Anything?

Today Belle and I set out for the mall so Belle could pick out a Christmas gift for Jeff. Before we left Jeff pulled Belle aside to talk to her. He whispered something in her ear and then said, “That is what I really want for Christmas, but you can pick out anything you want.”

When we got into the mall, I knelt down next to Belle and asked her what her Daddy wants for Christmas. “I can’t tell you,” she replied. “It’s a secret.”

“Well honey, I need to know what he wants so we can go to the right store.”

“My Daddy said that I can buy anything I want for him and for you and for Ariel and for myself.”

Oh boy, am I in trouble.

After many minutes of negotiating, explaining and begging on my part, I finally extracted the information I needed. We set off for the appropriate store so Belle could pick out her Daddy’s gift. While we were shopping, Belle needed to use the restroom so we put our item on hold and attended to her needs.

While in the bathroom I asked Belle about the gift we had picked out. I wanted to make sure it was indeed the present that Jeff most wanted. “Do you think Daddy will like it?”

Belle responded with an unenthusiastic, “I guess.”

“Honey, I thought you said Daddy really wanted one of those.” I said.

“What Daddy really wants is a doll, a really big doll as big as me,” my daughter explained as her eyes drifted off tho the right as they tend to do when she is lying. I encouraged her to continue talking just so I could see how far she was willing to take this ruse. She continued with, “Yes, he wants the biggest doll we can find, one that looks like Pocahontas.”

“Are you sure that he doesn’t want a new razor to shave his face?” I asked.

“No. Daddy said that I can buy him ANYTHING I want,” she explained impatiently. “Daddy really wants a big Pocahontas doll or a bouncy ball. He told me to buy something for Ariel and for me too. ANYTHING I want.”

I was trying so had not to burst out in laughter, I almost fell over.

I managed to leave the mall with a gift I think Jeff will like. It’s not a life-sized Pocahontas doll or a bouncy ball but, I’m pretty sure Jeff will be okay with that.