We were living together at that point although we weren’t married or even engaged. G-man asked me many times what I wanted for Christmas that year and each time I would laugh and tell him a computer and a jeep, I want to see both of those under the tree on Christmas morning. I was joking of course. Truth be known I was just happy to be on someone’s Christmas list. The year before was my first Christmas alone and the only present I had received was a pair of panty hose from my Grandmother. (Her usual gift to the single females in the family. If you were married you got a towel set). Yes, the year before had been a very lonely and sad Christmas and all I wanted for this Christmas was to just be with the man I loved. That was more than the perfect gift as far as I was concerned.
On Christmas Eve we both had to work and didn’t get home until 8PM. By 9PM I had the chills and I couldn’t get warm for anything. It was the coldest I have ever been in my life. It was obvious I had a major illness coming on fast. G-man helped me into bed, turned the heat up and put extra covers on me but I still could not stop shaking. Finally he just put his arms around me and held me all night. There’s something to be said for body heat. That right there was the perfect present as far as I was concerned.
On Christmas morning I was torn between wanting our first Christmas together to be perfect and wanting to just lay in bed all day and sleep this illness off. I didn’t want G-man to be disappointed though so I got out of bed and tried to pretend that I was fine. He saw through that rather quickly. We had a wonderful Christmas nonetheless. There were so many presents that I simply don’t remember them all but I recall receiving a sweater, holiday earrings (I have this thing for holiday earrings), stuffed animals, etc. His big present which I gave to him was a Washington Redskins jacket and then I had given him several smaller gifts as well. After we opened the presents I jumped in the shower hoping that would make me feel better. When I got out of the shower G-man told me that he had forgotten to give me one gift. He supposed it had fallen behind the tree and he was sorry. So I walked into the living room. There it was. No, not a jeep you silly, it was a computer. That insane adorable man had bought me a computer and a printer. My mouth just hung open in shock. I was kidding about the computer and jeep you know, I told him. I know he said, I had to save the jeep for next year though. (By the way, I’m still waiting for that jeep.)
You would think that would be the end of our perfect first Christmas. Oh no, that is just the beginning. The perfect gift was yet to follow. G-man’s brother and sister in law were having a Christmas dinner at their house for the entire family and several friends. Going to a Christmas dinner was the last thing I wanted to do but for G-man’s sake I insisted I felt perfectly fine and I pulled myself together long enough to get dressed and drag myself to the car for the 40 minute drive to G-man’s brothers home. We arrive to find a house full of people and the festivities in full swing. I held it together for a bit, you have to give me credit for that. I tell you, I hung in there for a full 20 minutes. But the room started to spin and I knew I was going to collapse on the floor in front of all of those people if I didn’t do something quick. So I excused myself and asked G-man’s 15 year old nephew if I could lay down on his bed for a little bit. He was very kind and hospitable and said of course I could. I think he was just thrilled to have a female in his bed. Then I walked in his bedroom. If I wasn’t sick before I certainly was when I saw his bedroom. I have seen a lot of messy rooms in my lifetime. Hell, I have survived 3 teenagers at various times in my life so I have seen mess. This room gave new meaning to the word messy. The piles of clothes, the garbage, the smells, the probable rodents. Dear God people, the humanity! You know I was sick to be able to lay in his bed on his crusty sheets and fall asleep. In fact, hours later when I awoke I found a potato chip glued to the side of my face and he told me he hadn’t eaten chips in bed since the summer. It must have been a sour cream and onion chip because he had bits of green on it. Are sour cream and onion chips meant to be fuzzy and hairy?
G-man came looking for me and found me dozing on his nephew’s bed. He saw that I wasn’t feeling well and said that we would leave immediately. I begged him to stay and promised him I was feeling better; I just needed to lay down for a few minutes longer. I am sure he didn’t buy it but he didn’t press. I didn’t want him to leave his family Christmas. I wasn’t about to rob him of his holiday. I insisted that he go back in with his family and friends and just let me sleep for a little bit. He said okay he would. Then he rubbed my head until I fell asleep. 4 hours later I woke up feeling much better. I looked and there sat G-man on a hard wooden chair next to the bed watching me with a smile on his face. It wasn’t until the next day that I found out G-man had sat on that hard wooden chair next to the bed the entire time I slept. He refused to leave my side even for dinner. They brought him in a plate of food and he ate it while watching me sleep. But he refused to leave my side for even a second. He gave me the greatest gift of all that first Christmas and I’m not talking about the computer. He gave me the gift of himself and his love. You can’t wrap it or put a bow on it or even put it underneath the tree. But it’s a real gift, a real and lasting gift worth far more than any computer or jeep could ever be. It will forever remain the most precious gift I ever have or ever will receive. It was the perfect Christmas!
