grumpiness.
“I’ll give you two more guesses and if you don’t figure it out I’ll just have to take it back.”
“Wise guy huh? Okay, so it’s not an article of clothing? Ah ha,” said Julia, lifting a red polished fingernail. “You know that I have been dying to see the new production of Evita at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion; is that what it is, a pair of tickets?”
Seth mimicked a fake game show buzzer. “While that’s an excellent guess, I’m afraid you’re dead wrong. I will, however, keep that in mind as a future excursion for us.”
“Alright,” said Julia, ticking off what it was not upon her fingers. “It’s not an article of clothing, a fancy little negligee or something?”
Seth lifted his eyebrows provocatively. “Now that’s an idea,” he quipped.
“And it’s not tickets to any production at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. Hmm, that doesn’t leave much.”
“Just the whole world,” reflected Seth watching her with affection.
It was time Julia got down to some serious guessing so she pushed up the sleeves of her UCLA sweatshirt. “Alright, this guess is going to be it, and if I win and discover the right answer you have to give me a hundred kisses.”
“Ooh,” said Seth, “ am I allowed to give you some hints?”
“Nope, no cheating allowed. I either do this legitimately or not at all. Let me see,” she tapped her cheek thinking hard. “It’s got to be something I really like from that overly smug expression on your self-satisfied face. Let me see, let me see.” A strange idea passed over her face and she shook her head as if chiding herself. “No, you couldn’t possibly have done that; besides it wouldn’t be allowed, not in the least.”
“And what is that?” asked Seth, almost afraid she’d somehow guessed his special gift.
“Do you remember when we were in the mall a couple of weeks ago and popped into the pet store and saw the cutest little puppy in the world?”
“Really,” said Seth nonchalantly, brushing an imaginary speck of lint off his spotless white shirt. Suddenly Julia knew she’d hit the nail right on the head.
“It’s a gift certificate for some sort for a puppy isn’t it?”
Seth cleared his throat shakily. It was as if Julia’s thoughts had meandered through his mind, and try as he might to disguise the perfect gift, she’d still stumbled upon it.
“I think you’d better open the package,” he said softly , and Julia made swift work of it. Inside the florist box nestled another smaller box also beautifully wrapped in gold foil. Julia chortled in delight and unwrapped the next package. Inside lurked another; a small square box so lightweight it clearly contained only paper. She lifted the lid and inside, rolled like a precious piece of parchment bound by gold foil ribbon, was a white piece of paper. Julia slid the ribbon off and unrolled the letter, reading the short note out loud.
“My dearest Julia. You’re to be the happy recipient of a new Keeshond puppy, available for immediate adoption upon the sixth of January. The litter contains four females and two males, and you’re allowed to pick the puppy of your choice.” Julia shrieked and threw herself onto his lap as Seth rolled back his head and laughed, his straight teeth parted in utter contentment.
“It’s the perfect gift, the perfect gift! I’ve always wanted a puppy but...” Her voice trailed off and she froze, still perched upon his knees. “We live in an apartment and I don’t think they allow pets.”
“Well your landlady, Mrs. Nelson, seems to think otherwise. I told her I wanted to buy my girlfriend a puppy for Christmas and the lovely lady indicated she might make an exception since she herself has two poodles. Then I started telling her all about the Keeshond breed; how they originated in Holland and were used to patrol the barges as they drifted down the canals. To make a long story short, she as a girl raised many Keeshonds of her own. In fact, her
“I’ll give you two more guesses and if you don’t figure it out I’ll just have to take it back.”
“Wise guy huh? Okay, so it’s not an article of clothing? Ah ha,” said Julia, lifting a red polished fingernail. “You know that I have been dying to see the new production of Evita at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion; is that what it is, a pair of tickets?”
Seth mimicked a fake game show buzzer. “While that’s an excellent guess, I’m afraid you’re dead wrong. I will, however, keep that in mind as a future excursion for us.”
“Alright,” said Julia, ticking off what it was not upon her fingers. “It’s not an article of clothing, a fancy little negligee or something?”
Seth lifted his eyebrows provocatively. “Now that’s an idea,” he quipped.
“And it’s not tickets to any production at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. Hmm, that doesn’t leave much.”
“Just the whole world,” reflected Seth watching her with affection.
It was time Julia got down to some serious guessing so she pushed up the sleeves of her UCLA sweatshirt. “Alright, this guess is going to be it, and if I win and discover the right answer you have to give me a hundred kisses.”
“Ooh,” said Seth, “ am I allowed to give you some hints?”
“Nope, no cheating allowed. I either do this legitimately or not at all. Let me see,” she tapped her cheek thinking hard. “It’s got to be something I really like from that overly smug expression on your self-satisfied face. Let me see, let me see.” A strange idea passed over her face and she shook her head as if chiding herself. “No, you couldn’t possibly have done that; besides it wouldn’t be allowed, not in the least.”
“And what is that?” asked Seth, almost afraid she’d somehow guessed his special gift.
“Do you remember when we were in the mall a couple of weeks ago and popped into the pet store and saw the cutest little puppy in the world?”
“Really,” said Seth nonchalantly, brushing an imaginary speck of lint off his spotless white shirt. Suddenly Julia knew she’d hit the nail right on the head.
“It’s a gift certificate for some sort for a puppy isn’t it?”
Seth cleared his throat shakily. It was as if Julia’s thoughts had meandered through his mind, and try as he might to disguise the perfect gift, she’d still stumbled upon it.
“I think you’d better open the package,” he said softly , and Julia made swift work of it. Inside the florist box nestled another smaller box also beautifully wrapped in gold foil. Julia chortled in delight and unwrapped the next package. Inside lurked another; a small square box so lightweight it clearly contained only paper. She lifted the lid and inside, rolled like a precious piece of parchment bound by gold foil ribbon, was a white piece of paper. Julia slid the ribbon off and unrolled the letter, reading the short note out loud.
“My dearest Julia. You’re to be the happy recipient of a new Keeshond puppy, available for immediate adoption upon the sixth of January. The litter contains four females and two males, and you’re allowed to pick the puppy of your choice.” Julia shrieked and threw herself onto his lap as Seth rolled back his head and laughed, his straight teeth parted in utter contentment.
“It’s the perfect gift, the perfect gift! I’ve always wanted a puppy but...” Her voice trailed off and she froze, still perched upon his knees. “We live in an apartment and I don’t think they allow pets.”
“Well your landlady, Mrs. Nelson, seems to think otherwise. I told her I wanted to buy my girlfriend a puppy for Christmas and the lovely lady indicated she might make an exception since she herself has two poodles. Then I started telling her all about the Keeshond breed; how they originated in Holland and were used to patrol the barges as they drifted down the canals. To make a long story short, she as a girl raised many Keeshonds of her own. In fact, her
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