"Switch the tags back."
"I can't. I already switched them. If I switch them again, they'll see me."
Alyx sighed. "Okay, then face the consequences."
"What consequences?"
"That your gift will be Grandma's, and Grandma's gift will be yours. When Grandma opens her gift and sees a vibrator, everyone will think her grandmother gave Lily a vibrator."
Robin put her hands to her head. "That's worse!"
"Yes, but at least you won't be the one who gave it."
"But her grandmother is going to see when Lily opens the supposed 'my gift,' which was actually hers!"
"That's not so bad."
"So what do I do when Grandma opens the vibrator?"
Alyx thought. "You sit down, smile, and say it was a mistake."
"A mistake? How can it be a mistake?"
"I don't know, but you'll have to improvise."
Robin looked at her with desperation. "Alyx, please. Help me."
Alyx looked at her, saw the panic in her eyes, and remembered all the times she had been the one who didn't fit in. The one who didn't belong. The one who had made a mistake and needed someone to save her.
"Okay," she said. "I'll help you. But when everything blows up, I know nothing."
"You're the best."
"I know."
The Living Room – 3:00 PM
Lily sat in the main armchair, surrounded by gifts. Her grandmother Lois stood up with difficulty.
"Before anyone else gives anything," the grandmother said in a firm voice, "I want to give my gift. It's the most important one."
All the women fell silent. Grandma Lois was the matriarch. When she spoke, everyone listened.
Grandma picked up the small box—the one Robin had tagged with her card. The one containing the vibrator.
Robin turned white as a sheet. Alyx squeezed her hand.
"Lily, my dear," said Grandma, "this little device has been in our family for generations. I used it. Your great-grandmother used it. Her mother didn't use this exact one, but she used one very similar. Of course, back then they were made of wood, and I suppose before that you had to do it by hand."
Lily smiled, expecting the sewing machine. "Thank you, Grandma." Meanwhile, Robin drank from her glass, surprised by the grandmother's explanation, with Alyx beside her equally astonished.
Grandma opened the wrapping. She took out the black box. She opened it.
Absolute silence.
Inside: a black plastic object shaped like... well, shaped like what everyone knew it was.
Grandma Lois held it up, admiring it through her reading glasses.
"What is this?" she asked.
Lily, eyes wide as saucers, said, "It's... a neck massager, Grandma."
"A neck massager? So small?"
"Yes, it's... modern."
Cousin Margaret, the future nun, crossed herself. Lily's mother, Janice, dropped her teacup. The aunts covered their mouths. The cousins giggled under their breath.
Grandma Lois looked at it more closely. "This was my mother's?"
"No, Grandma," Lily said quickly. "That's... that's from..."
Robin stood up. "It's mine."
Everyone looked at her.
"I mean," Robin said, her voice trembling, "it's my gift for Lily. It's a joke, to make us laugh. But... her grandmother gave it because... because I switched the tags."
"You switched the tags?" asked Janice.
"Yes. I was afraid to give my gift in front of everyone, so I switched the tags. And now her grandmother gave my gift, thinking it was hers."
The silence was deafening.
Grandma Lois looked at the vibrator. Then she looked at Robin, and then at Lily.
"And what's in my gift?" she asked.
Lily picked up the other box—the one with Robin's card. She opened it.
Inside: an antique sewing machine, small, with brass details. Beautiful, traditional, and harmless.
"It's a sewing machine, Grandma," said Lily. "Your real one."
Grandma Lois was silent for a long while. Then she looked back at the vibrator.
"So this is yours," she said, looking at Robin.
"Yes, Grandma. I'm so sorry."
"And you wanted to give it to Lily?"
"Yes, as a joke. To make us laugh."
Grandma Lois nodded slowly. Then, without another word, she turned on the vibrator.
Bzzzzzzzz.
Everyone held their breath.
Grandma put it to her neck.
"Oh," she said, closing her eyes. "That's... very nice."
"Grandma?" said Lily.
"Yes, daughter?"
"Are you okay?"
"I'm better than okay. I've had a crick in my neck for years, and no one has ever brought me something like this."
"But Grandma, that's a—"
"It's a neck massager, you said so yourself. And it works wonderfully."
Robin opened her mouth to say something, but Alyx stopped her with a hand on her arm.
"Don't say anything," Alyx whispered.
"But—"
"Let her be. She's happy."
Grandma Lois continued with the vibrator on her neck. "You know what, dear?" she said, looking at Robin. "You're the only one who thought about my neck. Everyone else only thinks about their own things."
"Grandma," said Janice, "that's not an appropriate gift..."
"Not appropriate? And what's appropriate about a sewing machine? Am I going to sew something at my age? My fingers hurt."
"But it's a family tradition..."
"The family tradition is that the women of this family spend their lives sewing while the men are off at war. Well, I've sewn enough. Now I want my neck massaged."
No one said anything.
Grandma Lois turned to Robin. "And what's your name, dear?"
"Robin. Robin Scherbatsky."
"Scherbatsky. You're Canadian?"
"Yes, Grandma."
"Well, Canadians have good taste. This device is top quality."
Robin didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "Thank you, Grandma."
"And since you're left without a gift for Lily, I'll give you mine—the sewing machine—so you can give it to her."
"Really?"
"Really. She's never going to sew anyway. She prefers to paint her nails."
"Grandma," said Lily.
"It's true, dear. Don't be angry."
Robin took the sewing machine. "Thank you, Grandma."
"You're welcome, dear. And if you want, you can keep the other one too. But I warn you, I've already grown fond of it."
Robin smiled. "You can keep it, Grandma. It's yours."
"Mine?"
"Yes. It's my gift to you. Because you deserve it."
Grandma Lois looked at her with bright eyes. "You're a good girl, Robin Scherbatsky. And I don't care that you're Canadian."
Everyone laughed, and the tension broke like a bubble.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
SPECIAL PROMOTION
Subscribe today and take advantage of the "THE DUNPHY" discount, valid until! Don't miss a single chapter of this story. IN MY PATREON
If you enjoyed it, leave a Review and Power Stones.
✅ Early access to 22 new chapters
Join LEGEN - DARY Level on Patreon
👉 https://[email protected]/cw/Day_bluefic
@=a
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Grandma Lois opened the wrong gift. Out came a vibrator. And she kept it.
What did you think of Grandma's reaction? Did you expect that?
Comment, follow, and support with power stones. 📦🔞