Steve's gift is wrapped up beneath the small, fake tree Maeve had bought last year on clearance as the season came to a close. It's always the best time to get anything, when there's no longer a demand for it, and she likes the size, the way it twinkles with the pre-added lights, how it makes everything feel just a little bit more like Christmas.

She's never really had a proper Christmas before Darrow.

She'd gotten him a proper messenger bag made, one he'll be able to use through school and then into work. It's brown leather, big enough for his laptop, notebooks, maybe a few books, with pockets for his wallet and phone and whatever else he might need. On the flap, at the corner, she'd had his initials monogrammed into the leather and she really hopes he likes it.

"Wait, let me get yours, then," she says as she sets the box on the table, then retrieves his gift from under the little tree. "Ready?"