gifts but wasn’t sure where I’d store them.
The item from North confused me. It was a small tool kit in a pink case, a multi-tool knife, a lantern and a travel kit that had a poncho and an umbrella and a small case.
I supposed I could use the tools and the lantern might come in handy if the lights ever went out.
I was looking over the items and sorting them at my feet when I almost dropped the knife between the couch cushions. I shifted my leg to grab it, inadvertently pressing it against Mr. Blackbourne’s thigh.
He’d just unwrapped Victor’s gift: a stack of sheet music. He set it aside and picked up the knife for me. He examined it and then passed it over. “That’s an interesting choice,” he said. “Don’t you think?”
“It’s very...practical,” I said. “I’ve never had one. I’m not sure when I’ll use it.”
“I think you’ll figure it out soon enough,” he said. “Why don’t you open some of the bigger boxes?”
There was something to figure out?
I checked on what everyone else was opening. Luke and Gabriel got plastic blow-up punching bags, which they said would be used as targets for the weapons they got. Dr. Green had received craft paper and some DVDs from Japan and a simple cookbook for children learning how to cook. The others got gifts that fit their personalities.
I put what I’d opened so far on the floor and then started working on the biggest box. I ripped away the paper and had to scoot the box around in front of me to actually see what was inside.
It was a three-person tent.
A tent, a sleeping bag, a lamp.... “I’m going camping?” I asked quietly, not wanting to sound unappreciative, but confused.
“We go every year,” Mr. Blackbourne said. He’d paused in his own unwrapping to watch me open this gift, and helped me tear away the rest of the paper from the box and toss it toward the growing mountain of wrapping paper in the center. “On the week of the first.”
My mouth hung open as the realization settled in. They’d been looking forward to it and they’d all gotten me camping equipment for Christmas. It was why they hadn’t wanted to spoil the surprise. “Wow,” I said, examining the tent. It wasn’t big enough to fit all of us. “Do you all have tents?”
“It’s for you to use if you’d like,” Mr. Blackbourne said. “You can sleep in the bigger tent they have although we might bring it along just in case you want to try it out. Better to have an extra anyway.”
I smoothed my hand over the side of the tent box, trying to picture when else I’d use the thing. Maybe Nathan would want to go camping sometime; he liked being outside. “I’ve never been camping,” I said.
“We thought as much,” Mr. Blackbourne said quietly. “Which is why we got you the supplies you’d need.”
The more I opened the gifts, the more excited I got. They’d all given me camping gear as if I’d be going for weeks and weeks. Luke gave me a small digital camera in a waterproof bag. Silas’s present was a fishing kit, complete with a pole and a cooler for keeping fish fresh and small portable chair. Gabriel gave me lots and lots of outdoor clothes, boots, and even a hat. It was enough to last through a month of camping. Dr. Green’s gift was an extra blanket, waterproof card games, some folded towels inside a pink panda carry bag, and a bath kit with organic soaps.
Mr. Blackbourne gave me some music CDs for the stereo, a set of flashlights, a journal with some fancy pens, and an emergency whistle, which he said I’d need if got into trouble since my voice hadn’t worked properly in a while.
Kota’s gifts were all kits: a fire-starting set with waterproof matches, compass and a waterproof map of South Carolina, a first-aid kit, an emergency food stash and water cleaning supply kit, and bug spray and sunscreen.
Amid all the camping gifts, there were other items, too. A small plush bear, a tennis bracelet, books, my own iPad, gift certificates to spas, tickets to a play sometime in the spring, and many more things that made me start to get overwhelmed.
I opened up a necklace from Mr. Blackbourne—it was a crystal rose pendant. As I was looking at it—watching how it captured the light, Kota spoke from across the room.
“I thought we all agreed just to get her camping equipment,” he said with a smile.
“I just got her one other thing,” Luke said.
“Me, too,” Victor said. “Or maybe two. I thought she could actually use the spa after a week of camping so that technically counts as a camping gift.”
“Well, then her own iPad should count as a camping gift,?
? Nathan said. “She was borrowing Victor’s all last week. I figured she wanted one—and she can use it to pull up maps and survival books.”
Kota chuckled. “I guess the books count as camping gifts, too.”
“It’s okay,” Victor said, opening up a jacket he’d gotten from Gabriel. He folded the collar of it neatly. “She got everyone else something extra, too.”
I didn’t mind him spilling the beans; if they knew, then they might not feel awkward for getting me extra. But as I looked around, I couldn’t tell if any of the boxes were from me. Victor had wrapped them, so I wasn’t sure what colored paper he used.
The boys looked at each other at the same time, blinking in confusion.
Gabriel moved first, diving into the few remaining gifts in front of him. “Where? I don’t see anything.” He held up a box and examined the label. “I love the fuck out of you Doc, but I want to see Sang’s gift.” He glanced up at Erica and then at Jessica, each watching with amused smiles. “I mean fudge. I love you like fudge...Don’t listen to me.” He put the box down and sorted through the gifts he hadn’t opened yet.
“Did I miss it?” Silas asked. “I got the Wiffle ball set.”
“They’re in the tree,” Victor said with a grin, leaning back on his hands. “You’ve been looking at them all day and you never saw them.”
He’d hidden them in the tree? Even I hadn’t noticed. I looked at the tree from where I was, but was dazzled by the lights and their reflections on ornaments, and couldn’t see anything.
Gabriel and Luke scrambled to get up and check it out.
“Get mine for me, Luke,” Silas said, pushing his pile of paper toward the middle of the room. “I’m going to step on someone's things if I try to climb over everything.”
“Yeah,” Nathan said, kneeling amid a pile of wrap. “I can’t get around this stuff. We got too much this year.”
Luke reached in among the branches and then pulled out one gift: a small box wrapped in silver paper with a delicate pink bow on top. He checked the label. “For North,” he said.