“What do you have behind your back?”

“A surprise.”

She winked at him.

“Aha,” he said, laughing. “Come in.”

Mia stepped into the apartment, noticing the smell of cigarettes, and began taking off her boots.

“Don’t look,” she warned.

“I’m not looking,” Martin said, holding his hands over his eyes.

She stood in the hall with her eyes on Martin as she took off her jacket.

“You’re looking!”

“No!” He laughed, shaking his head. “But I hear rustling.”

She saw that his tight T-shirt had dark patches of sweat in the armpits.

“Here you go,” she said, holding out the package she’d been hiding behind her back. “Or maybe I should say Merry Christmas.”

“But it’s not Christmas yet.”

“I couldn’t wait.”

Martin squeezed the package.

“It’s soft,” he said. “What could it be? A hat? A pair of socks?”

“Open it and find out.”

“Not before I fetch your Christmas present.”

Mia went into the living room, tense with excitement, and sat on the sofa. When Martin came back, she could hardly contain herself any longer. He showed her a square package. She reached her hand out to take it, but he couldn’t help teasing her.

“Do I get a kiss?”

“Give me the package,” she said, still holding her hand out.

“A little kiss?” he said, fluttering his eyelids.

Mia smiled sourly at him and held his gaze until he surrendered the package. She opened it carefully, trying to enjoy the feeling of opening the most valuable present she had ever received, that she’d probably ever receive.

“A scarf! Thanks, Mia.”

Martin wound the black scarf around his shoulders.

“Do you like it?” she asked.

“Of course! Absolutely. But what does LV mean?”

“Louis Vuitton.”

“Ah. But isn’t that, like, a women’s brand?”

“No, it’s for guys, too.”

“Oh, it’s really too much.”

Mia removed the wrapping paper and looked at the box in her hand briefly before quickly taking off the lid.

Now it was her turn to look confused.

“An egg cup?”

“I know, it’s not much...and now you’ve given me such a nice Christmas present...”

Mia put the box down, refusing to touch the pink porcelain cup that read “Have an egg-stra good morning!”

“You can exchange it for a blue one if you want,” Martin said. “Or green.”

“What happened to the watch?”

“The watch? What watch?”

“The watch you bought, the one under your bed! Who did you give that to? Who?”

“Now, just calm down!”

“Are you seeing someone else?”

“No! For Christ’s sake, it was for my mom. Were you snooping around my place?”

Mia got up and went into the hallway.

“Wait! Mia, where are you going?” Martin said, following her.

She hurried to put on her shoes, grabbing her jacket and opening the door in one movement.