The gift
A clown at the door. A gift. A future?
“Here’s a little something to let you know how I really feel.”
Reggie put down the note and looked around. He didn’t see a gift or anything really. It wasn’t signed so he was really confused. Suddenly there was a knock at the door. He turned walked over to the door and opened it.
A clown stood at the doorstep. It was one of those rent-a-clowns for jokes or birthdays. This clown didn’t seem happy, though.
“Are you Reginald Johnson?” The clown asked.
Reginald nodded, a little nervous. The clown reached into a sack and pulled out a small box. He handed it to Reginald.
“Here’s a little something to let you know how I really feel,” said the clown. And he walked away without saying another word.
“Hey, wait…” Reginald said, the words drifting off into the wind. But the clown kept walking and never turned back.
He looked at the box and recognized it. In an instant, his eyes began to moisten and his future turned bleak. “Could it be?” he wondered.
He opened it and saw he was right. He did know this box. It was the engagement ring he had given Tiff last week.
Reginald told himself to expect this, after the mess he had made at the announcement dinner. He came in drunk and proceeded to make a fool of himself. He didn’t remember exactly what happened but his friends told him.
The one thing he did remember was the red color on Tiff‘s face and the tears flowing down her cheeks. He could never forget that even though he passed out soon after.
He set down the box and walked into the kitchen, looking to drown his sorrows and crawl into that bottle of whiskey waiting on the counter.
“That’s what she thought of me. This is what I think of myself,” he thought.
He poured the smooth brown liquid and took a gulp. He never stopped.
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