— Is this the gift you bought my son? You could’ve gotten him something a little more decent — my mother-in-law said, curling her lip in disapproval. I looked at her, then at the box in her hands, and smiled.
— I could have. But then I would’ve had to cut back on your gift.
Carmen’s smile vanished. My husband, Javier, who was arranging a few bottles of wine on the dining table, froze.
— Excuse me? — my mother-in-law asked. — You heard me perfectly well.
It was Saturday, a little after six in the evening. We were celebrating Javier’s birthday at our house. He was turning thirty-eight, and for once, he had asked for something simple: no restaurant, no huge party, just a quiet dinner with family and a few friends.
I had spent the entire afternoon getting the house ready.
I’d baked his favorite cake, ordered food from the restaurant he loved, and decorated the dining room without going overboard.
Javier’s sister, Lucía, had already arrived with her husband, Andrés. Javier’s uncle Antonio was there too.
Carmen showed up twenty minutes later.
She walked in carrying a huge bouquet of flowers in one hand and a boutique shopping bag in the other.
— My boy! — she exclaimed the moment she saw Javier. She hugged him so tightly that he nearly dropped the bottle he was holding.
— Happy birthday!
— Thanks, Mom. Carmen handed him a large box wrapped in shiny paper. — Open it. — Now?
— Of course. I want to see your face.
Javier laughed and unwrapped the package.
Inside was a jacket.
It was beautiful, elegant, and obviously expensive.
— Mom, you didn’t have to spend this much.
Carmen smiled with satisfaction.
— Only the best for my son.
Lucía ran her fingers over the fabric.
— This must’ve cost a fortune.
— It doesn’t matter what it cost — Carmen replied. — Gifts aren’t something you should be cheap about.
I ignored the comment.
For the moment.
A few minutes later, Javier spotted my gift under a small table by the window.
— Is that mine?
— Yes, but you can open it later.
— I want to see it now.
He picked up the package.
I had spent almost two months preparing that gift.
Javier had a watch that had belonged to his father.
It wasn’t particularly expensive. In fact, it had been sitting broken in the back of a drawer for years.
But to Javier, it meant everything.
His father had worn it almost every day for more than twenty years.
A few months earlier, Javier had mentioned that someday he wanted to have it repaired.
So I took it to a watchmaker.
Several parts inside the mechanism were replaced, the dial was carefully restored, and a new leather strap was fitted that looked almost identical to the original.
When Javier opened the box, he went completely still.
— No way…
He lifted the watch out with incredible care.
— You had it repaired?
I nodded.
— And it works again.
Javier gently turned the crown and watched the hands move.
His expression changed.
— Elena…
— Try it on.
He fastened it around his wrist.
For several seconds, he didn’t say anything.
Then he pulled me into his arms.
— It’s perfect.
— I’m glad.
— You have no idea how much this means to me.
Actually, I did.
That was exactly why I had done it.
But Carmen stepped closer.
— Let me see.
Javier showed her the watch.
My mother-in-law examined it for a few seconds.
— This one?
— It belonged to Dad — Javier said.
— I know perfectly well that it belonged to your father.
Carmen turned to me.
— And this is the gift you bought him?
— I had it restored.
— But the watch was already here.
— Yes.
— So technically, you didn’t buy him anything.
The room suddenly became quieter.
Javier frowned.
— Mom…
— What? I’m only telling the truth.
She gently took Javier’s wrist and examined the watch more closely.
— You could’ve bought him a new one.
— I didn’t want a new one — Javier replied.
But Carmen didn’t even listen to him.
She looked me up and down.
— It’s his birthday, Elena. You could’ve made a little more effort.
Andrés looked up from his glass.
Lucía stared at her mother.
— Mom, leave it alone.
— Why should I?
Carmen pointed toward the box she had brought.
— I bought him a quality jacket. Something he can actually wear and enjoy.
Javier raised his wrist.
— I can wear this too.
— That watch is over twenty years old.
— Exactly.
Carmen gave a quiet sigh.
— Well… I suppose everyone gives what they consider appropriate.
I knew that tone perfectly.
It was the one she used whenever she wanted to insult me without sounding openly insulting.
I decided to ignore her.
— I’ll bring out the appetizers.
But Carmen wasn’t finished.
As I walked past her, she glanced at the watch again.
— How much did the repair cost?
I stopped.
— Why?
— I’m just curious.
— Enough.
— That’s not an answer.
— Because you don’t need to know.
Carmen smiled.
— So it wasn’t very expensive.
Javier put his glass down.
— Mom, enough.
— Oh, Javier, don’t be like that. I’m only saying that for your husband’s birthday, you might expect something a little more…
She paused.
— Decent.
I looked at her.
— Decent?
— Yes.
And then came the one sentence she shouldn’t have said.
— Is this the gift you bought my son? You could’ve gotten him something a little more decent.
An uncomfortable silence filled the room.
Even Antonio raised his eyebrows.
I could have gotten angry.
I could have explained how long it had taken me to find someone capable of properly restoring that watch.
I could have told her how I had driven halfway across the city looking for a leather strap that matched the original as closely as possible.
I could have reminded her that Javier had been talking about that watch for years.
