Secret Plot Revealed

I was down at Dad's yesterday, and he told me that he found some Christmas presents tucked away that Mom had gotten for this coming year. He seemed incredulous that she would buy so far in advance. I wasn't that surprised; after all, Mom and I used to go out shopping the day after Christmas. She would pick out her colors for the following year (I think this yr was supposed to be green and gold), and inevitably she would find "deals that would be perfect for so and so for next year". It reminded of a certain hanging quilt that I never got. But before I tell you that story, I need to give some background....

Whenever Mom wanted something that she thought Dad would think unnecessary; she had a system. She would buy it, and I would take it home, and give it to her at the next occassion for presents. We did this often, once we each "gave" each other wind breakers that we had bought together; hers was pink, mine orange. I don't know if Dad ever knew, but he never let on. It was just one of "our things".

And so it happened that we went to the big craft fair at the high school, like we had done for years. This time she was a quilter, and was very excited to see one of the vendors was a couple that owned a quilt shop, but they were going out of business. They had all kinds of fabrics but they also had bedspreads and actual quilts. I liked one of the quilts, it was a hanging quilt. She told me she would get it for me for Christmas. She liked one of the bedspreads, but was afraid Dad wouldn't want a new one, since the green one on her bed was fairly new. So she devised a plan; she would get both, but I would take the bedspread and give it to her for Christmas. Dad wouldn't tell me they didn't need one if it was a gift; she said. So that's what we did, when I dropped her off, she took the hanging blanket, and I took her newly purchased bedspread.

A few days later she called me. "Do you like that bedspread that you are giving me for Christmas?" Umm, yeah....She had prepping Dad, warming him up to the idea of a new bedspread. Wouldn't a quilted one be nice? Then Dad threw a wrench into the plan; he said that'd be great; but he'd only want a quilted one if she made it. Hence the bedspread became my Christmas present. She told me that since I was getting the bedspread, and I didn't have my house yet; she was going to hold on to the hanging quilt so that Dad wouldn't be suspicious. And she told me that she took the quilt out and the edging wasn't as good as she could have done, and that would have bothered her in the end, but since I wasn't a quilter, it wouldn't bother me.

So at Christmastime, we got the bedspread. I did my best to act surprised and to take the time to inspect it, even though I had had it under my bed for some time. But I never did get the hanging quilt. From what I remember from last November, it would match the bedspread. I really need to do some serious searching of those upstair closets....As of yet, I don't think Dad has come across it; unless he has and is saving it for Christmas. Huh wouldn't that be funny?