December 6
Most people Rosalind knew liked Sundays, but the majority of those people had families and friends whom they enjoyed spending time with. Having no immediate family or close friends, she found Sundays depressing.
Donned in a pair of worn jeans and an oversized NYU sweatshirt, she balanced her checkbook, paid her bills and read her email. Afterward, she curled up on her couch with a bag of Wise potato chips, a can of Coke and her television remote.
"More than a hundred stations to choose from and there's nothing worth watching on any of them," she groaned, surfing through the channels. "It seems like fifty of them are showing football games!"
Never a big fan of the sport, she now liked the game even less since Brett was a big New England Patriots fan. He once admitted that the only person he loved more than her was quarterback Tom Brady.
She put down the remote control after selecting a movie in which a desperate wife murders her abusive husband.
That's what's wrong with relationships. You meet a prince, and he turns out to be a monster.
During one of the many commercial breaks, her eyes traveled to the Advent calendar on the mantel. She still didn't know what to make of the whole situation. A secret admirer. Was it nothing more than an elaborate practical joke, or should she take the man seriously?
He had promised in his note that he would make his identity known on December 25. But how? Would he telephone her? Would he boldly walk up to the door and ring the bell? Or maybe the Advent calendar itself contained the answer.
Rosalind took the calendar down and opened drawer Number 6. Inside were a miniature plastic champagne bottle and two tiny glasses.
At least he's running true to form: candy, flowers, poetry and now champagne. Who are you, Cary Grant?
Hoping to discover his identity, she tried to open Number 25, but it wouldn't budge. It was as if the drawer were glued in place. She tried another, Number 24, followed by Number 18, but she had no better luck with either of them.
"I should have known this was all a joke," she said with disappointment when she discovered that not a single one of the remaining drawers would open.
