admin
Especially after his death, Gracie Harper never imagined that her husband Victor would take her by surprise.
He had never given her his first wife present in their 28 years of marriage. Not on holidays, birthdays, or anniversaries. They had a great life together, so it wasn’t that he didn’t care for her.
Even yet, Gracie had been secretly wondering about her husband’s first present to her for years. He was carrying furniture when they first met one morning at the hotel where she was a manager.
Although Victor was a blue-collar worker who worked as a loader, Gracie found something endearing in his calmness and gentleness.
She had invited him out, and she never turned around. Victor’s fortunes turned around two years after they were married.
He was hired as an assistant to Mr. Borris, the owner of a large furniture firm. Mr. Borris had no successors of his own and handed the business to Victor upon his death.
Victor managed the responsibilities effectively, expanding the company and making it a major success. Even after Victor’s financial situation improved, he continued to never give Gracie any presents.
He was giving to all the others. He gave to charity, their kids went to the finest schools, and he even purchased gifts and books for children in orphanages.
However, Gracie? Her husband’s first present to her was never given to her. She had made an effort to comprehend.
She didn’t mind that they didn’t have much money at the beginning of their marriage. However, he seemed to disregard her desires despite his increasing fortune.
She would feel a little ashamed that she had nothing of the kind to display when she saw her friends flaunting their jewels and presents from their spouses.
She had even cooked up a narrative to tell them that she and Victor had “banned gifts” in order to avoid showing their love with worldly possessions. But she couldn’t help but feel wounded on the inside.
Gracie made the decision to give up details about a diamond brooch she liked one day. Perhaps, she reasoned, Victor would take the hint.
Although she made a suggestion, she still didn’t anticipate that her husband’s first present to her would arrive immediately after his departure.
Following his death, Gracie found it difficult to move on. She stayed at home for days, surrounded by recollections of their shared existence.
She battled the hole he left behind and missed him terribly. She found herself chatting to him every time she saw their pictures, expressing how much she missed him and wished he was still with her.
On the morning of their wedding anniversary, ten days later, Gracie sat in the living room, staring at Victor’s picture with tears in her eyes. The doorbell rang abruptly.
There was nobody there when she opened the door. Then, when she glanced down, she saw a package on her doorstep with the words “From Victor to Gracie” written on top.
She discovered an advent calendar with 28 numbered boxes, each of which represented a year of their marriage, along with a note. Gracie opened the letter with trepidation and started reading:
My darling, happy 28th anniversary. I apologize for not giving you any presents throughout the years.
You are aware of my challenging upbringing—how my stepmother only gave a damn about my father’s finances once he remarried after my mother died.
She grabbed everything that should have been mine when dad passed away and tossed me out. I vowed never to be used for financial gain by anybody.
When I was only 17 years old and beginning over. I knew you weren’t like that when we first met, but the wounds from my past continued to haunt me. I was worried that if I began giving you presents,
It might cause a shift in our relationship, even after I achieved success. I didn’t know how to get over that dread, even though it didn’t make logic and wasn’t fair to you.
I knew I had made a mistake when you offered a suggestion concerning the diamond brooch. I knew I didn’t have much time, but I wanted to make it up to you.
I created this calendar for you with a friend’s assistance. Even though I can’t be there to see it, I hope it makes you happy.
When Gracie opened the first package, labeled “28th,” tears were running down her cheeks. She discovered the diamond brooch she had alluded to within.
She discovered tickets to Paris, where they had gone on their honeymoon all those years before, in the next box.
Each box included a thoughtfully selected present, such as a diamond necklace, a scent she loved, or recollections of their time spent together.
Even though he had found it difficult to express it, every gift was a representation of the love he had for her.
Gracie would open a new box every day, sensing Victor’s presence in every object he had left behind. She understood that behind the wounds of his history, his love had always existed.
Even though Victor is no longer with her, he had given her a reminder that love isn’t always about the things we give but rather the intentions behind them. What Does This Story Teach Us?
Even when someone doesn’t want to harm us, their behavior might sometimes be influenced by their prior experiences. Victor’s treatment of Gracie was impacted by his early fear of losing love to materialism.
Frequently, a situation is more complex than it first seems. Because Victor never bought her anything, Gracie assumed he didn’t care, yet he loved her more deeply than she realized.
This tale about a dad who sits about all day until his silent kid takes things into his own hands could be of interest to you if you liked this one.