A Book Nerd's Guide to Falling in Love

Chapter 7: The Perfect Gift

Like I said, if you were invited to a birthday party, you needed to bring a gift for the celebrant. It was a universal rule.

I was pretty pleased with the gift I chose for Finn. It was thoughtful. So, why was I dreading he might not like it?

I assumed he was named after Huckleberry Finn. But what if he wasn't? What if his parents named him after his great grandfather or some unpopular singer from the 90s they loved?

I dropped the Amazon box on the kitchen counter and grabbed a knife to open it up, carefully cutting the tape. A bubble wrapping embraced the book inside to protect it. I carefully peeled it away, checking for damages on the green cover, glad there was none.

The new book scent teased my nose, making me high and chasing away the dread. Why wouldn't Finn like this? It was the perfect gift. I was ninety percent sure his parents named him after this character.

"Ano yan?" My mother came into the kitchen and asked, what's that? She'd tied her black hair in a bun on her head and was wearing a white cashmere sweater.

"It's a gift for Finn. I'm going to his birthday party on Saturday," I told my mother, turning the front of the book's cover to her so she could read the title, engraved in a darker shade of green.

"Gift? Party? You didn't tell me about a party." Her motherly, authoritative tone came as she crossed her arms over her front.

Oops. I had so many things going on in my head that I forgot to ask for permission. "I guess I forgot to mention it. It'll be at Pine Hill Park. Lotty's mom is going to drive us. There will be no alcohol," I assured her.

She paused for a moment, eyebrow raised as if deciding not to let me go to the party.

I placed the green-covered book on the black granite counter and looked at my mother. "Can I please go?" I assumed she'd be ecstatic that I was invited to a party. I never went to those, to just be a typical teenager because the opportunity never presented itself. "Mom, please," I begged. "You know Finn, right? Mrs. Johnson's son." I pointed to the wall, guessing the direction of Finn's house in our block.

"Alright. Sige na nga." she waved her hand. She translated the first word into Filipino.

"Yes, thank you!" I sounded more ecstatic than I actually was. I picked up the book again and was ready to head straight to my bedroom when my mother stopped me.

"Leave that box and bubble wrap there, and you will not go to that party," she said. "Subukan mo," Try it, she dared.

I turned back placing the book on the counter, picked up the mess and chucked them in the garbage bin, making sure the counter was clean, like the way my mother liked it.

"What gift did you get?" she asked, glancing at the book while I tidied up. "Looks like something you'd like." She tapped on the cover.

"Well, the birthday boy's name is Finn. So, I thought it would be neat to get him that book. Maybe he's named after the character," I explained.

"You're assuming he was named after the character?" my mother asked. "Did you think maybe he was named after his grandfather?"

I paused. I had already thought about other possibilities, but I was so sure of this. Yet my mother's doubt was convincing me otherwise. "Yeah, but I thought it would be neat," I said. "It's a beloved character."

"And is he a reader?" my mother added to the questions, placing a hand on her hip while pressing the other on the counter to support her.

"Not exactly," I answered. Finn was mostly an Internet type of guy. "But I thought if he tried, he might like reading." Saying it out loud made it sound foolish.