But I knew none of it would make any difference.
So I smiled.
— I could have.
Carmen lifted her chin slightly.
— At least you admit it.
— But then I would’ve had to cut back on your gift.
Her smile disappeared.
— My gift?
— Yes.
Lucía looked at me in surprise.
— What gift?
I walked over to a small cabinet in the living room and took out a bag.
I handed it to Carmen.
— Happy early birthday.
Her birthday was the following week.
Carmen looked at the bag and then at me.
— You already bought me something?
— Yes.
Suddenly, she seemed much more interested.
She opened the bag.
Inside was a burgundy leather handbag she had been admiring for months every time we passed that particular store.
She slowly pulled it out.
Lucía’s eyes widened.
— Mom, that’s the bag you wanted!
Carmen examined the designer label.
Her expression changed.
— Elena…
— I saw it a few weeks ago.
— But this costs a fortune!
— I know.
— How much did you pay?
— Enough.
Andrés lowered his head to hide his grin.
Carmen stared at me.
— Then I don’t understand.
— What don’t you understand?
She pointed at Javier’s watch.
— If you could spend this much on my gift, you could’ve bought something better for your husband.
Javier let out a short, humorless laugh.
— Mom, do you even realize how ridiculous that sounds?
— I was only…
— Elena gave me something that belonged to Dad.
Carmen fell silent.
Javier ran his thumb over the watch strap.
— Something I thought was lost. Something that means more to me than any new watch ever could.
— I never said it didn’t have sentimental value.
— You practically just said the gift wasn’t good enough.
— That’s not exactly what I said.
Antonio spoke from the other side of the table.
— More or less, it was, Carmen.
She shot him a dark look.
— Nobody asked for your opinion.
I looked at the handbag Carmen was still holding.
— But you’re right about one thing.
Carmen looked at me suspiciously.
— What?
— Maybe gifts really should reflect how we feel about the person receiving them.
— Exactly! — she replied immediately.
I nodded.
— Then I think I made a mistake.
I held out my hand.
— Give me the bag back.
Her expression changed instantly.
— What?
— The bag.
She clutched it against herself.
— Why?
— Because after listening to you criticize Javier’s gift for the last ten minutes, I think I spent far too much on yours.
Lucía covered her mouth with her hand.
Javier turned away, trying not to laugh.
— You can’t give someone a gift and then ask for it back! — Carmen protested.
— It isn’t your birthday yet.
— But you just gave it to me!
— You’re right.
I smiled.
— Then consider it a demonstration.
— A demonstration of what?
— Of how it feels when someone else decides what your gift should be worth.
Carmen stared at me.
For a moment, I thought she was going to hand the bag back.
She didn’t.
Instead, she put it on a chair.
— You can be really unpleasant when you want to be.
— And yet I always put a lot of effort into your birthdays.
— I never asked you for anything.
Javier burst out laughing.
We all turned toward him.
— What? — Carmen asked.
— Mom, two months ago you sent Elena a picture of that exact bag.
Carmen went slightly pale.
— I was just showing her something I liked.
— Three times — I added.
Lucía started laughing.
— It’s true. She sent it to me too.
— That’s not funny!
— It kind of is — Lucía replied.
Carmen put the handbag back into its packaging.
— Fine. I don’t want it.
She handed it to me.
— Perfect.
I took it back without arguing.
That seemed to surprise her even more.
— That’s it?
— What were you expecting?
— I don’t know… for you to insist that I keep it.
— Why would I?
Javier came over and wrapped an arm around my waist.
— I think we should eat now.
Carmen stayed quiet through almost the entire dinner.
But the story didn’t end there.
A week later, it was her birthday.
Normally, Javier and I would go together to buy her flowers and a gift.
That year, Javier asked me:
— What are we doing about Mom?
— Whatever you want. She’s your mother.
— What about the bag?
— I returned it.
He raised his eyebrows.
— Seriously?
— The very next day.
— So what are you giving her now?
I smiled.
— Nothing.
— Nothing?
— She said herself that she’d never asked me for anything.
Javier burst out laughing.
In the end, he bought flowers and a box of chocolates from both of us.
When we arrived at Carmen’s house, she glanced at our hands several times.
— Is that all? — she finally asked.
Javier handed her the flowers.
— Happy birthday, Mom.
— Thank you.
She looked behind me as though she expected another shopping bag to magically appear.
There was nothing there.
She was unusually quiet during dinner.
Until Lucía arrived.
She was carrying a huge package.
— Happy birthday, Mom!
Carmen opened it immediately.
It was a scarf.
Pretty, but simple.
— It’s beautiful — Carmen said.
— I’m glad you like it.
I took a sip of wine.
That was when Carmen looked over at me.
I knew exactly what she was thinking.
And I couldn’t stop myself from smiling.
— What? — she asked.
— Nothing.
— You’re smiling.
— I was just thinking about something a very wise woman told me a week ago.
She frowned.
— What did she say?
I set my glass down on the table.
— That gifts aren’t something you should be cheap about.
Javier coughed to hide his laughter.
Lucía lowered her head.
Carmen’s face turned red.
And that was the last time she criticized how much money I spent on a gift for her son.
At least in front of me.