The Birthday Gift

A Story by Spectral Dust

A story of family tragedy and the healing power of love.

“Morning.”

Rick slipped out of bed and into the bathroom. Janice opened the bedroom curtains to let in the morning sun, and then went to the kitchen to cook breakfast. Rick came out of the bathroom a few minutes later feeling refreshed but still looking tired. He hadn’t slept well and neither had Janice.

“The paper come?” Rick asked.

“Don’t know.”

Rick retrieved the paper from the front step and sat down to eat breakfast. Janice slid the eggs and hash browns onto his plate, and then plopped the pan down on the stove a little too hard. She grabbed her coffee and sat down. There was a gift box sitting on the table’s middle. She was staring at it.

“Aren’t you going to eat?” Rick asked.

“Not hungry.”

Rick eyed Janice for a moment, and then he looked at the gift box.

“Well, thanks for breakfast,” Rick said.

“Welcome.”

Janice grabbed part of the paper. “The lawn mower is still broken.”

“I remember.”

“You can’t mow the lawn without it,” Janice said.

“Thanks, I’ll write that down.”

Rick ate while Janice pretended to read the paper.

"Did you wash my jeans?" Rick asked.

“They’re in the wash.”

“Still? You left ‘em in the wash all night?”

“I forgot.” Janice turned a page, still pretending to read.

“Well, if you think you could find the time...”

Janice dropped the coffee cup onto the saucer too hard, causing it to spill.

“I might have a few minutes to spare later to do that for you,” she said.

“Thanks. I appreciate your consideration.” He was down to his last bite of breakfast.

“You’re my husband, aren’t you?” It was clear from the way she asked that it wasn’t really a question.

“What?” Rick said, dropping his fork to the plate. Egg yolk splattered onto his bathrobe.

“You heard me.” Janice picked up her coffee cup and headed for the kitchen sink.

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” He raised his hands into the air, question mark fashion.

“I’m your wife. Isn’t that what a wife does, cook and clean?”

“If you got something on your mind then spit it out, why don’t you!” Rick said, fists clenched.

“Eat your breakfast, Darling, you get crabby when you skip a meal.” The fact that he was already done eating accentuated her sarcasm.

Rick pushed his chair back to stand up; it hit the wall hard. He picked up his plate and headed for the sink. He got halfway and stopped. “Goddamnit, Janice!” He swung himself around and hurled the plate against the wall like an Olympic discus thrower throws the disc. It hit the wall and shattered into a hundred pieces.

“Are you crazy?” Janice yelled.

“You’re making me crazy!” Rick said, throwing his arms into the air like an orchestra conductor.

Rick charged to the gift box and snatched it from the table. He held the box in the air and said, “You blame me; I know you do!”

“You’re imagining things. I never said it was your fault!”

“Then why don’t we make love? Why are you mad at me?” Rick was more pleading than angry.

Janice put her head down and said, “I'm not mad it's just...it's just that I hurt, Rick. Why can’t you understand that?”

“And you think I don’t have feelings too? that I don’t hurt?” He took a step closer, but she only backed away.

Rick became angry all over again. “If you’re not going to be able to accept this,” he said, shaking the box in the air, “then I don’t see how we can go on.”

Janice turned her back to Rick and said, “I guess my brother was right; he warned me about this. He said you’d never last.”

“Oh, that’s a rotten thing to say, Janice.” Rick’s eyes welled up.

Janice half-turned her head and said through the tears, “It’s true.”

“That’s so unfair. I’ve done everything a man can do to make this family work, but--”

“Family?” Janice blurted. She abruptly turned around and marched past Rick into the living room. As she passed by she said, “If I’m such a lousy wife then maybe you'd be happier with someone else.” She said the words but her heart wasn’t in them.

“Do you really mean that?” Rick asked.

Janice had her back to Rick. She tilted head back and then down again. “What’s the point, Rick? What’s the point?”

