Chapter 5 -- Merry Christmas
December 1973
Jim knew that life and all its events was a proposition of give and take. He strove to hold up his end by giving, lest he err in the taking.
It was his last chance.
It was nine in the evening and the stores would be open for anther thirty minutes. It would be no good to wait until the next day. The next day would be December 24 and he planned to use that as a travel day. Besides, as he looked around the big box store he could see that the shelves were starting to look sparse.
"I'd like to kick myself in the ass for waiting until the last minute."
There was no time for that. He had given up trying to find something within his budget at the downtown department store. He gave up and pushed his car through holiday traffic to the discount store in the edge-of-town plaza. It was tough sledding.
"I don't know anything about shopping," he reminded himself, as if he needed reminding.
"I'm going to buy one of these wallets," he told the clerk who approached him. "I'm just deciding on brown or black."
The clerk opened the glass case and brought out one of each so Jim could look closer.
"Who's it for?" he asked.
"My Dad," Jim answered.
The clerk nodded.
"Brown is a little more casual," the clerk told him.
"Black, then," Jim said. "My Dad's a salesman. He wears a suit to work every day."
The clerk nodded again and placed the wallet in its box and handed it to Jim.
"You can pay for it at one of the registers at the front of the store."
"Thanks," Jim said, but the clerk was already walking away.
"He probably hasn't done his shopping, either, and is kicking himself in the ass."
The selection made Jim feel a bit more confident. There was one down and two to go, his mother and Hildy. He had no idea what he would buy them, but he knew for sure it would be in that store.
He hadn't seen Hildy since her visit for the Colgate game. If he had gone to visit her, he thought, maybe he would have a better idea what to give her. His mother asked him what he planned to give her at Thanksgiving when Jim made a one day visit for the big feast. She told him to give it some thought and plan ahead, but Jim didn't listen. He was sure that something just right would show itself at the right moment.
"It's the right moment now, so show yourself.
He was stuck; it was his own fault and he knew it.
He would like to say that he missed her—and he did—but he had also been busy. In fact, most students had left the campus nearly a week ago with the semester finals completed. Jim stayed behind to work on his final project which had been approved by the faculty committee. Even Rich had left for New Jersey several days before.
Tomorrow he would make the two-hour trek to his parents' home (the dauntless Rustmobile willing). The day after Christmas he already had a date made with Hildy and he would give her the present then.
He was in the Men's Department, so he knew he had to move—somewhere. As he walked, the smell of perfume became stronger. He followed his nose. The further he walked, the scent increased in strength.
"Are you looking for cologne or perfume?" a lady behind the class counter asked.
He paused for a moment, not having realized that he was looking for either.
"I can't honestly say that I know the difference," he answered.
She reminded Jim of the manikins in the store. She was about forty, thin, with a needle nose. Jim's impression of her was that she had a fancy hairdo and a lot of make-up
She grabbed his wrist without saying another word. She was holding a square bottle with a liquid that was the same color as gasoline. She sprayed a helping of it on his bare skin.
"It's cologne," she told him. "Do you like it?"
He wasn't sure if she meant 'did he like it as a gift idea' or 'did he like the fact that his wrist smelled like perfume'. He thought that, per haps, he should ask her what she meant by question, but he didn't want to be impolite. His answers would have been 'I don't know' and 'no', respectively.
"I don't know enough about this stuff. I can't even tell if this is the high-quality brand or the cheap stuff."
"I have another kind you can sample," the woman said.
She grabbed for his other wrist. Jim was quick and pulled it back before she could grasp it. Quick to adapt, the saleslady sprayed the liquid in the air and Jim could feel little droplets fall on his forehead.
"What was I saying?" he asked himself. "I'm in a discount store. Of course it's the cheap stuff."
"I'm going to think about it, if it's okay," Jim said.
He backed away from the counter and looked for another venue to continue his search.
"I know one thing. Smelling like this I can't venture outside the Women's Department."
He turned a few corners and something caught his eye. It was a display—kind of like a glorified hat rack—with knit mufflers, hats and gloves. There were a lot of bright colors, which Jim liked. He took a look at the price tags and that was good, too.
"Been sampling cologne?" a voice behind him asked.
It was another sales lady, a bit older than the one he'd encountered in the perfume area and had a matronly appearance.
"Do I smell that bad?"
"I wouldn't venture into Sporting Goods or Automotive for a little while," she said. "Otherwise, you'll be okay."
"This lady understands me."
"I thought I would try to put together a set of these as a gift."
"Have a color in mind?" the kind lady asked.
Jim thought a minute. The display was the most promising thing he'd seen, and the store was going to close in ten minutes.
"Actually, I need two sets," he explained. "I think I like the red and the green."
The lady set to work, picking out a red set. The hat was in the shape of a tam. The gloves were one-size fits all and the muffler was rolled up but the packaging said it was forty-eight inches, plus fringe.
"There isn't a tam to make a complete green set, the sales lady told him, "but I have a blue set that's nice."
It was a nice blue, sort of a royal blue that pleased the eye.
"The blue one will be fine," he said.
She handed him the pieces. She must have seen the confusion on his face.
"Sorry, there's no box for them."
Jim thought that for nearly twenty dollars per set they would give him a box. He would have to deal with it. He'd come too far to turn back.
"Maybe you could help with something else," he asked the kind lady. "One set is for my mother and one is for my girlfriend. Which one would give to which?"
"I see," the lady said, but then hesitated.
"She isn't really my girlfriend, just sort of. We met this summer..."
He stopped himself, realizing that his explanation wasn't needed.
"What does your girlfriend look like?"
"Well, she's tall and has real blonde hair. And..."
"Blonde," the lady interrupted. "Then I would give her the blue set."
Jim felt a lot better.
Thanks, ma'am. Merry Christmas to you," he said and then turned, despite the cologne odor, and headed to the cashiers' area.
**************
Jim knew the holidays were important to families. As he and his siblings grew older he could tell it meant more and more to his parents. It happened at just the time when he had plans of his own, but he put them aside because he thought it was the right thing to do.
