Page 18 of Besties
“What’s that?”
“A gift.” He grinned.
I scowled at him. “Yeah, no more gifts. I’m already going to have trouble paying you back for all this.”
“Shut up. Do you know how many times you bought me a soda or pizza or stuff like that?”
“That was maybe a hundred bucks total. This is thousands of dollars.”
That made him laugh. “When we were kids, ten bucks was a fortune. Adjust for the age of the people, the money they had available to them on a consistent basis, and current rates of inflation, and I’m getting the better bargain.”
“Richie, I—”
He put the box in my hands. “Are going to shut up and take this stuff.” He ruffled my hair. “Because if you don’t, I’m going to call your mom and tell on you.”
“You think I’m afraid of my mom? Seriously?”
He pulled out his phone, tapped the screen, and turned it toward me, giving it a little waggle. “Got her on speed dial.”
Of course he did. “Fine. Thank you.”
“Open it.”
I tore at one of the flaps on the box, then pulled it open. What I saw inside had me chortling. I reached in and pulled out the long-necked lamp, with the blue-and-white R2-D2 head that held the bulb.
“This is….”
“Awesome, isn’t it?” He was having trouble containing himself. “I saw it and knew I had to get it for you. It’s to celebrate your new job.”
It was the ugliest lamp I’d ever seen, but still, he’d given me a gift that meant something to him. I remember standing in line to see the rerelease of Star Wars and how giddy he was. We’d seen it on DVD more than once, but this was his first chance to see it on the big screen. The two of us sat in the packed theater, and hearing him muffle a whimper when the theme song came on in Dolby stereo gave me such a thrill. I glanced over and found him sitting rigid, his hands locked around the arms of the seat, his gaze glued to the screen. I spent most of the movie watching him, and his excitement was even better than what was showing on-screen.
“I love it. Thank you.” I carried it over to my new desk, placed it in the corner, and plugged it in. As he stood there watching me, I flicked it on and the soft white light bathed the room.
“Do you really like it?”
“I really do.”
He was glowing, and it wasn’t just because of the lamp, and that made me feel good. He should always look like that.
“Okay, I should get going. I’ve got a bunch of things to get done before the flight tomorrow.”
That disappointed me. “Oh. Okay.”
“What’s wrong?”
I shook my head. “Nothing. Go ahead.”
“No, tell me what’s on your mind.”
Sighing, I met his gaze. “I was hoping to have dinner with you tonight.”
He arched his eyebrows. “Oh, you were? Hm. Well, I guess I can cancel my plans.”
Plans? That was news. “What plans?”
“I was meeting Sheila for dinner, but you could come along.”
Sheila. I’d almost forgotten about her. “Oh. Well, you go ahead and have fun.”
