Thanksgiving Present

THANKSGIVING PRESENT

It was early Saturday morning. Instead of the usual sunshine, the sky was covered by gray clouds letting heavy drops of rain fall onto the streets of New York City. The wind was blowing hard making the leaves fall onto the wet ground full of puddles. There weren't many people outside, just cars and buses passing by. It was going to be a very stormy, rainy November weekend and there was nothing that was going to make Claire Anderson cheer up.

Claire Anderson was a thin woman in her mid-forties. She had short, curly, brown hair, which hung down to her neck, and blue-green eyes, which reminded her of the winter season. Living by herself in a comfortable one-bedroom apartment, Claire had friendly neighbors but no husband or children. She really wanted to have a family. Without anybody living with her, Claire felt lonely and left out most of the time when she wasn't around people. Whenever she came home exhausted from work, she expected someone to come and greet her at the door as she walked into the apartment. "What am I thinking? There is no one in the apartment," thought Claire as she turned the doorknob after coming home from another day of work.

The stormy, rainy November weekend had finally passed, and it was late Sunday evening. Claire was sitting on the sofa and reading a book, when all of a sudden tears started to trickle down her face. She hadn't been so lonely in her entire life. She tried to stop crying but she couldn't. Emotions that were bottled up inside her just came out, and took control over her. "Why did my life turn out to be this way? What have I done to deserve this? Why can't I just be happy for once?" sobbed Claire as tears continued to trickle down her red, puffy face. Feeling cold she put down her book and reached for the blanket lying on the armchair. She cuddled under the soft, warm blanket to warm up her body. She closed her tired eyes hoping that she would stop crying but it didn't help. It was as if she would never stop. This never happened to her before, and she knew that she had to do something about it before she had a nervous break down. Unfortunately, there was nothing that she could do at the moment. She felt helpless, unable to make sense of her life, and what the future held for her.

Claire was still lying in the living room when she heard a noise. She couldn't understand where it was coming from. She listened more intently to the sound, and realized that it seemed familiar to her. She heard that sound before. Of course, it was the sound of the doorbell. "Who could that possibly be? Just what I need is a visitor. I just want to be alone," muttered Claire hoping that the person standing outside would just go away. The doorbell continued to ring, so Claire decided to check who it was. She knew that if she didn't open the door, the person would not go away. When she looked into the peephole she saw her friend Andrea Johnson. She tried to wipe her face so it wouldn't look like she was crying. Of course it was no use. Her eyes were still puffy and red. Taking a deep breath, Claire opened the door and let her friend inside. Andrea held a big box in her hand. They both went into the living room and sat down on the sofa.

"What's wrong? Were you crying just now?" asked Andrea, concerned about her friend.

"No, yes, I mean I was. Yes I was crying. But I don't want to talk about it now. So what brings you to the neighborhood? And what's in the box?" replied Claire.

"If you don't want to talk about it that's okay. I understand. Oh, and the box is for you." Andrea handed the box to Claire. It was neatly wrapped with a red and blue ribbon tied around it.

"Oh, you shouldn't have. What did I do to deserve it?"

"Well, its kind of a Thanksgiving present. Go ahead, open it, and tell me what you think. But be very careful."

"But Thanksgiving is a week away?"

"I know but there is nothing wrong with giving a present early."

The box was a little heavy. Claire couldn't guess what was hidden inside. When she opened the box she saw two golden brown puppies. She couldn't believe her eyes. The puppies were so cute and adorable. A bright smile lit her face. All of a sudden her mood started to change. She was feeling a lot better now. Everything that happened to her earlier had been forgotten, at least for the moment. Even though Claire still wanted to be alone, she was really glad that her friend stopped by.

"So how do you like it? The one with the blue ribbon is a boy, and the one with the red ribbon is a girl," asked Andrea.

"I love it, but I don't know what to name them," replied Claire with excitement and joy in her voice.

"Ah, let me see? How about we name them Rocky and Roxanna?"

"I love these names a lot. Thanks Andrea. You are the best friend I could ever have. I don't know what I would do without you." Claire gave Andrea a big hug, and a few tears dropped down her cheeks. Now though, they were not tears of sorrow but tears of joy.

"You're welcome. And I will see you on Thanksgiving," said Andrea as she made her way to the door, through which she came in.

After this day Claire started to raise her two golden brown puppies as if they were her own little children. For the first time in her life she felt like part of a family. When she came home from work she had someone to come home to. She was not miserable anymore. Each new day gave her something to look forward to. The two puppies brought her love and joy every single day. It was all that Claire could ask for. It was the best gift that anyone could have given her at this moment. Her life was changed for the better and everything that happened to her in the past was very well behind her. A fresh, new life was ahead of her. And this exciting journey would be with none other than her two bundles of joy, Rocky and Roxanna.

Written in 1999...
This was an assignment for my high school short story writing class...This is the revised version...