A Gift for Lucy

[Julie Justice]

(Of course, I do not own the character of Lucy; but she and I have discussed IC doing a story like this; and we decided this story should be posted here. But I haven't told Lucy the details of this story, because it is meant to be a surprise for her. I hope she likes it. )

Julie Justice was in her office at ACME. She had one more gift to wrap for one of her friends at ACME; a young Junior Detective named Lucy Sanchez. Lucy was very smart, inquisitive, and determined; qualities that could be found in many ACME Detectives. But, unlike many Detectives at ACME, especially her peers, Lucy was painfully shy. But Lucy felt comfortable with Julie, and the two of them had easily become friends. So Julie had been encouraged when she saw that Lucy had a few new friends, including one of her roommates in the ACME dorms. Julie knew that Lucy's mom had a job in the military, and even though they didn't get to spend a lot of time together, Lucy and her mom had always been close. So Julie knew that Lucy's first Christmas apart from her mom -- at ACME -- might be difficult for the shy young girl; and Julie was determined to find her a special gift.

During her on-line Christmas shopping, Julie had found a fully sculpted resin Tinkerbell figure, sitting on a "wood grain" looking block, with letters, H, B, D, and E ; light up wings with glitter, and glitter on shoes. 8 1/2 in. H x 4 in W x 3 1/4 in D. With 3 x AAA batteries included. Julie carefully opened the box, and carefully removed the item, inspecting it to make sure that it was intact, and that the batteries worked. Satisfied that everything was as it should be, Julie put the item back in the box, and wrapped the box in light blue wrapping paper with little white snowmen on it; on the top of the package, she put a small card that said: "I hope this small gift makes you smile, and helps you to remember that you can do anything when you're determined. (Because as Shakespeare said) For though she be but little, she is fierce. Love, Julie. "

Now, the hard part would be finding the young Junior Detective. Hopefully she was actually on the grounds somewhere, and not on the roof. Finally, Julie heard Lucy walking down the hall to the Library, talking to a few people, and carrying the cat carrier with her little black and white cat, Luna; Julie ran and hid around the corner, so that Lucy wouldn't see her. Lucy put her backpack, under the one of the computer tables; and took the cat carrier outside, so she and Luna could run around and play for a few minutes. Julie ran over and put the gift in Lucy's backpack, and ran back to her office, wondering how long it would take the young girl to find the gift.

 

[Lucy]

This is in response to the 2015 Christmas post and was co-written with Julie.

Lucy walked back into the library with Luna at her heels and carried the black cat carrier lined with a pink and white quilted foam pet bed, unzipped her brown fleece jacket and headed for her things, both of them out of breath. It had been awhile since they had played like that it felt refreshing in the cold air. She knelt and took a water bottle and a white cat bowl with Luna's name on it and black paw prints from the side pockets of her camouflage backpack. The water bottle was still cold as she twisted the top off, filled the bowl and set it on the ground. As soon as Luna started drinking, Lucy took a long draw from the bottle and sat cross-legged watching her pet.

A few minutes go by when suddenly she caught something moving out of the corner of her eye. The sounds indicated someone or something approached. She listened a little more and heard what sounded like footsteps with an object jingling. Lucy closed her eyes and focused on the sound. Keys? Possibly a janitor or they could be someone's car keys. Kristine was there working when she looked; which made Lucy reveal a small smile but quickly turned away to hide it.

Luna was done so the girl picked everything up and moved to a bigger table. Lucy sat the cat carrier next to her on the floor as she took a seat. The cat bowl went straight back into the side pocket, the water bottle stayed on the table along with the backpack. she opened the smaller pocket on the front of the backpack and rummaged around. Luna jumped on her lap and stopped cold eyeing that pocket. The cat's curiosity never ceased to amuse.

It was when she felt the Christmas gift she'd bought for Luna and another object she didn't recognize that she stopped suddenly. She pulled out a plush mouse with catnip inside and a present that had light blue wrapping paper with snowmen all over it with a card attached. As soon as Luna smelled the catnip, she attacked the mouse, slid across the table and fell on the floor. Worriedly Lucy looked under the table to discover her cat jumping around and acting nutty. She tried to stifle her laughter.

When it was clear her cat was fine she turned her attention back to the present. The card made her smile, the fact that Julie would think of her and do something so sweet touched her. She put the card aside and found where the wrapping paper met to start ripping. Once all the paper was off she fiddled to get the tape off where the two edges met in the middle. She got her nail under the end of the tape and it started coming off. It didn't take much to get the rest off. Inside was a Tinkerbell figurine sitting on an alphabet block with a little attitude. The wings and shoes were covered in glitter. A button was switched on in the back of the block when she inspected it further making the wings light up.

How sweet. but what could I do for her as thanks? She thought as she stared at the figurine.

A few days later both her and Luna walked down the hall towards Julie's office, Lucy holding a wrapped gift of her own. It was wrapped in red reindeer paper with a card to top it off. They stopped when close, the door appeared closed. She hesitated and wondered if she would have to come back but Luna didn't. Luna walked right up to the door and scratched at it, which made the door move enough for the cat to squeeze through. The door was open? Then it hit her, she had seen people going in and out the door when Julie wasn't around.

The door opened the rest of the way, but she only opened it far enough for her to get in and shut it quietly. "Luna!" Lucy whispered, afraid the cat would get into mess up something important. She heard the rustling of papers somewhere. It wasn't a big office but it wasn't as small as a corner office either. It was definitely lived in. The sun shined through a small window across from the door spilling onto a daybed, which Luna jumped on and meowed. It was a relief nothing was disturbed. Julie's desk was towards the back wall, it was a perfect place. The girl approached the desk and set her present in the middle. She hoped Julie loved the Ghirardelli chocolate gift box (40 pieces) and the card that said "Thank you for helping me feel at home. I hope you enjoy this treat that's as sweet as you, Lucy"

The end