Member-only story
Fiction — “Birthday Present”
Anne was all wound up one day when Debbie, her best friend, had brought her a birthday present she didn’t like. It was a nice, gold bracelet, but Anne didn’t wear bracelets. She couldn’t imagine what Debbie was thinking when she bought her this gift. Anne paced not knowing what to do with it and while she wore a hole in the kitchen floor, she wondered if she should give it back to her. She was upset, but she didn’t know if maybe she was angry too. Maybe, she thought, I am angry. What did I ever do to her to give me such an inconsiderate gift? She felt hurt, really, not angry. She was hurt that Debbie didn’t give much thought to the gift that she had bought her.
Anne thought eating lunch first would be a good idea before deciding what to do. A full stomach would be better than an empty one. She pondered the pitfalls of being hungry like spending twice as much money at the grocery store, keeping you awake at nights with a growling stomach, and making you not do or say the right thing because you’re too hungry to think. She further demised that eating lunch first would give her some time to mull over the problem of whether to return the bracelet or not.
Lunch had restored Anne’s calm. She decided it would be best to return it. She had the option to donate the bracelet or give it to someone else who liked bracelets, but Anne thought the right thing to do was to send it…
