Cecelia Ahern - The Gift

“He what?”

“Yeah, he gave me a job.” Gabe grinned and winked. “A promotion.”

Before Lou had the opportunity to respond, a waitress approached them with a tray.

“Would anybody like some food?” She smiled.

“Oh, no, thank you, I’ll wait for the shepherd’s pie.” Lou’s mother smiled at her.

“This is the shepherd’s pie.” The woman pointed to a mini blob of potato sitting in a minuscule cupcake holder.

There was a moment’s silence, and Lou’s heart almost ripped through his skin from its hectic beating.

“Is there more food coming later?” Marcia asked.

“Apart from the cake? No” — she shook her head — “this is it for the evening. Trays of hors d’oeuvres.” She smiled again as though not picking up on the hostility that was currently swirling around her.

“Oh,” Lou’s father said, trying to sound upbeat. “Then you can just leave the tray here.”

“The whole tray?” She looked dubious.

“Yes, we’ve a hungry family here,” Lou’s father said, taking the tray from her hands and placing it on the tall table so that everybody had to stand up from their chairs in order to reach.

“Oh, okay.” She watched it being placed down and slowly backed away, trayless.

“You mentioned a cake?” Marcia asked, her voice high-pitched and screechy.

“Yes.”

“Let me see it, please,” she said, casting a look of terror at Lou. “What color is it? What’s on it? Does it have raisins? Daddy hates raisins.” They could hear her questioning the waitress as she headed to the kitchen, her cardboard box of damage-limitation items in hand.

“So, who invited you, Gabe?” Lou felt anxious, not wanting to discuss Gabe’s promotion any longer.

“Ruth did,” Gabe said, reaching for a mini shepherd’s pie.

“Oh, she did, did she? I don’t think so.” Lou laughed.

“Why wouldn’t you think so?” Gabe shrugged. “She invited me the night I had dinner and stayed over at your house.”

“Why do you say it like that? Don’t say it like that,” Lou said childishly, squaring his shoulders at him. “You weren’t invited to dinner in my house. You dropped me home and ate leftovers.”

Gabe looked at him curiously. “Okay.”

“Where is Ruth, anyway? I haven’t seen her all night.”

“Oh, we’ve been talking all evening on the balcony. I really like her,” Gabe responded, mashed potato dribbling down his chin and landing on his borrowed tie. Lou’s tie.

At that, Lou’s jaw clenched. “You really like her? You really like my wife? Well, that’s funny, Gabe, because I really like my wife, too. You and I have so fucking much in common, don’t we?”

“Lou,” Gabe said, smiling nervously, “you might want to keep your voice down just a little.”

Lou looked around and smiled at the attention they’d attracted and playfully wrapped his arm around Gabe’s shoulder to show all was good. When the eyes looked away, he turned to face Gabe and dropped the smile.

“You really want my life, don’t you, Gabe?”

Gabe seemed taken aback, but he didn’t have the opportunity to respond. Just then, the elevator doors opened and out fell Alfred, Alison, and a crowd from the office party. Despite the noise of Lou’s father’s favorite songs blaring through the speakers, they managed to announce themselves to the room loud and clear, dressed in their Santa suits and party hats, blowing their noisemakers at anyone who so much as looked their way.

Lou darted from his family and ran up to the elevator, blocking Alfred’s path. “What are you all doing here?”

“We’re here to par-taay, my friend,” Alfred announced, swaying and blowing a party horn in his face.

“Alfred, you weren’t invited,” Lou said loudly.

“Alison invited me.” Alfred laughed. “And I think you know better than anyone how hard it is to turn down an invitation from Alison. But I don’t mind being sloppy seconds.” He laughed again, wavering drunkenly on the spot. Suddenly his sight line moved past Lou’s shoulder and his expression changed. “Ruth! How are you?”

With a swallow, Lou turned around and saw Ruth behind them.

“Alfred.” Ruth folded her arms and stared at her husband.

“Well, this is awkward,” Alfred said. “I think I’m going to go and join the party. I’ll leave you two to bludgeon each other in private.”

Alfred disappeared, leaving Lou alone with Ruth, and the hurt on her face was like a dagger through his heart. He’d gladly have anger any time.

“Ruth,” he said, “I’ve been looking for you all evening.”

“I see the party planner, Alison, joined us, too,” she said, her voice shaking as she tried to remain strong.

Lou looked over his shoulder and saw Alison, little dress and long legs, dancing seductively in the middle of the floor.

Ruth looked at him questioningly.

“I didn’t,” he said, the fight going out of him, not wanting to be that man anymore. “Hand on heart, I didn’t. She tried tonight, and I didn’t.”

Ruth laughed bitterly. “Oh, I bet she did.”

“I swear I didn’t.”

“Anything? Ever?” She studied his face intently, clearly hating herself, embarrassed and angry at having to ask.

He swallowed. He didn’t want to lose her, but he didn’t want to lie. “A kiss. Once, is all. Nothing else.” He spoke faster now, panicking. “But I’m different now, Ruth, I’m — ”

She didn’t listen to the rest of it. She turned away from him, trying to hide her face and her tears from him. She walked over and opened the door to the balcony.

“Ruth — ” He tried to grab her arm and pull her back inside.

“Lou, let go of me. I swear to God, I’m not in the mood to talk to you now,” she said angrily.

He followed her out onto the balcony, and they moved away from the window so that they couldn’t be seen by anyone inside. Ruth leaned on the edge of the railing and looked out at the city, the cold air blowing around them. Lou moved close behind her, wrapped his arms tightly around her body, and refused to let go, despite her body’s going rigid as soon as he touched her.

“Help me fix this,” he whispered, close to tears. “Please, Ruth, help me fix this.”

She sighed, but her anger was still raw. “What the hell were you thinking? How many times did we all tell you how important this night was?”

“I know, I know,” he stuttered, thinking fast. “I was trying to prove to you all that I could — ”

“Don’t you dare lie to me again.” She stopped him short. “Don’t you dare lie when you’ve just asked for my help. You weren’t trying to prove anything. You were fed up with Marcia ringing you, fed up with all the details, you were too busy — ”

“Please, I don’t need to hear this right now.” He winced.

“This is exactly what you need to hear. You were too busy at work to care about your father or about Marcia’s plans. You got a stranger who knew nothing about your father’s seventy years on this Earth to plan the whole thing for you. Her.” She pointed inside at Alison, who was now doing the limbo, revealing her red lace underwear to all who were looking. “A little tramp whom you probably screwed while dictating the party guest list,” she spat.

“That didn’t happen, I swear. I know I messed everything up. I’m sorry.” He was so used to saying that word now.

“And what was it all for? For a promotion? A pay raise that you don’t even need? More work hours in a day that just aren’t humanly possible to achieve? When will you stop? When will it all be enough for you? How high do you want to climb, Lou?” She paused. “Last week you said that a job can fire you, but a family can’t. I think you’re about to realize that the latter is possible after all.”