The Perfect Gift

With their birthdays coming up, Almanzo and Laura go on a quest to find the perfect gift for one another. And while they manage to come up with something, they realize that they already have the perfect gift and that is each other. A one shot. Story complete in one chapter

 

 

The Perfect Gift

Almanzo was frustrated. He had looked through catalogues, ads in the papers and had even walked into the Mercantile to see what kind of jewelry they had. There was nothing at all. Well, he shouldn't say that, there were some things that had caught his eye, but he wasn't sure if Beth would like any of it. And what he had seen was a bit overpriced, at least in his opinion anyway. He wanted so much to surprise her.

Almanzo needed help and there was only one place to go for it, even though he was trying hard to resist.

He had been up to her room too many times lately, especially after he moved his family into the boardinghouse. Not that he went up there voluntarily; he went up there to fix leaks, tighten loose door knobs or to patch up a hole in the ceiling. It was the coldest room in house, Beth had said. The wind always managed to work its way into those drafty spots, didn't it?

That was the next thing he had to work on.

But lately, Almanzo had gone up there for advice. He needed to get some idea of what Laura was talking about and maybe; just maybe, she had something that he thought that Beth might like, but at a reasonable price, of course.

After all, Theadora Simms sold jewelry of all kinds, although Laura had insisted on earrings. She had never talked about anything like that before they moved into Mae Flannery's big mansion, the one that they inherited and the one Laura named the Wilder Boardinghouse. She'd been going on and on about it ever since they settled in. And since he knew nothing about earrings, he needed Thea's expert advice. He wanted to get Beth the perfect gift for her birthday and Thea promised him that if she ever got something that looked interesting, she'd let him know.

Theadora had become a regular boarder since they had moved in. She had told Mannie that the rooms were so much bigger at their boardinghouse than any other rooms she'd ever been in, plus she thought that the Wilders were the best hosts she had ever came in contact with.

Thea was a widow and sold her own handmade jewelry to make a living. Once in a while, she'd come across some beautiful jewelry dating back to the Civil War, but that was rare and expensive. In the nice weather, like today, she'd set up on the side of the house and on rainy days, she'd set up in the storage shed. If there was a market for it, she would showcase her goldsmith and metalworker's wares along with her own and sell belt buckles, brass buttons and certain jewelry. His name was Cooper Highsmith, who, Manly found to be extremely good at his craft.

Almanzo knew nothing about jewelry and even less about earrings and so he sought out Thea's advice. He was hoping that she wouldn't be busy so he could talk with her.

Luckily for him, she was there and it wasn't all that busy.

"Ah, Mannie, I'm glad you're here. I finally found something for Laura and it's reasonably priced. She was out here not half hour ago talking with Coop about something when she noticed the earrings. Here, let me show them to you and you can decide."

Thea reached underneath the table and brought up a small cardboard box. She took off the lid and there they were; two beautiful crystal earrings in the shape of a teardrop.

He picked one of them up and held it up to the light. He was fascinated.

Thea smiled. "She did the same thing, Almanzo. "

Almanzo held up the earring again and watched the colors change within it. "Beth really liked these, didn't she?"

Thea smiled. "Don't worry about the price; you can afford them, if you want them. With all the work you've done on Coop's room and mine the past six months, you've earned it."

"I can't accept that, Thea, I've got to give you something."

Thea smiled. "You've done enough on our rooms already. It's the least we can do."

"Alright," he said. "How much to have Beth's ears pierced?"

Thea shook her head. "There is never a charge for that, Mannie," she said, putting the box back. "And Coop will deliver the entire order to you tonight."

"What do you mean the entire order?" Almanzo's eyes widened. "Thea, what are you talking about?"

But Thea only smiled.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Mrs. Wilder?" Cooper Highsmith called as he knocked on the front door. He was being polite. Laura wanted him to call her by her first name; after all, they were both the same age, twenty three. He reminded her of a younger Almanzo, wavy blond hair with those same gorgeous sky blue eyes. What was really interesting was that Laura and Thea looked so much alike. They could almost pass for sisters. The differences between them were minor. Thea's hair was bit darker and graying at the sides while Laura's hair was auburn. And her eyes were hazel compared to Laura's light brown eyes.

Coop was so much younger than Thea was, but it didn't bother him one bit. His parents weren't keen on the match, she was older by ten years, but Coop adored her and all he wanted to do was marry her.

Laura smiled. Just like her and Manly, only Thea was the older one.

But he was here for one purpose and one purpose only, Laura's present for her husband was ready. It was a belt buckle specially made up for Almanzo. It had a likeness of Barnum on it, Almanzo's favorite horse. The buckle was a big, square and done up in brass. A leather belt was attached to it that Laura already paid for; she wouldn't accept it for less. They had the money and, for once, she was going to get Almanzo something that he really needed.

