He forgot.

 

When the alarm buzzed, James realized that he was an idiot. He had forgotten a big day.  Even after Annie got that diamond on her finger, there are still certain actions a guy must take:  Buy gift, buy large obnoxious card, search for flowers, find… Oh, he is so dead

Throwing on clothes and grabbing his wallet, James flew out to the nearest store, a CVS pharmacy.  List in hand, James checked off each gift. 

Anything wrapped sticky, chocolate covered? Check. Obnoxious glittery card? Check. Flowers? A little shy on that supply. What else? What else?  James’ chest constricted.

This gift had to be something she wouldn’t expect. 

Frustrated James looked around him and giggled. Grabbing a basket, he walked along each aisle, tossing whatever he found into the basket.  Animated teddy bear? Oh yeah.

 Hello kitty plush in a mug?  Yup.

James lost control.  Aisles rolled by a supply of miraculous items he threw into the basket. Water pistols? Heck, yeah. Six pack of Diet Coke? Hello Kitty bath toy? Better believe it.

James was exhausted. At home, he wrapped up the haul with Christmas paper, and finished just in time.  Annie walked in, giggling with delight.  When she got to the Hello Kitty, James sensed the moment passing.  Desperately, James handed her a gift bag.

Annie pulled out a red and pink wood chip wreath (good price, $25). Life was good again. Until next time. 

 

Here’s what Elephant’s Child writes to explain the Wednesday Word meme: “Essentially the aim is to encourage us to write.  Each week we are given a choice of prompts: which can be words, phrases, music, or an image.  What we do with those prompts is up to us:  a short story, prose, a song, or a poem… We can use some or all of the prompts, and mixing and matching is encouraged.” Writers may post at the word site, and/or at their own blog site. Be sure to tell the world that you wrote something really good."

I didn't underline that week's words, back in 2017, for some reason.

Elephant's child for this week.

rivioli, serenity, marble, bridge, soccer  and/or  foliage, nepotism, lectern, gorgonzola