Gifts Fifth Ave

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?

She ran into the store in such a hurry. She only had so much time and she had to find the right the gift for her sister-in-law’s birthday party. She cared. It just didn’t seem like it. She had been so busy lately that it totally slipped her mind.

She ran mindlessly through the store, noticing everything and not approving of anything. That was until she ran across the perfect dress. She knew her sister-in-law’s size. They shared each other’s clothes all the time. So, she knew the dress would be just right.

She grabbed it and ran to the register. The clerk rang it up and then looked back at our in-a-hurry customer who had a frightened look on her face.

"What’s wrong?"

"I can’t find my billfold. Wait here for a second."

"Sure. I’ll hold this for you then until you come back."

She ran out to the front door and that’s when she saw it. A lady was holding her Coach Soho Signature Slim Envelope while three others stood around admiring it.

"Oh, thanks for finding it!" she said as she grabbed for her billfold.

But, it was sort of like a tug-of-war match.  The lady just didn’t want to let go.

He had never thought about it much. "I mean, a watch is a watch right?"

There are different features and different styles that fit different people. But, that’s as far as it went. A watch was for telling time, not making a statement.

That’s what he thought until he saw a selection of watches that changed his mind about watches all together. There was unique design to the Croton watch selection in front of him. He had never noticed that before.

The Lady Circuit Breaker, The Time Chain, The Chronomaster, The Gladiator just to name a few. They all have personality.  They all make a statement.  You’re not just looking at a gold or silver watch.  You’re not just looking at a sports watch or a formal watch.

There is a sense of purpose and coherence to each watch.  The Zebra even had stripes in the wristband.  But, it wasn’t your obvious black and white stripes.  It was an elegant light gold, dark gold stripe that struck right through the face of the watch and gave the watch its own unique stamp.

The Gladiator had a warrioristic design.  The Time Chain looked like the time pieces of old that hung from a man’s belt.  The Lady Circuit Breaker, a electrifying style.  But, it was the Chronomaster he chose.  Why?  Have a look for yourself.

She walked in the party like she was walking onto a yacht. Ah, a little Carly Simon reference never hurt anyone. Anyway, she strutted through the doors and turned a lot of heads.

Of course, she was the most stunning looking lady in the room. She wore the finest dress and she had jewelry that had to be on lease like the powerful and the wealthy do all the time. When she walked by, her smell was like a breath of fresh air.

She looked straight at me for a second and I felt my knees wobble a little. Then, she was introduced to someone and our moment was gone. In the blink of an eye, I wasn’t even a memory anymore.

I could hear an interesting conversation going on behind me and then, there was even a punchline.

"Who is she?"

"You know who she is."

"Yeah, but where did she come from and who is she for real?"

I could hear a few whispers and then a surprised, "Oh!" came out of the one with all the questions. Then…

"But, who is that on her arm?"

"Oh, that’s Sac Coussin .  It is an eye grabbing handbag isn’t it?"

I turned around to see his reaction.  There wasn’t one.  He just nodded his head as if he expected that answer.

When I turned back around, she was standing in front of me.  "Hi, who are you?" she asked.

I think my first response was incoherent.  But, I finally got to talking.  She was every bit of class everyone at the party had said about her.  And it was a sheer honor that she had chosen me to have a conversation with her out on the terrace with a few glasses of champagne.

The guy she had entered the room with was doing his own share of mingling.  So, she seemed very content to spend time with me.  I guess it’s the age old adage where affluence runs off with the peasantry.

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!

It was a trip down memory lane when her mother asked her to go through her room and clean it out because she wanted to convert it to an office. It was after her first semester of college and her mother was ready to move on with life. Not that she was kicking her daughter out of the house. But, life for both of them was changing…at a rapid pace.

It was only a few months ago when her mother saw her off at the bus station. She looked like such a little girl with those huge luggage bags to either side, she seemed too young to go to college. They shared tears and they kept a look at each other as the bus drove away further and further out of sight.

The semester was over now and her mother had made up her mind. It was time to clean her room out and start leaving that part of their life behind them. So, she began.

She found the song she wrote when she was eleven and just learning how to write music. She carried the music sheet over to the piano and tapped it out a little. "Not bad," she thought as she put the music sheet in the box. She could have done something with that had she kept with it.

More and more things were thrown in the box until she came across an old dirty doll she’s had since she could remember. It brought back memories and she was transfixed for a few minutes while she remembered years past.

But, it wasn’t until she saw her favorite Swarovski Deluxe Ring that some deep memories came back to her. It was the memories she kept of her father when he was still alive.

She remembered the day he gave her the Swarovski Deluxe Ring. She was thirteen years old. It was the year he passed away. He knew he was sick and he tried to make his last year the best one she would ever remember.

When he passed away, she put the ring in her jewelry box and never wore it again. But, she was older now. She was more mature and could handle it. She slipped the ring on her finger and studied it for a moment.

That was about the time her mother entered the room with two cups of coffee. A tear rolled down her face, but it was a good one. It was a tear of healing. They talked for hours and the room would have to wait.

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)

As she watched the news in her classroom, she touched her Swarovski Crystal Heart Necklace and held it in her hand while footage of the war was being highlighted on the television in front of her. The entire class watched in anticipation, excitement, anxiety, horror. Each student with their own emotions running through their minds.

Her necklace was a gift from her father just before he was shipped off to the war. He had no idea what to do to ease her mind about going to war, so he made the necklace the bond between them. He had it wrapped and he gave it to her on the day he left.

She opened her gift and saw the beautiful Swarovski Crystal.  She gave him a huge hug and then listened to him while he told her what it meant.

"Keep this on you at all times.  It’s what keeps us together.  My gift to you.  Put it around your neck and when you ever need to be near me, just hold it in your hand and I’m right there."

How ironic it was that just as she was remembering that moment, he walked through the door of her classroom.  She looked up in surprise and ran to him.

After a long, teary eyed embrace, "Are you really here?" she asked.

"I’m home for good sweetheart!  I’m home for good."

It wasn’t your typical party. This was the one to impress the In-laws. He had always talked about how picky his mother could be. So, she was going to have to go the extra mile.

After all, they lived on Fifth Avenue. Wasn’t that enough to impress the mother-in-law? It should be. So, a few finishing touches and that should be more than sufficient.

Dinner couldn’t be cold, but it couldn’t be delivered in front of the company either. She had no intentions of chancing her cooking skills tonight so she made a call to the caterer and pumped him full of questions. How long would it take to cook the food? How long would it take to deliver it? The caterer would have to be in and out just before the mother-in-law arrived.

The plans were made. The apartment was spotless. The tip for the caterer would insure the food would be there exactly on time. What was missing?

She looked around the apartment and it was about that time. The dining room table was bare. A satin table cloth was worth bring out tonight. Now, to get started on the perfect arrangement she would need her Crystal Lotus Console …(cont’d)