Rick didn’t know what to say. Janice was the only woman he’d ever loved, and without her he'd be lost. He looked at the box, and then back at Janice, who was still turned away from him. It seemed to him it was time to exit, but he didn’t know where to turn. He took two steps left, two steps right, and then he looked at the box again.

“Fine,” Rick said, “maybe you’re right. What’s the point.”

Rick wanted to set the box down but in his confusion he hesitated. Then he abruptly turned around and tossed the box onto the shelf on the wall. The shelf was jarred loose, causing all the knickknacks and pictures to fall to the floor. Janice heard the crash and turned around to see.

“Oh, my," she said.

She rushed over and picked up a silver-framed picture from the mess on the floor and started to weep. After a brief moment Rick walked over to his wife’s side; she was standing with her eyes closed, clutching the picture to her chest. He wanted to comfort her but he couldn’t get past the moment. Janice took a couple of deep breaths and opened her eyes. She slowly pulled the picture away from her bosom. They both looked at the picture in silence for a short while. Behind the cracked glass was a picture of an infant boy with a million dollar smile. He was wearing a T-shirt that had a big red heart on the front. Stitched inside were the words, “I Luv Mummy and Dady.”

“He had your smile,” Janice said softly.

"I know," Rick said. “He had your eyes.”

“Remember the day he was born?” Janice asked.

“For the rest of my life.” Rick said, as a tear rolled down his cheek.

Janice looked up at Rick. “He was such a joy, wasn’t he? always smiling and laughing.”

"He was phenomenal." Rick slipped his hand onto Janice's shoulder and pulled her closer.

They both stood quietly for a while looking at the picture. Then Janice said, “A crib death is…it’s not our fault, right? We didn’t do anything wrong…did we?”

“No, no, of course not…it’s…there’s nothing we could have done better. We were good parents…we loved him. We did the best we could.”

There was a moment of silence, and then Rick spoke.

“I still remember the first time he said ‘Dada.’ It was June twelve, 9:32 a.m."

"You remember that?"

"Of course; we were having a very serious discussion at the time, him and me,” Rick said.

“Oh, really; and what were you men of the world talking about, might I ask?”

“Well, if I recall, we were talking about women. And I told him, ‘Now, listen Gregor, women, well, they can be very dangerous. You gotta be careful 'cause, they can knock you right off your feet before you even know what hit ya.'”

“I see; that’s what you told him?”

“Yeah, that’s what I told him.” Rick managed to crack a smile.

Janice turned to face Rick. “And how do you know that? Is that just a rumor you heard or you speaking from experience?”

“Oh, it’s just a rumor I heard. Me, I’m still looking for a woman who can captivate me, who can be my reason for existing, who will let me love her with everything I got.” He ran his hand through her auburn hair. “Say, you wouldn’t happen to know a gal…who might…consider…” Rick's lip began to quiver, and then suddenly he broke down. He pulled her close to his body and held her tight.

Janice wrapped her arms around her husband and cried out, “I’m so sorry.”

“Oh, god, Janice...you mean everything to me.”

“It’s my fault,” Janice said, I’ve been so selfish. Please forgive me.”

“No. No, it’s me. I’ve been such a heel about everything. You’ve been great.”

"We can get past this; it's not too late to try again,” Rick said.

Janice searched Rick's eyes for the truth. "Do you think...do you really want to try again?"

Rick looked straight into her eyes and said, "I...want...to...have...a baby."

Janice lowered her head onto Rick's chest for a moment. Then she looked up and said gently, lovingly, "Then we will. God willing."

"Yes, God willing."

They gently parted. Janice turned around and set the picture on the coffee table behind her. Rick bent down and picked up the gift box from the floor. He turned it in his hands for a few seconds, and then he set the box by the picture.

“Happy birthday, Gregor,” Rick said.

“We love you.”

They turned to face each other. Janice cupped Rick’s handsome face in her hands while Rick gently placed his hands on her shoulders and looked into her beautiful eyes.

“You’re a good father and a wonderful husband,” she said.

“And you’re a great wife and mother.”

“I’ll always love you, Rick"

"And I'll always love you."