Where You Are

Tirana

Birgitta

Petra: He says, and I quote, 'I'm not buying her a fucking crystal!'

Petra's message arrived a few days after her initial inquiry.

Birgitta: I don't want him spending a fortune on it!
Petra: Well, looks like he's going to one way or another so you may as well get what you want out of it
Birgitta: I really don't care what he gets!
Petra: Yeah, but he does!
Birgitta: I'm not going to tell him exactly what to get
Petra: Why not? That's what he wants!
Birgitta: Fine! If it has to be a diamond, tell him to get a lab grown
Birgitta: And nothing too gaudy!
Petra: Cracking. Any final requests?
Petra: Silver? Gold?
Petra: Round cut? Princess cut? Emerald cut? Marquise?
Birgitta: Nope. Seriously, I'll be happy with whatever he picks
Petra: Suit yourself. Can't say I didn't try!

***

Jesse's birthday was coming up soon and I had absolutely no idea what to get him. We'd been dating for seven months already, but it felt like so much longer than that. I should know what he'd like, but he had expensive taste and enough money that if there was something he wanted, he'd just buy it for himself. Every time he mentioned something that he'd seen and wanted, the next time I spoke with him, he'd gone and bought it.

I'd never been with a boyfriend long enough to need to buy a gift, either for a birthday or Christmas. I was honestly still rattled that he was probably, if he hadn't already, buying a ring soon. How was I supposed to match that? Should I get him a sweater? That seemed like the standard boyfriend gift. It was November. The fall might get cold here, but I knew it was a bit milder in the UK. But he flew a lot, I always got cold when I flew. But then again, he had to wear a uniform, he didn't have the luxury of wearing whatever he wanted at his job. And he probably always got something warm to wear for his birthday.

Damn, now I was thinking about him in his uniform. I pulled out my phone to look through some of the pictures I had of him wearing it and felt my mouth start to water. It wasn't fair how good he looked in his uniform. I knew I didn't look nearly as good in my work scrubs. But I definitely couldn't pull off a pilot's uniform either. I wondered what I could wear that would look as sexy on me as his uniform looked on him.

As I flipped through the pictures, a message came in from Jesse's mum.

Penny: Hello, dear. Just been thinking about you, hope all is going well!

She was too sweet. I spoke with her more often than my own mother and I was incredibly grateful that Penny was speaking to me again. I didn't know if Jesse knew how often I spoke with his mother, but I didn't care.

Actually, she might be able to help me with my problem. I quickly exited my photos. I would feel weird sending her messages while I was drooling over her son.

Birgitta: Hi, Penny! I'm doing fine, just having a hard time deciding what to get Jesse for his birthday.
Penny: Oh, isn't he terrible to buy for?

Great. Coming from his own mother.

Birgitta: Yeah, it's pretty bad.
Penny: Maybe you could get him a voucher to get a new tattoo!
Birgitta: That's an interesting idea.

Only, I didn't know of any good tattoo parlours in London that would make an appointment on such short notice and I doubted Penny did either.

Penny: I know anything you got him would mean the world to him. He really, really cares about you.
Penny: He was ever so upset when he found out you would both be working on his birthday.