Love, True

The distance between them didn’t slow their affection but, the gap between Paris and New York was far from ideal. Visits had to be planned. Calls had to be made during certain windows of the day. And instead of handing it to her in person, Louis had to mail his gift early to ensure it would be delivered by today, for Cassandra’s birthday. 

Carrying it up the stairs to her two bedroom apartment, Cassandra nearly toppled over from its weight. When she finally made it into the living room, she dropped it hard on the ground. “Hope he didn’t get me anything made of glass this year,” she joked with her roommate, Sarah, who was sitting on the couch. 

“Well it looks like it’s too late now,” Sarah smirked, “after that tumble anything fragile is broken for sure!” Sarah easily picked up on Cassandra’s sarcasm, the same way best friends are able to read each other’s minds at times. “I’m guessing that there is your present from Louis?”

Checking the labels to be sure, Cassandra nodded, “Yup! Unless I have a different secret admirer in Paris. And kudos to me if I do, right!”

“All the more power to ya, hot stuff.” 

“I can’t wait to see what he got me; this thing weighs a ton,” Cassandra gave a playful kick to the box on the floor. “I know he mentioned yesterday on the phone that it was private. I’m just going to change quick and see. What time did you make tonight’s reservation?”

Sarah checked her phone, “8pm.”

“Perfect, plenty of time.” Cassandra removed her coat. Reaching out to open the hallway closet door, she started to ask a second question. However, just as her hand pulled on the doorknob, Sarah screeched out, cutting her words short.

“Wait!” She hollered, “You’re not allowed in there!”

“Um,” Cassandra stumbled back, “why not?

“It’s, uhhh. Well, you see. Errrr. It’s just that,” Sarah fumbled. Then she pretended to cough and collected herself. “Okay, fine. I’ll just admit it. I forgot to wrap my gift to you. I hid it in there, but I want it to be a surprise. So you’re not allowed in there; I don’t want you to see.”

“Oh, you’re ridiculous. You didn’t need to get me anything!”

“Girl! You know I always will,” Sarah said, “but I want to give it to you at dinner. It’s really special and I want everyone to be there to see it. Just leave your coat on the chair for now. I’ll put it away.”

“Oh, okay. Fine, I’ll wait,” Cassandra chuckled. Once more she lifted the box and scampered back to her room. She was gleeful. She was overjoyed by the many loving people in her life. But now, alone with her boyfriend’s gift from abroad, she shut out everything else. She was too excited to wait any longer. She ripped open the top and dove into a crate of multiple smaller boxes. Each one was individually wrapped and donned with a colorful bow. Taped to each bow was a small, handwritten letter, each one numbered. She was beside herself and had no idea where to start. She decided to lay them out on her floor and, as she neatly unpacked them, she discovered one larger letter that had slipped in-between the crevasses of the smaller boxes. 

“To my special girl, my love, my Cassandra. I am so sorry that I can’t be there next to you now, but know that you’re here with me in my heart. I wanted to do something different for your 25th birthday. While I haven’t known you for all 25 years of your life, over the last four I have gotten to know you very well. And in those years we’ve made so many memories that will last forever; I’ve lost count. So I wanted to give you something for the ones that matter the most. Included with this letter, you’ll find 25 boxes. Each one is unique. They are numbered for a specific reason. Please open them in order. They will tell a story. It’s a story you might not understand but, in the end, it will make sense.”

Cassandra placed the letter on the floor and scanned across the boxes surrounding her. Okay Louis, I know you’ve got a trick up your sleeve. I’m on to you, she thought to herself. Without a moment’s hesitation, she plumped herself comfortably on the floor and got to work opening the first box. 

It was extremely light, containing only a miniature glass ornament. In awe, she scanned over it quickly to check for cracks, afraid she had already ruined the gift by dropping the box only moments before. Phew, she laughed to herself, once she could see it was unscathed. The small decoration fit into the palm of her hand. When she turned it over to see the full piece, the significance jumped right at her. It was an elephant. A tiny glass elephant with small colorful swirls circling inside from the trunk and on through the belly. A smile erupted over her, so large it nearly jumped off her face. She knew what this meant without having to read the card attached. Elephants have been a bit of an inside joke between them, ever since their first date when Louis took her to a zoo. It was a wonderful date, filled with laughter and flirting and handholding and even a kiss. But the joke came when they arrived at the Elephant Den, only to find the elephants fast asleep and curled on the ground. “Oh well, date ruined,” she sarcastically said, “this is clearly a deal breaker. Sleeping elephants just won’t cut it. I guess this date is pretty much ruined then.” She was only kidding, and just trying to be coy with Louis who was so obviously trying hard to impress her. So, to play along, Louis began to make a series of funny faces in attempts to wake the animals. He did all this silently, so he knew there was really no chance of them noticing, but it was enough to make Cassandra laugh. She was watching him being himself. A complete dork, but a genuine and affectionate dork. And he melted away when she laughed, so he kept the joke running. So now every time they think of elephants he makes some sarcastic joke about all their dates being in some impending doom and makes another silly face.  

