Love Means...... Part 2

Tina's 16th birthday was just round the corner and Joel had been putting aside his pocket money to buy something special for her. Tina had always enjoyed playing the saxophone and since he couldn't afford to buy her the real thing, he decided to get her a crystal replica of the instrument. And it didn't come cheap - $288 but he felt that it was worth it as long as it was for her. In fact, he would always select his gift for her with much effort and thoughts as he wouldn't want to give her something that was too conventional; something that she would just cast aside. Sometimes, he would even handmade some of the gifts so as to give them a personal touch, something that couldn't be bought off the shelf. Somehow, Tina didn't always appreciate his intentions as she found some of the gifts to be quite 'lame' and would just tuck them away in a corner of her room.

It was the eve of Tina's birthday and Joel had arranged to meet her at their usual rendezvous. As usual, Tina was 'glad' to receive his gift wondering what he got her this time. They decided to have a mini-celebration ( she was having her main celebration the next day with her gang) at a nearby fastfood restaurant. As they were walking along the main road, they noticed a couple behaving rather intimately from across the road. Just as Joel commented on their inappropriate behaviour in public, Tina thought the guy looked familiar. She crossed the road to have a closer look and upon confirmation that it was indeed her current stead, she became so furious that she threw what was then in her hand at him. As the wrapped box bounced off his body onto the concrete road, Joel's heart missed a beat or two. He went forward to retrieve it before it was overrun by the oncoming vehicles.

Tina was shouting at the top of her voice, demanding to know why he was two-timing her. The guy who was caught off guard, boarded the cab which he had hailed hurriedly. She would have run after the taxi if not for Joel who had caught hold of her. After trying in vain to calm her down, he decided to send her home. But she wasn't prepared to go home just yet and headed back to their usual haunt instead. Joel was at a loss as how he should comfort her as the change of event was just as unexpected for him. Knowing very well she would be too broken-hearted to listen to anything he had to say, he decided to hold his tongue. Actually, his own heart was broken too, not so much because of the broken crystal but more because it really hurt him to see her in despair. He left her alone to sort things out while he looked at the box he was holding, wondering how bad was the damage to the content.

Then it occurred to him that since Tina's relationship with that guy didn't work out, it would mean that she would be looking for a replacement. But then he realised that he would still not stand a chance unless he had an extreme makeover. Just then, Tina got up to leave, saying that she would call him when she was ready to talk. Again, Joel was left behind at the court, still clinging on to his broken gift. It seemed that Tina would never get to know what he had bought for her.