Gifts Fifth Ave

It had struck twelve.  The longest time of the day.  It almost took a whole minute for the chimes to ring throughout the house from the tower clock in the dining room.

But, her favorite was the tower clock her grandfather had given her years ago.  It was her favorite possession.

He had called her into the den where he almost always was.  He had just put out his cigar.  She could tell by the smoke thinning in the air.

He sat down in his big leather chair and told her to jump on his lap.  She gave him a hug and he hugged her back.

"You know you’re my favorite granddaughter, right?"

She laughed, "Granddad, I’m your only granddaughter."

"Oh, that’s right!  Are you sure?"

"I’m positive!"

"Oh, ok.  Well then, I have to give you this."  And he pulled out the tower clock.

Her eyes grew wide.  She had seen it before and she loved it.  But now, he was giving it to her.  She gave him a big hug and thanked him profusely.  She missed him.  She missed him so much.

Every time she visited her grandma and heard that tower clock in the dining room, it reminded her of the greatest grandfather she ever knew.

It was the first time they had company over to their new home. They had kept everything they had in their old home. But, they bought a few gifts for themselves.

The plasma screen in the bedroom was a step up from the black and white television they had in their apartment two residences ago. The new recliner in the living room was a far cry from the torn favorite they threw away in their last place.

But, she was genuinely surprised when her friend came out of the bathroom, "Oh, that’s nice."

She knew she was talking about something new. But, what could it be?

"What’s that hon?"

"That’s a nice set you have in your bathroom. I just love it, especially your lotion bottle.  I hope you don’t mind, I used a little."

"No not at all!"

Of all the things she could have been given compliments on, she was complimented on her Crystal Bed and Bath Lotion Bottle .  She knew she had taste.  But, that was confirmation.  It always feels good to get compliments about your sense of style.

That’s what they used to say.  "Don’t sign a thing, unless you have your Rotring."

Well, it was an important deal.  He was meeting with a potential future partner that could change his life forever.  So, he made sure to take his Rotring Initial Black Ballpoint Pen .

He was a little overwhelmed when they sat down to the table.  The potential future partner had a lawyer and an advisor.  Plus, he looked like a million bucks.

This man was ready to do battle and it dwarfed him a little.  Shaking, he opened his briefcase and took out the documents he had worked on for weeks.  He even went over them the night before with a fine toothed comb.

He felt prepared.  But, he would soon find out whether he was or not.

He slid the documents over to the power team sitting in front of him.  They had copies made by a secretary and then an assistant walked into the meeting room to ask if anyone wanted anything.  There were so many people on the man’s side it was unbelievable.

The whispering was unnerving.  The glances and the secrets they passed back and forth.  Then, the notes they scribbled down.  The laughter and everything they did in their quiet pow wow on the other side of the table was a little too much for him to take.

But then, the monotony was broken.  The man stood up and looked at his future partner, "It looks like we have a deal.  I’ll have these guys finish up the details while we’re at lunch.  How does that sound?"

He knew his voice squeaked as he forced out a "Sounds great!" from his moisture deprived mouth.

"Great!  Nice pen by the way!  Is that a Rotring?"

"Actually it is."

"You know what they say, don’t sign a thing without your Rotring."

He knew that too?

The work had been entirely overwhelming. I mean, who in the world puts the air conditioning unit above the lighting fixture in the foyer and then has no plan for what to do with the drainage?

Well, the damage that was caused almost burned the house down. Water and electric just doesn’t mix. So, she was happy that hadn’t happened. But, the rest of the damage was just cruel and unusual punishment.

There was two feet of mildew damaged insulation to remove. The ceiling had weakened and begun to fall to the floor, piece by piece. And fungus had begun to grow on the rafters. Insurance would cover it, yeah. But, what a way to learn about the flaws in your home!

That’s when she decided to reward herself with the most beautiful light fixture she could find.  In fact, it wasn’t going to be any normal light fixture.  The Murano Venetian All-Crystal Chandelier was what it was going to take to put a smile on her face.

She asked questions.  She asked a good bit of questions.  "Is the air conditioning unit safe now?"

"Yes ma’am.  In fact, we’ve moved it to the center of your attic space."

"Will it leak anymore?"

"Uh no ma’am.  We’ve provided an outlet for condensation.  The water drains through a tube and into your water spouts on the outside of your home."

"Has all the mildew and moisture been taken care of."

"Yes ma’am.  You won’t have to worry about any further damage."

"Ok…ok.  Go ahead and put in my chandalier."

"Thank you ma’am!"

It burned in her mind. She couldn’t let it go. It was a sight she had never seen before and she knew what she had to do.

