“Thank you, Aunt Gert.”
“You’re quite welcome, Otto. I’m glad you enjoyed them.”
They were on their phones. Had Otto said he enjoyed her present?
“I like Argyles, Aunt Gert.”
“They were two of your Uncle Frank’s favorite pairs, Otto.”
Everyone needs socks. And it was Otto’s birthday. Well, actually, the week before was his birthday, and the socks had just arrived. His aunt couldn’t be expected to be perfect on dates. She knew, she explained, that his deceased uncle would want Otto to enjoy some of his favorite socks. Though he’d been gone for three years, she still kept Frank’s clothing, which she offered as birthday gifts.
Yes, Uncle Frank, with his cigar, his pear-shape, his cough, and his ill-fitting clothes.
Should Otto say that one pair of Argyles had holes in the toes?
It’s the consideration that counts. Already, his aunt thought of Otto’s next birthday and of two stretched-out undershorts that her husband used to enjoy wearing, especially in his final years. From what the 78-year-old woman understood – for she knew her nephew – Otto always needed underwear.
David Sydney is a physician who writes fiction in and out of the EHR (Electronic Health Record).