NO PEEKING

My arms were loaded with bags as I struggled to get my house key in the lock, when my husband Steven opened the door from the inside.

“Let me help you with those.” He reached out to take some of the bags from me.

I pulled them out of his reach. “You can’t!” I cried. “I have Christmas presents in them!”

He stood back and let me in the house. “Christmas presents?”

“You never know when you’re going to see something that would make a nice gift.” I said as I placed the bags on the couch making sure nothing was peeking out to spoil the Christmas surprise.

“You do know it’s August, right?”

Our son Alex came into the room. He looked over at all the bags sitting on the couch. “Looks like you’ve been busy.” He laughed.

“They’re Christmas presents.” I said heading for the kitchen to get a glass of water. “So no peeking!” I called.

I pulled a glass out of the cabinet and opened the freezer to grab some ice. “Oh, man! That feels good.” I said as I felt the blast of cold air hit me when I opened the door. “It must be close to 90 degrees outside.”

Steven and Alex came into the kitchen.

“It’s over 90 degrees.” Steven said.

“Exactly the kind of weather that makes me think about Christmas shopping.” Alex laughed as he went into the pantry and pulled out a bag of chips.

Steven leaned against the counter. “We’ll be thanking her on Christmas day.”

Alex nodded his head. “True.” He poured some chips onto a paper towel.

“You sure will.” I said as I filled my glass with water and took several long gulps. “Boy did I need that!” I said as I put the glass on the counter top.

“So how do you know what to shop for?” Alex took a bite of a chip. “I have no idea what I want for Christmas this year.”

“Well, it’s not like you’re seven years old and I have to wait until the last minute, when you announce the must have toy everyone is getting.” I reached over and took a chip off the paper towel. “I’m pretty confident I know what you both like.” I smiled as I popped the chip in my mouth.

Steven looked over at Alex and shrugged his shoulders. “Hey, I’m happy with new socks and underwear every year.”

“I can always use some new ones.” Alex agreed.

“Oh, come on!” I cried. “I get you more than that!” I peeked my head around the corner and pointed to the bags. “You’ll also be happy to know that’s not what’s in those bags!” I cried.

“Really?” Alex looked over at me. “So, what’s in the bags?”

Now it was my turn to laugh. “Nice try, but it’s a surprise!” I went into the living room and gathered up the bags. “Now it’s time to find some hiding places for these.”

“Are you writing down your hiding places this year?” Steven called after me. “Remember that year you found some hidden Christmas presents in February?”

“I remember.” I called as I headed for the guest room. “They turned out to be awesome Valentine’s Day presents instead!”