The Other Woman

A few years ago, I encountered the ‘The Other Woman’.

I had been the sole local-aunt-by-blood to little A. I loved indulging him and listening to the absurd things only little people (and some adults) can spout.

Then, my cousin B relocated to our part of the country. She carried a rash of junk food each time she met A. This was something I could not do; snacks had a way of disappearing around me. To compensate, I tried playing video games with A but they went over my head. Helplessly, I watched A getting charmed by the new Aunt in town.

Soon A’s birthday was around the corner. B rang to discuss gift ideas. I knew A’s heart was set on an expensive game specific game. For a moment, I toyed with splitting the cost with B. Bitter sense prevailed in the end and I kept mum. B was considering giving cash to the little one. <grimace>

I placed the order online and even carefully picked an Avengers-themed gift wrapper. Unfortunately, as it emerged, I had added the item to the cart but missed checking-out. A gift card from Target had to do.

I watched A closely for the “present face.” It appears pre-schools have made faking excitement at a gift a core part of their curriculum. A’s reaction to the boring white envelope from B however, was markedly different. He squealed with delight. Shouldn’t pre-schools be teaching authenticity to the tots?

Gently, later pointedly reminding that the value of the gift card was more than the envelope was to no avail. See, the experience of holding a tight wad of crisp $1 bills that he could hide under his bed, outdid the value. Who knew.

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