For My Beloved

Word Count: 280

    I wandered aimlessly through the store, looking for the perfect gift.  I was looking for an item that would signify to my beloved the extent of my love and devotion to her.  I had asked her what she wanted and she had been slightly less than helpful. 

    “Oh, I don’t know,” she had said, “I am really getting tired of doing the dishes; maybe we could get a new dishwasher?  Or perhaps you could fix this one?”  She looked dreamily into space, “Getting the furnace fixed would be nice, or maybe you could spend a Saturday fixing it instead of fishing or playing rugby, it would be nice if you were around and I worry about the children’s lips always being blue.”

    I had told her that would be like buying her a vacuum cleaner or something and that there was no way I was buying my wife something to work with for Christmas.  She needed a toy or some luxury, a necessity was not a gift.

    I continued to wander the aisles aimlessly and then I saw it.  It sparkled in the velvet lined case.  Smooth sensual lines blended into efficient working opulence.  It was, the perfect gift, beauty blended with function, seduction with purpose.  It was a luxuriant necessity, bit beyond what I could afford, but damn it was beautiful, and she was worth every penny of it.  It was, the perfect gift, something she would treasure forever and that I was proud to give her.

    I looked at the kid behind the counter, “I want that one,” pointing to the particularly stunning object.

    “Good eye Sir,” he said. “That’s the best there is, best bait-casting reel available.”

Word Count: 280