She proceeded to open up to a particular page and pointed out a little pink musical jewelry box that she "really, really wanted". You know... the kind with the wind-up, spinning ballerina that plays Swan Lake.
"Please", she said. And then she shot me the sweetest smile.
I told her I would think about it (stock answer) and she went about her business. Her request was so sweet that I tore out the page and brought it home with me.
That next week I located the nearest Bed, Bath & Beyond. It was Beyond where I wanted to walk, but I was on a mission. So down to 19th Street I went. In the rain. Torn out page in hand.
They were sold out.
But the display box looked in perfect shape, so I bought it.
Last night was the sixth night of Hanukkah and time to hand out the jewelry box.
I gave Marni the package and watched as she ripped open the wrapping. Silence. A stunned, good kind of silence. Not a "what is this crap" kind of silence. Eventually she grasped what she was looking at and her excitement started to bubble over.
She and Stella took the box into their room and proceeded to cram it full of their best jewelry. As they were doing this, I jokingly told Marni how I had to trek all the way down to 19th Street to get it. With lots of drama! She smiled.
The girls continued to play with the box. Stella wanted to make up a list of all of Marni's friends who would want to touch the box. And then Marni could look at the list and decide who could touch it. Teamwork!
Eventually, Marni decided that she wanted to sleep with the box under her pillow. Mom put a stop to that and they found a special shelf to put it where Marni could reach it whenever she wanted.
As bed time approached, Marni mentioned to Lisa... "Daddy walked all the way down the street to get this. I love daddy!"
And that was well worth the $9.95 I paid for it.
