“I hope so.”
She hangs up, and I stare at the boxes, still surprised at the generosity of the people in my life.
True to her word, I get a text soon after with a list of each of the guys and their favorites.
What about you?
Dr. Pepper and a Twix
With the list on my phone, I take my car keys from the countertop and decide to put offunpacking for a bit. I need to thank the people who took care of me without my even asking.
Driving my car to the store is so much better than taking the bus, although I’m grateful I was able to get places when I needed to.
I gather the favorites for each of the guys in the house and get a larger size of Dr. Pepper and Twix for Jessa.
But Burton fixed my car. A soda and a candy bar don’t seem like the best way to say thank you.
The problem is, I don’t know him that well…yet. But I have his phone number. Maybe I could text him? How would I word it though?
Hey, I can’t really afford to pay you for fixing my car, but I’d like to get you an overstuffed bear? Or how about monthly installments?
I shake my head and take a step away from the enormous bear in front of me. What would mean more?
Gift cards seem impersonal, and the guy is an athlete and probably doesn’t need to have a crate of junk food given as a thank you.
I open my phone and search for “meaningful thank-you gifts.”
After seeing a soap and lotion set along with women’s clothing, I modify my search.
There’s a picture of a little coupon book written in a child’s handwriting. Would that be dumb?
What could I put in that? “Coupon for a running buddy?”
Other than that, I know little that would appeal to him. Maybe he just wants to stay away from me.
I buy the goods and head home, racking my brain for more ideas. I need to come up with something that would adequately say thank you.
It takes about thirty minutes to wrap all the gifts with ribbon, and I still don’t have any ideas better than the coupon book. So I go on my computer and look up the templates for it.
Luckily, Jessa is prepared and has a printer.
I print out the little coupons and take time writing on them. If he doesn’t like this idea, he doesn’t have to use them, at least that’s what I’m trying to tell myself. It’s the thought that counts.
I add the running buddy idea to one of them and come up with a few others. When I get to the last one, my hand hovers over the paper for way too long before I finally write, “Join me on a trip to the farm.”
Should I crumple that up? What if he’s allergic to animals? Or mud? Is that even a possibility?
After a five-minute debate, I leave it in. Again, he doesn’t have to use any of them if he doesn’t want to.
That will be enough. A sincere thank you for helping me have wheels and not have to be a complete mooch to get rides to different places.
No, I’ll pay him in real money as well. I find two twenty-dollar bills in my room and tuck them into the coupon book. Monthly installments it is.
Jessa won’t be here to give her hers right now, but one check through the window shows me the guys are home, or at least some of them, because the house is ablaze with light.
I empty one box with my toiletries that the group brought from the old apartment to put the various gifts in and walk over.
Knocking on the door, I blow out a breath. I don’t know why I’m terrified, but it feels like I’m heading to ask one of them to a school dance. And I was never good at that.
