In the name of 'Friendship' [COMPLETED]

20: Gifts

"And then she knew, you could become homesick for people too."

Coming home, I decided to bake something to take my mind off a few things. I knew it would soon end with Nathan as he was more like my friend than a boyfriend but it still hurt. Also, apart from that, it was my birthday day after tomorrow. I missed Parker and Mom every birthday. I would always get a chocolate cake for myself and then skype mom telling her that a few friends from here got this for me and make up some fake story about how well I've spent my birthday. She obviously could make out that I was lying but never mentioned it knowing that it will break me if I knew that she knew the truth. After that, I would talk to Parker for hours and crib about life and he would just sit there and listen to all my rambling. It was like a birthday ritual for me, after Ben.
Baking was like a therapy for me. It would take away all my worries and make me happy.

I was trying to make cake pops for Derek. He asked me if I could bake anything related to football so I was just giving it a shot. I decided to make a few round ones like a football and moulded few in the shape of a jersey.
The result turned out to be better than what I was expecting and to top it off I used white cream frosting along with black to make it resemble like a football and used blue for the jersey.
It was nearly 1:00 am when I was done with baking and completely satisfied with the results.
I just checked my phone for any messages from Derek if there was any change in the plan. There was just one saying 'Try being on time tomorrow.' I don't know why but that text made me smile. I wasn't a punctual person incase you didn't notice it already. Even if I would wake up on time, something or the other would happen which would make me late. Always.

I woke up early the following morning to make a trip to the mall. I had started earning now and hadn't spent the income from blogging as yet. I was still spending from the money I made from baking and my shift at the café. I always wanted to spend my first salary to buy something for my mom. She always thought about me, Emily and Dad first and never about herself. She would always sacrifice everything for us. Even though my dad was filthy rich, she was keen on saving the money and refrained from spending on herself.

I know I couldn't give it to her personally but I'll send her a 'thankyou for eveything' present. Plus, I wanted to buy something for Victoria and Derek. Victoria was just like a mother to me. She would always pamper me, guide me and together we would annoy the crap out of Derek. They were like the family I got to choose. I couldn't be anymore grateful for that. You know the feeling you get when you're away from home for long or if you're having a bad day and you just wanna go home and spend some time with your family? It was like that for me. Derek's family felt just like my own family or frankly speaking even better than my own.

Victoria was very simple and down to earth as a person but always classy. Her dressing was on point. She preferred neutral colours or floral prints for almost all of her outfits. I have never seen her wearing any dark shades. So when I spotted a nude handbag in Prada, I just found the perfect gift for Victoria. As for my mom, I got her a black clutch. Both of them did cost me a lot but I was willing to spend this much on them. If not a dad, I was lucky to have two moms. That reminds me, I still haven't met Derek's dad. What if he is in town this time? Should I get him something? I mean what if he actually is in town and I don't get him anything. It will be a little rude, right?

Since I didn't know much about his dad, I just settled on getting him a Parker pen. It wasn't anything expensive but I guess it will be of use to him.
Now comes the most difficult part, what do I get for Derek because anything I give him will look small compared to what he's done for me.

Well, from what I've noticed, he loved layering up. Like always a leather or a denim jacket or even a button down shirt over a plain tshirt. Maybe, I could gift him a jacket? No no no. I wanted to give him something meaningful.