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Alice thought it was strange Dal wanted to meet somewhere public to exchange gifts but she was too excited to truly raise questions. The park was still and the sky so perfectly blue that, if it wasn’t for the chill of the wind, some might imagine it to be a summer day. Alice buried her face deeper into her scarf and hugged the Christmas bag. She was early, but she wanted to take a moment to enjoy the peace of the park and people watch from her secluded bench. There weren't many people to watch though the occasional nuclear family ran by or a lone person walking their dog.
She assumed she would have plenty of time to herself–she was always early and Dal was always late–but when the distant clock chimed, she saw Dal approaching from the parking lot. She glanced at her phone and smiled. He was right on time.
She waved to him and while he didn’t wave back, she saw a small smile spread across his face. He still wore his favorite graphic tee but thankfully had the good sense to throw a small jacket overtop. He kept his hands stuffed in his pockets even as he sat next to Alice on her bench.
“Hey.”
“Hi,” she giggled. He frowned, well, pouted at that.
“What?”
“You’re early,” she hummed. Dal rolled his eyes.
“You’re early,” he replied. “I’m right on time.”
“Sure, but for you, that’s early.” She pushed her gift bag into his arms with a grin. He eyed it with suspicion and when he looked at her, she clapped her hands together. “Merry Christmas! Open it, open it.”
She wondered if he would argue with her that since he couldn’t afford to get her anything, she shouldn’t have gotten him something. Alice was prepared, of course, with a counter argument of why he had to accept her gift regardless and that she wouldn’t take it back. To her surprise, though, Dal began to pull the wrapping paper out albeit with a lot of caution. He eventually found the gift within the bag and held it up so he could properly look at it.
“There’s a few in there,” Alice began quickly. “I wanted to make a couple for all the things you like.”
“Make?” Dal repeated. He folded the t-shirt more gently than she’d ever seen him fold something before and laid it on his lap. It was a black tee with a cartoon fox ironed onto it. He pulled out the next one, a Goriallz shirt, and the next, a swampland with the words ‘SWAMPER? I HARDLY KNOW HER!’ in big, green letters.
“Oh, yeah,” Alice laughed. “I made them myself. It wasn’t too difficult once I got the hang of it and there were a lot of cool design inspirations on Pinterest.” She paused and pulled ay her scarf. “Do you like them?”
Dal was silent for a moment as he cradled the shirts in his lap. Then, he said, “They’re… really nice. Thank you, Alice,” and he smiled so softly Alice worried she might cry. She rubbed her eyes and glanced quickly at the hot chocolate cart towards the center of the park. “Do you want to grab something warm to drink?”
He didn’t answer. Instead, he took her hand in his and stood. When she met his eyes, he looked away and flushed. “I have to show you your gift,” he mumbled. Stunned, she followed him as he led her down one of the park paths to a small, sheltered pond half-frozen over. The bushes along the pond’s edge had been wrapped in twinkling fairy lights and hand-cut snowflakes hung from tree branches by string.
Alice gasped and Dal squeezed her hand. “I was here this morning setting it up,” he muttered. “I thought you might like it, ‘cause I remember you talking about something similar in one of those books you were reading.”
“You remembered?” Alice asked and Dal shrugged his shoulders. He dug his toe into the dirt path and avoided eye contact with her.
She laughed and placed her hands on his cheeks, watching him jump and finally look at her. “Your hands are cold,” he said.
“This is the best present I could have gotten,” she replied. “I really mean it. Thank you.” Dal removed her hands from his face and pressed a light kiss onto her fingertips.
“Merry Christmas, Alice.”
“Merry Christmas, Dal.”