Chad dropped his suitcase in the hall and moved into the living room. His lazy-boy awaited him and he sank onto it with a loud groan. Too late, thoughts of sipping cold lemonade while relaxing tempted Chad’s thirst, but he ignored it. He grabbed the first bundle of letters. Advertisements went in the trashcan beside him; bills went in another pile; and personal letters – which were few for sadly, no one his age went the snail-mail route anymore, went in a special stack. Only his parents filled this category, and he smiled. Three – they must have really missed him. Letters from home would provide him with reading for later tonight when he’d reached stress-free mode. A no-rush frame of mind was necessary when reading of life at home; the dog, the horses, the neighbors, the church, and an update on his friends who’d chosen to spend their lives on the shores of North Carolina. He groaned. The beach! Maybe he needed a trip home.
Chad picked up the heap of manila envelopes. These were always work-related. It never stopped coming. Briefly, he closed his eyes and pretended it would go away, like magic, but then immediately felt guilty. It suddenly hit him he’d become a workaholic and today it did not mix well with jetlag. He compromised and scanned the envelopes and separated them according to priority. That would satisfy his obligation to duty. It was his practice to check out the sender first. This eliminated a few that almost always ended with no-way – you fix it. A smaller stack amounted to basic problems that were boring and easy enough to do in his sleep. The largest was the need-to-check-this-out pile of serious complications, and unfortunately, those challenges were accumulating way too fast.
Almost to the bottom of the envelopes, Chad double-checked to see if his eyes were playing tricks on him. He tossed the two that remained aside. He laughed outright and squinted to view the return address again. The North Pole! He wondered which one of his friends had come up with this one. Someone sure plastered on lots of stickers and sketches. They must have known he was a sucker for drawings. Chad turned it over and ripped it open. The contents fell on his knee, and he gasped.
No way! He’d just dreamed of a vacation on the beach, and presto – here it was. Well, sort of. His name was on the boarding pass for a cruise sailing out of Fort Lauderdale on July 5th. Double occupancy. He glanced at the second sheet and saw his buddy’s name on it. Yep, that was it! The next big set up! Skip was always trying to hook him up with some girl, but he’d carried this date to the extreme. He knew Chad far too well. This trip he’d have a hard time refusing.
Chad leafed through the brochure and groaned. The ocean, the adventures – what? It was a Christmas Cruise in July! That was unusual, but not unlike Skip to hunt down the one he could never turn down. Christmas was Chad’s favorite holiday. He shook the envelope, and the last item fell out. Tucked inside a Ziploc bag, resting against blue velvet background, sat half of a ship ornament hanging from a string. Half a ship? Was that like someone else had the other half? His sister owned a half necklace with that same idea, but hers was a best-friend split – B/F – with her forever-best-bud. Chad had always thought the idea corny, but that described his little sister to a T.
“Yeah, now it’s all coming together,” muttered Chad out loud. Skip had somehow fixed him up with the owner of the second half – his friend’s bizarre idea of a human scavenger hunt. He grabbed his cell phone and texted his friend.
‘Home and found the envelope. Nice going! Might have to take you up on this deal.’ A minute later, Chad received his reply.
‘What are you talking about?’
‘Don’t play dumb! You sold me. No persuasion is necessary. Putting the date on my calendar as we text. 13 days – way to go with the freebie! Guess that covers you for my birthday and Christmas this year. Thanks.’
‘We are going somewhere – as in you and me?’ came the response.
‘Enough with the dumb-act! I’m hooked. See you tomorrow morning.’
The next day, Skip Jacobs tried to deny that he’d sent the gift.
“Why would I say it came from the North Pole? And, yuck with all the weird pictures all over the envelope.”
“I like the Santa thing and all the yucky pictures. That’s what makes it my gift. Thank you for such in-depth thoughtfulness,” said Chad.
“Suppose I’ll take the credit for it since it saves me buying that shiny contraption you wanted for your car. You’re all about the shine, mate. Does that not worry you?” asked Skip.
Chad punched him. “Not in the least. I don’t wear sparkle. I just like to look at it on inanimate objects – like Christmas tinsel.”
“Yeah, Christmas. Suppose there’ll be parties and such. It is a vacation, right?”
“Right. But it seems to have a religious theme running through the fun. You up for that?” asked Chad.
“I’ve been to parties at your church,” Skip said. “Are you going to be a stick in the mud about this cruise?”
“No! Just setting you straight on what your gift involves,” said Chad.
“But there will be girls, regardless, in bathing suits, on beaches, and at the pools. Can’t go wrong with that scenery,” said Skip.
“And sweaty females in the gym,” said Chad.
“That’s more your type.”
“Looking forward to it, Skip. Already scheduled the trip on my calendar, and it’s approved.”
“Suppose I should
