Triplets

There was something about Christmas that brought me and my dad closer each year. It's not to say that we weren't close anyway, but whenever the end of the year came around and it was time to get into the holiday spirit, we always got together and conspired against my mum on a certain type of present. Last year it was a mechanical dog because we knew how allergic she was when it came to being around them and taped to the side of it was a box of her allergy tablets with a note that said "So you don't die!" which was my personal touch to it, but her face was priceless when she opened it.

This year was no different but for some reason it had been misplaced somewhere so it wasn't under the tree when we opened presents. So naturally when my mum went upstairs to put away all the lovely presents she received, I began hunting through the bags that were still stacked upon one another in the sitting room, a clear indicated that we hadn't entirely shifted through all our stuff and got settled in.

"What you doing, Gabe?" my dad asked when he came into the room.

I looked up from the bag that I had almost tipped out entirely. "Looking for mum's present. You know, the one we got for her this year."

He pointed to the bag by the window. "Is it in there?"

"Nope, I checked."

I went back to checking the rest of the bag I was at while my dad went over to the bag he pointed at and looked for himself. Knowing my luck, he'll find it in the bag and just think I was too lazy to look for it and made him do it instead, which I might have been guilty about doing in previous years but this year I was older so less lazy in my eyes. Well, when it comes to certain things I'm less lazy.

Buying my mum a present that wasn't supposed to be entirely serious started when I was a child and went through a period where I refused to do anything with my mum and didn't even talk to her, no matter what was said. I don't know why I refused to talk to my mum and I would never do anything like that now, but for some reason I needed to distance myself from her and at the age I was, not speaking to her seemed like the only way I could do that because if I spoke with her and spent time with her, I'd be close to her and I just couldn't do that at the time. But the way my dad tried to get me to stop distancing myself was to take me out at Christmas time and tell me to get my mum any present I wanted. It could be a terrible present or a cheap present, just so long as I was the one who chose it. So I brought her a book called 10 Ways to be Great: Mother's Edition and for some reason it broke down the barrier I'd put up by ignoring her and I became close to her again.

Now I just buy a present because it's tradition.

After few moments, I heard my dad stop rummaging through the bag so I looked back at him and saw him holding the wrapped up present. "It was under the bag, Gabe," he said.

"Oh." I shrugged, taking it from him and placing it on the table. I then went out into the hallway and stood at the bottom of the stairs. "Hey mum!" I shouted, holding onto the banisters as I looked up.

She appeared in the hallway a moment later and looked down at me. "What?"

"Dad and I were going through our bags and you still have a present to open!" As soon as the words came out of my mouth, she squinted her eyes and looked at me suspiciously. I bet she thought we'd forgotten about this present for this year. But even so, she appeared at the top of the stairs and came down swiftly.

"It's never a good idea to leave you and your father alone at this time of year," she sighed. I chuckled.

The present year was something that I'd just recently thought of to get her, and even though I was sure it would be taken light-heartedly by mum, I was still slightly worried that maybe it wasn't the best present to get her at this specific moment in time. I had even debated about it last night but now it would seem that I couldn't back out of giving it to her so I could only hope that she would take it well and know that I only mean the best with love when she opens it.

My dad spoke when we came into the room. "I would like you to know that your son was the genius behind the present and that I had nothing to do with it."

She smiled and gave a laugh as I handed her the present. I stood against the wall and watched as she sat on the sofa and began opening it. Once the paper was off, she opened the box and pulled out the piece of paper that had been in there as well. "'Just in case you need it soon,'" she read out before putting it to one side and pulling the present out of the box, her face contorting into an even bigger smile while she laughed.

This seemed promising.

"I don't know whether or not to be offended, Gabe," she said.

"But you laughed so it's not that offensive," I reasoned.

She held the present up to me. "You brought me a wig!"

"You're the one who said the treatment could cause your hair to fall out over time."

My mum shook her head at me and opened her arm out to me, which made me roll my eyes but go over to her, bending down slightly and giving her a hug. "You're something else, Gabriel," she muttered into my ear.

I laughed and pulled back. "I'm your son - what else did you expect?"