# "THAT GIFT" (A Short Story)



## Sapphire (Apr 24, 2012)

A heartwarming Christmas short story (Approximately 5300 words):
Did you ever receive an unwanted gift? Worse yet, did the giver think it was the best gift ever? On top of that, was the gift giver someone you love? Every long-married couple will identify with some element of this story. As for couples still in their early years of marriage...be forewarned about *that gift*!

Above all else, the most important thing is love!


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

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## Sapphire (Apr 24, 2012)

Looking for a heart warming quick read? THAT GIFT is perfect for your commute or when you're able to grab a break from post-holiday clean-up. You'll find yourself thinking about the Christmas you received your own "special" gift, and asking others about theirs, too. (Available for a free prime borrow)


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## Sapphire (Apr 24, 2012)

I'm having fun hearing from readers about a gift they once received that fits into "That Gift" storyline. Does anyone on KB want to add to my list?


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## Sapphire (Apr 24, 2012)

I was asked (again!) if this is a true story. It is based on a true story and closely parallels it. My husband read it and recognized the parallel. He told me he was glad I appreciated his efforts on a particular gift about which he has felt bad for many years. However, it is fictionalized with all the details altered.


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## Sapphire (Apr 24, 2012)

Valentine's Day is right around the corner. THAT GIFT! is not just a Christmas story. It's a great Valentine read, too, because it's a story about love between a husband and wife.


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## Sapphire (Apr 24, 2012)

A short story that will give you loads of _warm fuzzies_ as a nice warm-up for Valentine's Day


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## Sapphire (Apr 24, 2012)

This story could be considered a parable of one of life's great lessons.


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## Sapphire (Apr 24, 2012)

Free download for your Kindle through Sunday! Don't wait!


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## Sapphire (Apr 24, 2012)

I was contacted by a reader who said I chose the wrong cover. Why? He said it isn't a Christmas story at all. In his words, it's a *mature love story*. Christmas is just the setting.


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## Sapphire (Apr 24, 2012)

Have you ever given someone a gift that turned out to be a big mistake? Check out what happened with a certain Christmas gift in this short story.


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## Sapphire (Apr 24, 2012)

Do you know someone whose birthday is today? Will there be a gift she (or he) will still remember 30 years from now? "That Gift" is a short story about the true meaning of love.


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## Sapphire (Apr 24, 2012)

We never know what someone may infer from the gift we select for him/her.


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## Sapphire (Apr 24, 2012)

A little boy races to the Christmas tree at the crack of dawn. His teenage sister would rather sleep in. When does that happen? How old is a child when they realize the gifts will still be there at a more reasonable hour?


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## Sapphire (Apr 24, 2012)

A few gray hairs...the years can do that. Warm comfortable love? The years can do that, too, provided those years begin with love. The love of the couple in "That Gift" is the real kind.


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## Sapphire (Apr 24, 2012)

My published work is fiction, with imagined characters and events. This particular story, however, is derived from a true story in my own life. My husband and I have been married almost 50 years. Our love has gone through all the normal transitions of any long-married couple, and the present has grown on the past. "That Gift" comes from a long-ago Christmas gift that he chose for me.


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## Sapphire (Apr 24, 2012)

I may have made a mistake writing this particular story. Ever since reading it six months ago, my husband keeps looking for himself in every male character I create. I remind him the people in my books don't come from real life. He says he knows that, but he considers himself the exception.


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## Sapphire (Apr 24, 2012)

Instead of birthday gifts, Valentine gifts, etc., our son-in-law gives his young adult daughter a gift for no special occasion. He does it when he knows she really wants something or he sees something he knows she'll love. He does do Christmas gifts though. Every family has their own gift customs. Is yours traditional or unique?


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## Sapphire (Apr 24, 2012)

It's Father's Day. Did you give a man in your life a gift in honor of this day? Which category (according to the gifts in this story) would it be? Consider the fishing pole given to the young son, the carefully planned gift from the husband to his wife in the early years, and the gift given by the same the husband to his wife in their retirement years.


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## Sapphire (Apr 24, 2012)

We just celebrated our 50th wedding anniversary in real life. (Yes, we married young, but that's not part of this post.) After so many years of marriage, gift giving and receiving happens in a different context. A gift isn't a measure of love. It never was. Being together and enjoying our life is the true gift.


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## Sapphire (Apr 24, 2012)

Did you like "THAT GIFT" - A Short Story? Check out my full length novels, both on July special at www.Smashwords.com/books/byseries/10627. When Least Expected is *free* with coupon code SW100. Yesterday to Tomorrow is *half-price* with coupon code SSW50. (The 3rd book in the series will be out in the fall. All three are stand-alone novels that follow the lives of three baby boomer women over a progression of time.)

Both are also available at regular price through e-reader outlets for Kindle, Nook, iPad, Kobo, ScribD, etc., as well as in paperback at Amazon.com.


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## Sapphire (Apr 24, 2012)

Who says you can't read a Christmas story in the middle of the summer? After all, a gift can be given any time and this is really a story about a gift and not a holiday. Or is it a love story? Or is it a family story? What do you think it is?


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## Sapphire (Apr 24, 2012)

FREE   now through Monday, July 28 on Kindle. Twenty minutes of reading time will give you a taste of my Boomer Lit writing at no cost if you act quickly and download now. I call this free promotion Christmas in July!


