Gift
by Pan
“Do you like it?”
Pam looked uneasily at the present her son had gotten her. She had no idea what it was, even though he’d been raving about it for months. ‘Mom, you’re going to love your gift.’ ‘I can’t wait until you try it out.’ ‘This is going to be the best Christmas ever.’
But after unwrapping it, she didn’t have a clue what it was. Glancing up at her son’s face, she forced a look of gratitude.
“Wow,” she said. “I, uh…”
Come on, Pam, think.
“…I never would have thought to get one of these for myself.”
“I know,” her son replied, beaming down at his kneeling mother. “Well, come on! Try it out.”
“I’d love to! I, uh…”
Again, she trailed off. Her son seemed to sense her confusion, and just laughed.
“Don’t tell me you’ve never used one before.”
“Well,” she said. “…it’s been a while.”
“Just play with it,” he advised. “You’ll remember how it works.”
Reaching out and poking at the strange gift, Pam realized it was too late to admit that she had no idea what the…thing…was. Knowing her son, it was probably some new piece of technology that he’d set up for her and she’d never use, like her surround sound system or the white noise machine in her room.
Well, she’d already pretended to know what it was—now all she could do was play along and hope he didn’t ask her in a few weeks whether or not she was still enjoying it.
Hesitantly, Pam reached out and wrapped her hand around her present. It was warm to the touch, and firm. She slowly slid her fist up and down it, pausing as she got to the end.
Peeking up at her son, he seemed to be excited by what she was doing. Relaxing slightly, she kept toying with it—giving it a soft squeeze, moving her hand down to the base, rubbing her thumb against the tip. She had to admit, even though she had no idea what the heck it did, it seemed pretty fun to play with.
“Careful,” her son warned her once, when she started to use her nails, but for the most part he seemed happy to just watch his mother enjoy his gift.
“This is fun,” Pam said. Her mouth was dry, as though she hadn’t spoken for a while—how much time had passed? It felt like she’d only just knelt down and unwrapped her Christmas present a few minutes ago, but as she glanced at the clock, she realized half an hour had passed.
“I thought you’d like it,” her son gasped. He was looking strangely red-faced. “And you know…it’s flavored.”
Pam raised her eyebrows, surprised. She hadn’t even realized that the gift was edible. Pity—she had been hoping to keep it around, maybe use it as a fidget toy. Something about it made her feel…calm.
“Try it,” he grunted, and she smiled up at in response. Without saying a word, she leaned forward and stuck out her tongue, gently licking the side.
“It doesn’t really taste like anything?” she said, her eyebrows furrowed.
“Keep going,” her son said. “You’ll taste it.”
For the next few minutes, Pam licked and sucked on her son’s present. Despite her best efforts, she couldn’t taste anything more than a slightly salty flavor; familiar, but not one that she could place. She again lost track of time as her tongue explored every inch of her gift, discovering that the tip of the strange object was slightly tangier than the sides.
“Now, Mom,” her son huffed, and Pam excitedly engulfed her entire present in her mouth, keen to taste its flavor.
As though she’d reached the center of a tootsie roll, Pam’s mouth was suddenly alive with flavor. She eagerly gulped it down, relishing every gooey glop of the delicious substance.
But just as suddenly as it had coated her tongue, the mysterious fluid was gone. She spent another few minutes eagerly running her tongue across every inch of her son’s gift, but—to her disappointment—could find no trace of the liquid that had brought her such pleasure.
And—strangely—it seemed like the gift itself was tired—as Pam watched, its rigidity slowly sagged, until it was nothing but a floppy parody of its former, firm self.
Pam’s heart sank. She hadn’t even considered the idea that her son’s present was a one-use item. From how he’d described it, she’d been expecting to use it again and again—and already, she’d built up hope that she could continue to enjoy it for years to come.
“Thanks for that,” she said, again putting on a brave face. “Seriously—that was a great present.”
“I knew you’d like it,” her son smiled, resting a hand gently on her hair. “Come on—your turn.”
Less than an hour later, all of the gifts were unwrapped, and Pam sat with her child surrounded by the detritus that follows Christmas morning. Her son watched from the couch as she started sorting through the wrapping.
“What are you looking for?”
“The present you got me,” she said, slightly embarrassed. She’d been hoping that there was perhaps just a little bit of flavor left—she couldn’t get the taste out of her mind. She just wanted one more quick slurp before she threw it out.
“It’s here,” he said, and Pam’s eyes lit up. It was back to its former glory—as ready as when she’d first unwrapped it. It seemed that the mysterious gift was reusable.
“Come sit on it,” her son added.
“What?”
“It’s not just for your mouth,” he laughed. “Come on, Mom—I thought you’d had one of these before.”
“Of course I have,” she mumbled. It had been fun enough to fiddle with, and the taste had been amazing, but how could it possibly be comfortable to sit on?
Only one way to find out, Pam reasoned as she slowly lowered herself onto her son’s gift.