OK I lied, but it really was such a small, insignificant lie. I don’t see how it could have hurt anyone. Well, at least no long-lasting harm anyway. After all there was some truth in it. Well, it wasn’t even a lie, a mere oversight really.

It all began the day I stayed home from work because of the snowstorm. My husband was out of town on business. I decided to straighten out the dresser drawers. I usually don’t go into my husband’s dresser because he’s such a fussbudget.

He can always tell if anything has been disturbed or is out of place. My father was the same way. He knew if anyone had been looking through his stuff. He would have a fit if anything of his were moved. Everything had to be just so.

My father had this thing about his pens. He kept them on the top of his dresser and they had to be in the same place not one inch this way or that. The thing is he collected a lot of interesting things. And I love to go through his drawers and shelves when he wasn’t home. I guess you could say I was and still am a bit of a snoop. Over the years I’ve became quite proficient at snooping and being able to put everything away perfectly. And the funny thing is my father never caught on.

Unfortunately, the things that I found out about my father were not always things I wanted to know. But I just couldn’t stop myself. Every time he went out to work or shopping, I would start rooting through his dresser drawers.

But worse then that I started going through his desk in the basement. Oh, the things I found in there. Well let’s just say there are some things that a daughter doesn’t want to know about her father. After awhile it became difficult for me to look my father in the eyes, knowing what I knew about him. It really poisoned our relationship.

When I was old enough, I moved out of the house. I never really went back again. Oh, I call on holidays and birthdays, but that’s all. After all I know who my father really is down deep inside. He doesn’t have me fooled the way he does everyone else.

My mother calls me every Sunday night and begs me to come home for a visit. But I just can’t. I just can’t go back there and I never will. I tell her I’m too busy with work and community commitments. I know it hurts her but I won’t tell her the truth. I know she isn’t strong enough to know the truth. The best thing I could do for her is to stay away.

I guess men are by their very nature duplicitous. They just can’t be truthful about well, even little things. They hold things back. That’s why I have to look for things so I know what’s really going on.

That day it snowed Josh, that’s my husband called and told me his flight, was cancelled. He wouldn’t be able to get home until tomorrow at the soonest. I was a little disappointed at first since we were supposed to go to the McGuire’s house for dinner and out to a movie. And tomorrow is my birthday. I know Josh will have a wonderful surprise for me. But it will be nice to have some time to myself. Well, you know the old saying. idle hands are the devil’s workshop. There’s some truth to that.

So that’s when I decided to straighten the drawers and closets. I carefully looked through everything in there and put them back in place. Low and behold in the second drawer of his dresser I found a box. A wooden box that had a hand carved Phoenix on the lid with inlaid mother of pearl. It was amazing. 

I couldn’t believe all the detail. I lifted the box out of the drawer and opened it. It was lined with the very finest of red silk brocades.  And within it’s silky embrace lay a necklace. It was so amazing I couldn’t breathe for a moment. The chain was braided silver. The pendant was possibly the most beautiful thing I ever seen.

It echoed the Phoenix design of the box. The phoenix was rising out of the fire. It was made of filigreed silver. The eyes were perfect emeralds, my birthstone. Oh, I was so happy I could almost burst. I wanted to call Josh immediately and tell him how much I loved the necklace. I picked up the phone and then remembered I couldn’t do that. Because Josh would know that I had been snooping. I placed the necklace back into the box, the box back into the drawer.

The next day when Josh returned from his business trip. He suggested going out to dinner for my birthday at our favorite restaurant, The Chalet De Couer. We had a great evening, wonderful food and a divine bottle of Muscadet, perfection.

I was waiting for the surprise. My pulse was rapid. I felt a little out of breath.

Josh handed me an exquisitely wrapped box. I opened it carefully not wanting to tear the beautiful paper. I looked down and there was the beautifully carved box. I know I had a wonderfully surprised look on my face. I know because I had practiced it so often in the mirror. “Oh Josh, how wonderful. I’ve never seen anything so gorgeous.”

“Open it, there is something more. I had it made especially for you.”

I opened the box and there it lay in all its beauty. “Oh, Josh I can’t believe how wonderful this is. How wonderful you are. Can you help me put it on?”

So, as you can see sometimes you have to tell a little white lie, it’s really for everyone’s own good isn’t it?”