Mrs. Tiggleman went straight for the biggest box on the gift table. Not a shock. It was three feet tall and two feet wide. Simple green paper and a traditional red ribbon tied around its center. The present was almost as tall as she was. She picked it up, happy to find it was light, and slowly wobbled back to her seat. It wasn’t until this point that I clocked the flirting between Henry and Jules. She kept finding reasons to touch his knee. It seemed like one-sided flirting, which is always awkward. Then Claudine broke it up by sharply asking him to help Mrs. Tiggleman back to her seat. The tone of her voice wasn’t cool, but it looked like he was used to it by how fast he jumped up.

“Nonsense,” Mrs. Tiggleman said. She was already there, her small hands moving fast, tearing at the paper with clawlike fingernails. The box was open in no time… only to reveal another box. She opened that box only to reveal another box. I joked to Henry that this must be the gift he brought, what with his penchant for hidden rooms and secret passages. Finally, in the fourth box, Mrs. Tiggleman found a long envelope. It was a little much. She opened the envelope, and it was a gift certificate. She gasped like she had just found out she had a secret twin or something.

“No. It can’t be,” she said. “Is this real?”

People were chanting, “Tell us, tell us.”

“The Sanctuary package from the Remède Spa,” marveled Mrs. Tiggleman. It was obvious she’s the kind of person always on the hunt for the latest treatments or procedures.

“It includes a cutting-edge new peel,” Intense John said like he was some sort of peel expert. Mrs. Tiggleman loved it and Captain Tiggleman told her she didn’t look a day over forty, then fed her a crab cake. I bet they feed each other at home all the time.

It was Henry’s turn next. He chose a small dark green box wrapped with a single white ribbon. You could tell he didn’t like being the center of attention, he opened it quickly. Inside was a black velvet pouch; a pair of silver dice slid out.

“These are nice,” he said, holding one up so everyone could see. “Aspen silver?”

“That would be my guess,” said Rashida. “Not that I would know.”

Next, Bobby Alpine, who looked exactly like his brother but slightly younger. He didn’t waste any time and stole the dice from Henry. “They’ll be perfect for downtime on the construction site,” he joked. Henry selected again from the table and from his initial reaction it seemed he hit the jackpot.

“Well, look at this.” He almost looked happy. “A full day of fly-fishing with a guide on the Roaring Fork.”