The Gift

When inside the apartment Lisa asked "Kathy, are you going to listen to the CD?" Kathy shook her head yes. She could not speak without crying. Lisa took the CD and put it in her player. Randy Travis' voice filled the room.

Suppose I called you up tonight and told you that I loved you

And suppose I said "I wanna come back home".

And suppose I cried and said "I think I finally learned my lesson"

And I'm tired a-spendin' all my time alone.

If I told you that I realized you're all I ever wanted

And it's killin' me to be so far away.

Would you tell me that you loved me too and would we cry together?

Or would you simply laugh at me and say:

"I told you so, oh I told you so

I told you some day you come crawling back and asking me to take you in

I told you so, but you had to go

Now I found somebody new and you will never break my heart in two again".

Kathy's heart broke again as it did that night in Lisa's apartment. Tom made it clear to her that he was done with her. He would never allow her back into his life again. For the first time in a long time Kathy broke down into a full blown crying jag. She let it all out. All her grief came flooding out. Oh how she missed her former husband. She knew she had been a fool to give up what she had, just as Lisa told her when this first happened. She cursed her stupidity.

Kathy quit her job at the insurance company soon after the she received the box in the mail from Tom. She took a position as a front desk receptionist at a local doctor's office. The pay was not as good but she did not have to suffer the through the disgusted looks and the constant whispering of her co workers. Kathy stayed with Lisa for three months. She rented a small condo form an elderly patient she met at the doctor's office. Her divorce from John was moving through the court system. She started receiving support payments from John through the court. This money combined with her new job was enough to pay the rent on her new place.

Kathy was not idle in her quest to regain her life with Tom. She called him many times. He never answered the phone so she left messages to call her back. She told him she was sorry for her actions and begged him to call back. He never did. That only made Kathy more determined. Kathy began sending letters to the Kensington address where Tom still lived. Emails were sent every few days. These were never answered either.

Kathy and Lisa had plans to go out Friday night. It was decided that Kathy would pick Lisa up and they would get ready to go out at Kathy's new place. Kathy picked up Lisa at her home and drove to her new place.

When they arrived at Kathy's apartment they were surprised to see Tom's cousin Janice and Kathy's former co worker Grace waiting in the parking lot.

"What are they doing here?" Lisa wondered aloud.

"I have no idea, but I don't like seeing Janice again and what is Grace is doing here with her?" puzzled Kathy.

Lisa had an inkling of why they would be here. She was hiding something from Kathy. The girls exited the car and warily approached Janice and Grace. Janice waited for Kathy and Lisa to come near them before she spoke.

"Hi Kathy." opened Janice. "Grace and I would like to talk to you about something that involves all of us. Would you mind if we came inside and spoke in private?"

Kathy was wary; she remembered the last time she spoke with Janice. She did not want a repeat of that confrontation.

"What is this about Janice, I don't want any trouble." Kathy responded.

"Why don't you leave her alone? Why do you need to open old wounds?" pleaded Lisa.

Grace looked at Lisa and Kathy with sympathetic eyes before responding.

"I would Lisa however I think Kathy needs to know about this. Please Kathy can we go inside and speak privately?" Graced asked.

Now thoroughly confused Kathy looked at Lisa for some type of direction. Lisa nodded at Kathy as if saying let's go inside and talk.

With trepidation Kathy responded, ""Let's go inside."

Once inside Kathy's small condo the girls made some small talk, complimenting Kathy on her decorating. Settling down around the kitchen table Grace finally got around to why she and Janice were there.

Grace began "Kathy there is something I need to tell you, and it is not going to be something you want to hear. I know you have been sending letters and emails to Tom. I know about the telephone calls to too."

"What business is it of yours if I try to communicate with him? This is still a free country. If I want to call him I will. He has never told me not to. If he did I would stop."

"He does want you to stop. He is too polite to tell you. He is afraid you won't take it well." Grace informed Kathy.

"Kathy", Janice interrupted. Please just listen to us. We don't want to make this harder on you. We know you don't know this. Tom and Grace are getting married next Saturday."

Kathy was shocked. Janice could see her eyes tear up. If she wanted to speak it seemed she was unable to.

"Kathy, please don't call, email or send letters to Tom. I am a jealous woman and I will not look kindly upon another woman trying to contact my new husband. It's too bad you never knew the real meaning of the gift. It's lucky for me though. I realized what it was the first time I heard When I Fall in Love on your CD player that day in the office." added Grace

Janice reached into her bag and took out a thin red box and handed it to Kathy. There was no malice in Janice's voice as she told Kathy "Listen to the CD inside the box. I am truly sorry it came to this. We want you to know we did not come here to hurt you, but you needed to know."

Kathy turned to Lisa as Janice and Grace left the condo and asked "Did you know about this?"

"Yes," Lisa replied guiltily "I didn't know how to tell you. Grace told us a few weeks ago. I knew you were trying to get back with Tom. I knew it would hurt. I couldn't tell you. I knew it would hurt you too much."

Kathy slid the CD into the slot on her machine.

Kathy took another sip of wine and looked at the clock. It was 2:30PM. It had taken only one and a half hours for her to remember the journey with her former husband. She looked at the red box sitting at the rear of the row of boxes. She picked up the box, took out the CD and slipped it into the slot of the machine, just like she did the week prior. The Shirelles started singing the 1961 hit Foolish Little Girl

You broke his heart and made him cry

And he's been blue since then

Now he's found somebody new

And you want him back again"

Foolish little girl, fickle little girl

You didn't want him when he wanted you

He's found another love; it's her he's dreaming of

And there's not a single thing that you can do

Kathy realized that Janice was right. There was nothing she could do about the mess she made of her life. She needed to stop trying to regain that which she had lost. It was her fault of course.

She knew that Tom and Grace might be walking back from the altar now a married couple. Or maybe they were in the receiving line greeting guests. Whatever they were doing she would not be thought of or missed.

As she remembered she finally realized what the gift truly was. It was something she had thrown away so casually, while Grace had understood it when she first heard When I Fall in Love that day in the office. She was sad it had taken her so long to understand. She finally understood. It was the most special of gifts, something she longed for now. The gift was his love. The End