Choosing a Gift Is Difficult
Choosing a gift is difficult. With only two days left until Eve’s birthday, Caramel and I couldn’t decide whether the blunt phrasing was something we should consider fortunate or something that should leave us flustered.
“Still, I suppose we should count ourselves lucky that the date hasn’t passed us by.”
“The problem is that only two days remain, though.”
“……”
I stared at Caramel with shameless eyes and asked, “Caramel, it feels like the first and last time I truly need you has arrived.”
“What are you saying to a hardworking part-timer?!”
Caramel protested, but I only half-listened.
“Do you happen to know what’s trending with kids these days?”
“Trending…?”
“You mentioned having younger siblings, so I figured you’d know better than I would.”
“Well… um… I’m not entirely sure myself……”
Caramel avoided my gaze. So she didn’t know. It seemed her siblings gave her quite a hard time. This was going to be a problem.
Eve’s birthday gift. I knew the fastest way was to ask her directly. The issue was that posing the question “Is there anything you’d like?” with only two days until her birthday essentially meant confessing to the child that I had only just learned when her birthday was.
Realizing a child’s birthday a mere two days in advance—my pride as her guardian refused to allow it.
…Though truthfully, I was already disqualified from the role.
“Caramel.”
“Yes, sir.”
“This is a temporary alliance. Just this once.”
“It can’t be helped. But there will be no cutting in line by finding a gift first, got it?”
“Agreed.”
We needed no lengthy discussion. Even without trading many words, we understood we were thinking the exact same thing.
Since it had come to this, it would have to be a surprise. If we hadn’t prepared from the start, we simply needed to create a reason why we hadn’t prepared. We absolutely had to pull off a party that would astonish Eve.
*
The first place my feet carried me was the bakery. Popular shops fill their cake orders in the blink of an eye. With only two days’ notice, it would be even worse.
“For two days from now? It happens that a customer just canceled their reservation, so it’s possible. Shall I prepare a cake for you?”
Was it luck? Somehow, I had managed to catch the very last train.
With the cake secured, next came the party venue and the food. For the venue, I decided to close the pharmacy and use it instead. At this point, choosing anywhere else was far too late.
Preparing food that Eve would enjoy fell to me. The menu had already taken shape inside my head. Unlike the cake, I didn’t need to place orders immediately, so I simply narrowed down a few restaurants for takeout.
“Now all that remains is the birthday gift itself…”
The most important part, left until last. I had been running around since morning, yet nothing had sparked even the slightest idea.
I browsed the toy store as well, but Eve’s age presented the real problem. The moment I spotted something that seemed perfect, I watched a child who looked four or five years younger than Eve pick out the exact same toy.
My first thought was oh no. Was this actually a toddler toy meant for children much younger than Eve?
Toys that looked identical to me might represent a significant generational divide to her. She might not even be at an age where she played with such things anymore….
I wandered the shopping district for a long time. My restless pacing only made me more conspicuous.
“Hey, you there, teacher! What are you doing moping around in broad daylight?”
“……? Oh, Mr. Zeke.”
“If you’ve got nothing better to do, come have a drink.”
As usual, I had run into Zeke, who was already planted in the pub drinking from early afternoon.
I couldn’t simply greet him and walk away. I drifted into the pub almost against my will. I don’t usually enjoy daytime drinking, but I couldn’t sit there empty-handed, so I ordered a modest whiskey.
Zeke downed a beer the size of a crate as if it were water and asked, “Hmm? Eve’s birthday is the day after tomorrow?”
“Yes. That’s right.”
“So that’s why you’ve been running around since morning—very unlike you, teacher.”
“…Things aren’t unfolding quite as planned, in more ways than one.”
I let out a sigh. “Mr. Zeke, do you have any good ideas?”
“Look here, teacher. No matter how desperate you are, do you honestly think you’ll get a proper answer from me?”
Zeke pointed at his scar-covered face as he spoke. Even after asking the question, I immediately regretted it. Of all people, why had I asked him about a child’s gift? Someone even less connected to such matters than I was.
“Hey! Anyone here got kids?! The pharmacy teacher’s little lady has her birthday in two days!”
Zeke apparently decided collective wisdom was the better route and began questioning the customers around us. I was momentarily startled by his sudden move, but that lasted only a second. The patrons who had been chatting and drinking a moment earlier began chiming in one after another.
“Ah, you mean that adorable girl from the pharmacy?”
“She doesn’t even cry when she sees Zeke? Kekeke, is that even possible?”
“If she doesn’t cry looking at that face, she’d probably accept any gift you gave her.”
A few of them spoke in serious tones.