She had gone camping with her friends. But, normally they went to campgrounds. This time they went off on an adventure.

The hike up the side of the mountain was one heck of an exercise. There were so many sights to see going up to the spot. Animals in the distance. Sun shining through the trees. Colors that were all in array and yet they went together beautifully. Isn’t that one of the mysteries of nature? It’s so perfect in its imperfection.

Then, in the clearing she beheld a phenomenal sight. The top of the mountain shot through the trees. A river coursed down through the center of the scene.

She studied the shot for several minutes.  She stayed there staring until the rest finally talked her into continuing with the hike.

Over the course of the weekend, she keep coming back to that spot and staring in awe.  She made several trips and she noted every detail.

When she got home, she pulled out the canvas and the paints.  Putting together this beautiful creation on screen was a masterpiece she needed to try.  And she did.  She made her masterpiece…North View of the Mountains .

It was their anniversary. It was a special anniversary. He knew that. He just didn’t know what to get her.

He had done flowers. He had done so many flowers, they were getting old. Getting flowers is great and all. But, you can’t do flowers over and over every time. It loses its meaning.

Cards were meant to be added to something else. But if he could get something that said what he meant to say, then why would he need a card to say it again? Of course he was a simple man. But, at least he put this much thought into it.

That’s when he discovered…

"It Had to Be You! "

Simple like a card. Not a flower. It said what he wanted it to say and it was elegant. It was stylish in its elegance. That’s exactly what he wanted this year.

The look on her face said it all. He had thought of her. He had remembered. And he had got her something with a special meaning. He would definitely get rewarded this year!

Cell phones, cell phones, cell phones everywhere she looked. She couldn’t get away from them. Oh sure, she had one. But, she was just starting to realize how crazy it all was.

She looked around the restaurant and she could see about ten people on a cell phone having small conversations while other people stood by being ignored. It was a funny thought that occurred to her, but what if one person in the restaurant was actually talking to another person in the restaurant. They were just too into their cell phones to get up and walk over to each other.

When she left the restaurant, she saw a guy with two phones. Now, what’s the purpose of that? It’s best not to ask. A guy needs two cell phones so he can call himself when he needs something. It was all chaos.

These feelings had just started coming over her lately. She could even trace it back to when they started. It was the first thought she had when she saw…

The classic telephone from Gifts Fifth Ave . Once she saw it, she had to have one. She ordered it right away.

She had no idea when it was going to arrive, but the catalog only said a few days. She couldn’t wait. She could finally get her ear out of her cell phone and talk on a regular phone like they did years ago.

The telephone had finally arrived. When she took it out of the box, it looked every bit as elegant as the catalog said it would. That day, she left her cell phone behind. By accident. And that was the day she started seeing cell phones all over the place.

She could swear she saw a two year old in a stroller…never mind. That was too crazy.

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It had been a long day at the office. He was tired, but he had made these plans a long time ago. It was too late to cancel and just last week he had been given the opportunity. But, he insisted. So he was stuck with the plans now.

As he arrived home, he could smell some good cooking. And it didn’t happen all the time, but because she knew how important this dinner date was, she greeted him at the door with a cool, relaxing drink. A kiss on the cheek, “Go freshen up! They’re on their way.”

He changed his clothes and got comfortable. She set the table since she was already ready. When he came down the stairs, he walked into the dining room to see if there was anything he could do to help. There was nothing, absolutely nothing…

She had broken out the Palm Desert dinnerware set. It was going to be a great evening. That much he knew. The dinner date would be a success. He could relax now.

…Now, back to our scheduled programming.

The buzz from the front door sent a chill through her spine.  The mother-in-law was here.  Had she thought of everything?

It was too late now to think of anything else.  They only had a few floors to come up and they would be here.  There was nothing left to do, but wait.

She brushed imaginary lint off of her dress as she stood a perfect distance from the door.  Not so close that the door would hit her.  Not so far away that she felt an uncomfortable distance.

Oh, this was driving her insane.  Why hadn’t she taken a quick shot of the Scotch before they got here?

Oh wait!  She just thought.   The table would look so much better with the Contessa Vase …  (cont’d)

Ah, wine might be nice. But, what if they wanted something with a bit more kick?

Scotch makes for a very classy whiskey. So, off to the liquor cabinet she made a path. There was quite a selection of liquor and it seems, the Scotch had gathered a good bit of dust.

That’s not good. She can’t serve dusty Scotch. She couldn’t for the life of her give herself a good reason why. But, she just felt it was inappropriate.

That’s when she realized that it was the perfect time to break out the Dublin Decanter … (cont’d)