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## Sapphire (Apr 24, 2012)

Did you download "That Gift" when it was free on Kindle last week? I'd love to hear your thoughts on it. Would you take a few minutes to write a review on Amazon or other site of your choice? Thanks for reading this short story. I hope you enjoyed it.


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## Sapphire (Apr 24, 2012)

"That Gift" is available for a KU free borrow! Sample one of my stories (a short one!) about early baby boomers and written by a baby boomer.


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## Sapphire (Apr 24, 2012)

Only *10 more days *for a Kindle Unlimited FREE BORROW on "That Gift." Then I will be taking it out of Select and KU to make it available on other digital reading platforms.


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## Sapphire (Apr 24, 2012)

"That Gift" will no longer be available for Kindle Unlimited free borrows after September 9th. Download this short story now. It is a story about the true meaning of love between a man and a woman. It's not really a holiday story although it has a Christmas setting. However, you can download it now for free to save until the Christmas season if you must.


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## Sapphire (Apr 24, 2012)

On which side of the latest cold front are you located? The cold weather here reminds me winter will be here before we know it. What happens in winter? Christmas, of course! If you need a little something to get you in that warm, fuzzy, Christmas spirit, may I recommend reading "That Gift." It's a short read, but one you will enjoy many times over.


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## Sapphire (Apr 24, 2012)

"That Gift!" is the only piece I've published based on a true story that I fictionalized. Those who know me well see through the fictional touches and recognize the real main characters.


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## Sapphire (Apr 24, 2012)

"That Gift!" is once again in Kindle Select. What does that mean for you? If you're a member of KINDLE UNLIMITED, you can download it for free. If you're not in Kindle Unlimited, you can still buy it for only ninety-nine cents. It's the perfect read for a husband and wife (or romantic minded woman of any age) to get you in the Christmas spirit.


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## Sapphire (Apr 24, 2012)

This will become a Christmas classic in your home that will be read every Christmas season for years to come.


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## Sapphire (Apr 24, 2012)

"That Gift" might be the perfect book for couples to read together on Christmas Eve after the little ones are tucked into bed. If you're a KU subscriber, you can download for free. If not, it's an inexpensive gift to yourself at ninety-nine cents.

(P.S. I'd love to see your reviews on Amazon.)


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## Sapphire (Apr 24, 2012)

Have you downloaded your copy of "That Gift!" to read on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day?


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## Sapphire (Apr 24, 2012)

Use your Kindle Unlimited membership to read "That Gift" for free. It's a Christmas story that's actually a lesson on a happy marriage and the true meaning of love.

P.S.
Story #14 in Stories on the Go is mine. The title is "The Man Across the Room."


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## Sapphire (Apr 24, 2012)

I laughed when my husband told some friends the original story that inspired "That Gift." He remembers the details well even though it was 35 years ago. He added, "But I especially enjoyed reading the end of the story, the part I didn't know."


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## Sapphire (Apr 24, 2012)

Gifts can come at Valentine's Day or Mother's Day or graduation or an anniversary or a birthday or at Christmas. "That Gift!" is a short story about a gift for Christmas but it could have been a gift on any other occasion. This is not a story about a season. It's a story about love, the forever kind of love.


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## Sapphire (Apr 24, 2012)

This short story and my three novels are about baby boomers. I will soon publish the first two episodes of a serial with a 21-year-old girl as the main character. Watch for "Beginning" - Episode 1 of Anna's Legacy, and "January" - Episode 2 of Anna's Legacy.


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## Sapphire (Apr 24, 2012)

*Public Service Announcement* for husbands:
You may want to read this short story before going shopping for Mother's Day gifts.


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## Sapphire (Apr 24, 2012)

My husband's birthday was last week. I was thinking of the evolution of our love over the long years we've been married and reflected on the incident that was the seed for this short story. Yes, it's a Christmas story but, more than that, it's a love story.


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## Sapphire (Apr 24, 2012)

Is Christmas really only 12 weeks away? Put THAT GIFT! on your Kindle now. It's a must read (for wives, husbands, significant others, maybe even casual friends) before any gifts are exchanged.


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## Sapphire (Apr 24, 2012)

The beginning isn't boy meets girl. No, the beginning is a family going about their everyday lives. The challenge isn't a big fight or an ugly affair or even middle age boredom. Instead, it's a disappointing, although well intended, gift. The ending is definitely happy-ever-after. So is "That Gift" a love story as some have said? What do you think?


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## Sapphire (Apr 24, 2012)

Are you ready to start Christmas shopping? This story should be required reading before you begin (especially for husbands!).


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## Sapphire (Apr 24, 2012)

Christmas was a month ago. How do you feel now about a disappointing gift you received? Or a disappointing gift you gave? "THAT GIFT!" is not just a Christmas story, but one of love and caring that only comes with maturity regardless of your actual age.


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## Sapphire (Apr 24, 2012)

My birthday reminded me of how lucky I am to have married a man who truly loves me. It was his love that inspired "THAT GIFT" - (A Short Story).


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## Sapphire (Apr 24, 2012)

FREE for only 2 more days! Christmas in July means you can read this short love story without spending a dime.


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## Sapphire (Apr 24, 2012)

THAT GIFT! is a grown-up Christmas bedtime story. Only 99 cents or free to borrow for Kindle Unlimited members.


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