Tanzanite and Cheap Leather

Gift-giving among friends can be tricky. I prefer not to exchange gifts with friends, rather to go out for a nice dinner and have a great time. I can't stand being forced to buy people gifts just for the sake of a holiday. I much prefer to find things throughout the year that suit the person and get and give them at that time.

So last Christmas, 2003, I had no intention of getting CL a gift of any kind. He had a girlfriend and is the kind of friend that disappears whenever he meets a new prospect. I can't blame him - most women don't want their men hanging out with their exes. I even encourage him to ditch me at those times. Anyhow, he was pretty consumed in that situation and I really didn't plan on any sort of holiday exchange until he called to see when I would be around so he could drop off my present. Oh crap, I thought. So I ran out and bought him a new crowbar - the one he had seen months back in a catalogue that was out of stock at the time. He is a mechanic, after all. Useful and something he wanted. Good enough, right?

He arrived at my house all smiles with a small gift box. I knew it was jewelry immediately. It turns out he had bought me the diamond and tanzanite necklace I had loved at a jewelry store when we went shopping together a month back. The necklace cost more than $400. The crowbar? $30. I told him to take it back, it was too much. He blathered on about what a great friend I am and how he wanted me to have something nice, blah, blah, blah. I pretended I was a nice Jewish girl and took it. He was disappointed in his crowbar and just said, "there's always next year." I disregarded the remark and admired my shiney new necklace. Oooh, pretty...

Flash forward to this Christmas season. CL called the day after Thanksgiving to announce he had outdone himself this year - that my gift was better than last year. Great, I thought, now I have to get him something nice.

Problem is that CL has recently proclaimed his love for me and determined I am his soul mate and that he will do whatever it takes to get me back. I have told him repeatedly that I am not interested and there is nothing he can do to change that. Alas, he has a thick skull and a pea brain.

So, rather than take the hard line and tell him to return whatever he got me, I decided to get him a cheap leather jacket. I knew he wouldn't know the difference and figured I could get a decent one on sale for less than $100 and he'd be pleased as punch. I didn't intend to get a super cheap one until I was at Kmart buying Christmas lights. Just so you know, I don't frequent Kmart but there is one by my office and I needed lights for the tree. I certainly don't buy clothing other than those lined flannel shirts there (my mom loves them).

Anyhow, as luck would have it, right as I walked in there was a display of cheap "genuine leather" men's jackets. Perfect, they were even half-price, $50. I thought I had scored. The jacket didn't look too bad. It wasn't high quality but it would work. It did seem cut a bit wide but I didn't think CL, the jeans and sweatshirt type, would mind. I bought it, took it home, and wrapped it nicely.

On Christmas Eve CL came over and gave me my annual necklace and this time complete with matching earrings. Nice stuff, diamonds and, again, tanzanite - this time in silver. In case you aren't aware, the world's supply of tanzanite is just about depleted so it's value has gone up and will continue to do so. It's a nice investment for the ladies in your life.

Anyhow, he opened his package and loved the jacket. Whew! Smelled like leather, felt nice. He exclaimed that he knew I would do something good this year to make up for the last year - that irritated me as I didn't want to do anything this year - just felt like I had to. Anyhow, he liked the jacket, took it out of the box, put it on, ran to the mirror, and frowned...it didn't look right. Damn, I thought. He said he didn't know if the style was right for him, that it was too loose. When did he become so fashion-conscious?!?! I tried to say it didn't look bad, made him look thinner, that baggy is in, etc. He wasn't buying it.

Then he said, "That's okay...you still have the receipt, right? Where did you get it? We can go exchange it for something else."

I stumbled on my words, said I wasn't sure, that I bought it in another town, that I would return it and we could go to the leather store in the local mall to get a replacement. I was backpedaling - I couldn't let him know I had bought a leather jacket at Kmart for him. He was so excited about it. I told him I would have to find the receipt and then we'd go together to get a new one.

So today I was rifling through my box of receipts and couldn't find the receipt. Now I'm stuck with a jacket I don't want and I have to go spend hundreds of dollars on CL.

Anyone interested in a cheap leather jacket, size large, cut loose? I can cut you a deal...