Even though she held the glass figure in her hand, it was her heart that felt warmer. She continued through the other boxes, each holding a similar memento to match another time they shared. Some were small, others large. Some were funny, and others took her breath away. At box 13, she opened an umbrella. This was of course from their second anniversary, when it started to downpour after their dinner. She had a perfectly good umbrella then, but as she was preparing to open it Louis grabbed it out of her hand and threw it to the ground. Cassandra was startled, but before she could react he pulled her onto the sidewalk by her hand and hip and proceeded to lead her in a kooky attempt of a ballroom tango. Despite being soaked to the bones, they waltzed up and down that block, swept away in the rain.  

Then box 22, which was substantially larger than the others, unveiled only a small quarter, taped to the bottom. Cassandra burst out laughing, reminded of the innocent argument they once had, where he tried to convince her that flipping a coin was a flawless way to make decisions. She double checked to make sure it was a classic G.W. original, and not some fancy state coin, since Louis was so adamant about this being a crucial ‘rule’ to the flip. She was still convinced he made the whole thing up. 

By the time she had made her way through 24 of the boxes, she had uncovered many odds and ends of their relationship. Her favorites included a half-burned Christmas scented Yankee candle, a pack of gum with exactly four and one-half pieces remaining, and a Walmart picture frame complete with the generic store showcase picture still in it. Each of these were filled with unique memoirs, shared laughs, unending debates, and above all else, filled with love. 

Then finally she arrived at the final, 25th box. She held it still between her two hands, pausing for a moment as she anticipated something extraordinary for the finale. Neatly she untied the ribbon, removed the cover, and stared into the small box. 

Empty. 

There was nothing there. Surprised she placed it back down and reached for the card. Confused, she read, 

“So now you have gone through all of our memories, and re-lived the times I cherish most. Now, this next gift is to represent our future. Open this to discover what is waiting for you.”

She knew she should have read the card first, but it still didn’t alleviate her confusion. Cassandra scratched her head. “What is waiting for you.” What on earth could he be talking about. Putting the box down, she sat another minute and took it all in. All of this was incredible and reminded her exactly how lucky she was. How happy he made her. But something was off. 

Then the lightbulb went off in her head. The future, she realized, is open ended. What was laying ahead in their future was still unwritten, and this box would be the one they would fill with the years to come. It all made sense. 

“Cass, are you done?” Sarah called out from the kitchen.

“Yeah, I’ll be right out,” Cassandra answered back through her closed door. She didn’t realize how long she had been away sitting in her room. Going through all these boxes the time had gotten away from her.

“Okay, good. Come quick, you should see this!”

Cassandra sensed a tone of urgency in Sarah’s voice. Not sure what Sarah could be referring to that was so important, Cassandra immediately rose to her feet. As she opened her door she looked back at that empty box, thinking that she felt exactly what she was expected to feel. She opened her door and walked out,  first taking a few steps while looking down at her feet, but when she lifted her gaze, she froze. Immediately struck with shock, she cupped her mouth with both hands and instantly burst into tears.

Because there, standing in her living room, was Louis. He smiled at her, shifting roses from one hand to the other. When he spoke, he did so ever so nonchalantly, “Surprise. I’ve been waiting for you.”

Running to him, she jumped into his embrace, and they held each other for an eternity. 

“I can’t believe you! When did you get here! How! I can’t believe … Oh my god!” Cassandra stuttered through her wide smile and puffy cheeks.

Louis wiped away at her eyes with his soft sleeve, “I took a late flight last night so I could get here while you were at work. Sarah worked from home so that someone could get me into the apartment. This way you wouldn’t know.”

“You almost ruined the whole surprise,” Sarah chimed in, “when you nearly opened the closet. He’s been hiding in there. This entire operation, which took weeks of planning, was almost shot to hell!” 

“Wow, I can’t believe it. I really had no idea!” Cassandra attempted to say more, but she was so overwhelmed that her words became incoherent blurts muffled by cheerful tears.

He held her, and surrounded in his arms Cassandra figured this would be as close to heaven as she’d ever be. Then he looked at her, and catching her eyes he stared into his future. He raised his hand and ever so softly brushed his fingers over her temple and through her hair, lightly caressing her ear. He did this repetitively, without taking his eyes off hers. There was an entire speech he had planned, about how incredibly happy he was to have her, but even after all the time and effort, standing there with her in his arms he couldn’t remember a word of it. So he parted his lips and uttered the only words that were on his mind in that moment, the only thought that consumed him, that pulsed through his essence right there and then.

“I love you,” he said.

“I love you,” she said back, “always.”