"Mrs. Wilder?" he called again and was about to knock again when the door opened. She was dressed in his favorite outfit, a green blouse tied at the top and matched with a long maroon skirt. Her sleeves were rolled up which meant that she was cleaning that big house.

"Hi Coop," she said smiling. "Got something for me?"

Cooper smiled. "I'd much rather show it to you inside, Laura. I think we've already attracted too much attention."

Laura smiled and opened the door wider to let him inside. "Don't let Mrs. Oleson bother you, Coop. Manly and I can handle anything that comes our way."

They wandered into the dining room where he laid out the belt and belt buckle for her inspection. "If you like it, I'll box it up and place the entire order in your room as per your instructions."

Laura smiled. It was true; they were both staying at the boardinghouse as always. They came every other month to display Thea's jewelry and the metalwork that Cooper specialized in. They always stayed in the same rooms and they preferred her boardinghouse rather than the tiny hotel rooms at Nellie's place. The rooms were less expensive, the hospitality was nicer and the food, well, there was nothing to compare to Laura's cooking.

Laura looked up at him, a wide smile on his face. "Oh, Cooper, thank you so much; Manly will be so surprised when he sees it."

She hugged him.

''It's coming up soon, isn't it?" Coop asked, as he rolled up the belt.

February 13," she said, smiling, "not too long after mine which is…"

"February 7," they both said together and smiled at each other.

"How's my present coming?" she asked.

Coop smiled and shook his head. "You're not supposed to know about any present, Laura. It's supposed to be surprise."

"Well, it will be, not sure what he's going to get me, although we talked about it some."

The truth was; he didn't know what they had talked about, Thea wouldn't tell him when he asked her last night.

"Well, I'd better go, " he said, "before Almanzo gets back from the mill. I hear Edwards is going to be joining you two."

"You and Thea are always welcome, Coop. I made plenty of chicken and dumplings tonight. Why don't the two of you join us?"

Cooper smiled and nodded. "I guess we could, I still have a few deliveries to make tonight, they're pretty close to home, but I'll mention it to Thea."

XXXXXXXXXXXX

"Where's is everybody?" Mr. Edwards asked as he sat down at the big round table in the boardinghouse kitchen.

"Mr. Montague is in his room," Laura said, opening the oven door to check on the chicken and dumplings. "He ate earlier with Jenny. She's at the Carter's with Jeb. Coop is making his deliveries and Rose is sound asleep upstairs. Manly should have been back from the mill hours ago. He's supposed to check on her…."

"I guess Almanzo and Thea are still talking to each other?"

"Third time in a row," Laura said, closing the oven door. She was checking the biscuits that went with it. They were having soup first. She needed to keep everything warm until everyone arrived. "Mr. Edwards, they were talking and laughing with each other last time I saw them which was an hour ago." She sat down at the table. "I don't think it's anything serious, he just does a lot of work …"

"There you are," Cooper said, bursting into the kitchen. "Laura, you're wanted upstairs. Mr. Edwards, help me with the food. Everyone's out back. Laura and Almanzo will meet us out there as soon as possible."

XXXXXXXXXXX

"Like your new earrings?" Almanzo said.

"You mean the studs I have to wear until my ears get used to it?"

"No, I mean the crystal ones," he answered, smiling. "And that belt buckle."

"Cooper worked his heart out to make it just right." Laura looked at him. "We should have opened these downstairs in front of everybody."

Manly smiled and touched her cheek. "No, I wanted some privacy, Beth. I wanted to see your face when you opened them."

Laura smiled and nodded. "I should have realized that's why you kept company with Thea."

"Hey, you and Cooper have been keepin' close company lately, workin' on this belt buckle together."

They both laughed and Laura hugged him. "I know you were working hard to find me the perfect gift," she said looking in his eyes.

Almanzo smiled and kissed the tip of her nose. He shook his head. "Oh, Laura," he said, "If I've learned anything, it's this. I already have the perfect gift and that is the gift of your love and your friendship. There is nothing in the world that tops that, nothing. That's the only the gift I've ever wanted and that's the only gift I'll ever need. I don't want anything else. Please don't ever take that away from me."

"I don't plan to, Manly. I'm not going anywhere. "

He smiled and looked into her eyes. "I love you, Beth."

"And I will never stop loving you, Manly."

He smiled widely and, as they lost themselves in each other's arms, their kiss was interrupted by a knock on their bedroom door.

"Hey you two," Mr. Edward's voice called out. "Let's go. You're missin' some great food and you're needed downstairs."

"We'll be right there," they both called out.

"What's going on downstairs?" Laura asked as Almanzo pulled her up.

"I think Coop is poppin' the question, Beth, and they need us as witnesses. You ready to find out?" He held his hand out and Laura took it.

"As I'll ever be," she answered.