“Ahem, you clearly don’t understand. Kids are incredibly sensitive about these things.”
“What would you know?”
The man said he had a daughter. “Listen. A while back, for my daughter’s birthday, I bought her that grizzly-bear doll she’d been singing about nonstop. You know the one?”
“Teddy bear…? Ah, you mean the character from that cartoon that’s popular with kids lately.”
“Exactly! She’d been begging for it for months, so I bought her the most expensive one. Want to know what she said?”
“It wasn’t what she wanted?”
“She told me seals are trending now, not grizzlies. …Wait, was it sea lions?”
“Aren’t they the same thing?”
“That’s what I’m saying! Kids’ trends change in the blink of an eye. Buy according to our standards and you’ll just get an earful from your wife.”
After that came a string of heartbreaking parenting stories I could barely listen to without tearing up. As the veteran fathers shared their woes, I quietly sipped my whiskey. With no ideas of my own, the only thing growing was my ever-expanding “never buy this” list.
Well… at least I didn’t have a wife to scold me, so my situation was slightly better.
Zeke spoke to me as if offering comfort. “They talk like that, but honestly, I think Miss Eve would happily accept anything if it came from you, teacher.”
“…Actually, that’s the bigger problem. Eve is so kind. She’d smile brightly and bow politely even if I gave her a cheap box of candy. Because Eve is kind. She’s an angel.”
“Hearing the same words twice from you is starting to feel like pure favoritism.”
“Anyway, because she never expresses her likes or dislikes, it actually makes things harder. I want to make Eve genuinely happy.”
“I can’t recommend anything specific, but don’t worry too much even if it doesn’t go perfectly, teacher. It’s not like this is her only birthday, right?”
Zeke chugged his beer and continued, “If the reaction isn’t great, there’s always next year. If the grizzly doesn’t work, try the seal. If the seal doesn’t work, then the next one… ugh, anyway, you get what I’m saying?”
“I suppose that’s true.”
“Anyway, good luck, teacher. And give my regards to the young lady.”
“I’ll keep it in mind. Thank you for your help, Mr. Zeke. And thank you, everyone.”
I pulled a few bills from my wallet and set them on the counter. “As thanks, this round is on me. Enjoy yourselves.”
Cheers erupted from the uncles. I had wanted to make Eve happy, yet here I was, listening to applause from a bunch of bearded old men… Somehow my shoulders felt a little heavier.
*
After leaving the pub, I set out once more with renewed determination. Zeke had told me it was fine even if I failed, but I had no intention of failing.
I erased the idea of toys from my mind. The chances that something I chose recklessly wouldn’t suit Eve’s taste were simply too high.
What about something related to drawing, which Eve loved? I had already bought her sketchbooks and paints, but perhaps something a little more high-end… There had been a time when I thought that was a good idea.
Buying them was fine. But would giving Eve expensive art supplies actually mean anything? And if it did, what would that meaning be? Would she even like it? She would say she liked it. Because Eve is kind.
But the one receiving the gift was Eve. If she couldn’t tell the difference between those supplies and ordinary paints, then it would simply be my own self-satisfaction. I didn’t want to brush this off with money.
“Oh my, aren’t you… Eve’s guardian?!”
Just then, a familiar voice reached my ears. It was the elf teacher I had met during the school observation, waving at me.
“……Ah.”
She looked so different in casual clothes compared to when I had seen her at school that I didn’t recognize her at first. Elves were common enough in the area that I saw them often, yet the atmosphere was entirely different from when she was sweating over childcare.
“I thought you looked familiar and kept watching, and it really was you. Hehe~”
“We meet in a place like this. Hello, teacher.”
“You looked rather serious, so I debated whether I should say something.”
“Did I look that way?”
She smiled awkwardly and nodded. Well, standing with a grave expression in front of a store children would love was bound to draw attention.
“Is Eve lost, or…?”
“No, she’s playing with her friends right now. Actually, there’s something I need to buy… and I’m a little stuck on what to get.”
“Oh my, you’re troubled?”
Even while wondering if it was rude to burden a passing teacher with my personal problems, I briefly explained the situation. She laughed brightly.
“Choosing birthday gifts for children is difficult, isn’t it? Especially when you’re trying to keep it a surprise.”
“I still can’t seem to find the right direction.”
“Personally, I would recommend simply asking Eve, but that’s not what you want. You want to see her genuinely surprised face. That’s why you’ve been worrying so long.”
I smiled awkwardly.
…I could never admit that I had only learned about Eve’s birthday today.
The teacher, who had been thinking for a moment, asked me, “Hmm~ If it’s all right with you, would you like a little help?”