Dad was clever. He had something special that he could do. Jack and Poppy had noticed this so now, when they saw him begin to do this special thing, they’d settle down and watch.
First, dad would write mum a note. Then he’d let her find it. She would read what he’d written and then the special thing would happen … she would laugh and spin around to dad and give him a big “I love you!” hug. It was so fun!
It was also a bit of a puzzle. Because Jack and Poppy had also noticed you could get one of those big warm happy hugs from someone by buying a present for them. Yet Dad’s special present on the note paper cost nothing. Jack said. “You don’t have to buy presents. But the bought ones are good to get.” Poppy said, “Yes. That’s the strange thing.”
But at least they knew one thing. Mum and dad were happy to get either kind of present; a bought one or a home made one. Jack said that was good because he and Poppy didn’t have a lot of money to buy presents. “Actually, none,” Poppy said. “Except for that gift from Nan and Grandad.” Jack asked how much that was, but Poppy had started thinking about something else and she didn’t answer him.
Well, one day when it was close to dad’s birthday Jack and Poppy asked if they could go up the hill to their Thinking Place. “What will you go and think about today?” mum asked. “Mum, it’s present time,” Poppy said and she gave mum a wink. Mum said, “Oh yes. So it is. Nice that you two have remembered dad’s birthday.” She glanced at the time on her phone and said, “Dad’s coming home early today and we’re going to eat soon. So don’t stay too long on that hill thinking.” “We won’t!” they yelled and raced out the kitchen door, through the gate, along the footpath and onto the hill. Up and up.
Soon they were at their Thinking Place and they flopped down on the comfy long grass. From here they could look out for miles and miles. They could see everything. Poppy said being up here gave them perspective and context. A frame of reference to measure their ideas on. Jack thought it probably did. Although he didn’t know what a perspective was.
After lying there for a while Jack asked, “So, what are we going to do for Dad?” Poppy rolled on her back and looked up at the blue blue sky. “That’s hard,” she said, “because we don’t have a lot of money for a present. At least not a suitable present.” Jack asked, “Not even for a small one?” Poppy nodded. She said, “We have to get creative and think hard.” What present could they buy their dad?
After a while Jack said Dad liked excitement. Poppy said that was right. So what about something for fishing. Or for riding down big hills really quick.
Jack suddenly sat up. “Painting!” he said. They could give dad stuff so he could paint pictures. Actually so he could make huge paintings that took up the whole side of shops. So he could paint all over the big offices downtown.
Poppy said nothing. Then she said, “I know! We should set up a stage and he could do a concert. Dad could sing all those songs he likes. He’d be a star. Like, mega!” Jack went ‘Hmmm’ but didn’t say anything.
Then he said another idea would be to go All Out and give dad things to start a business. “A real business,” Jack said with his eyes popping and getting bigger the more he thought about it. “Dad could be a businessman.”
Poppy asked what business and Jack said a business that would scoop up marbles. “Dad’s always saying people lose their marbles,” Jack explained. “He could invent a machine that found the marbles and scooped them up.” Poppy sat up. She said, “Jack, that’s so good!” To start with, dad would only need a small place to invent in. Then when he had all the bits and pieces he could figure out how to make a marbles machine. It would find all the lost marbles and then collect them. Gather them up in a big sack or a container or something.
Jack’s eyes got wider and bigger. He said, “Poppy, this is going to work! A machine he could tow behind his car.” Poppy nodded. Dad would steer the car down the streets where most of the marbles are. He’d press a couple of buttons and a force would go out from his machine and the marbles would come rolling towards it. “Like a special magnetic force,” Jack said. Now he was sitting up too.
Poppy thought the bag or the box where all the marbles would go needed to be quite big. Almost as big as dad’s car. And then there had to be a computer and a scanner so each marble could be identified. “Exactly!” Jack said, waving his hands like a scanner. “And when the bag was full he’d stack it high up on top of the car and go around town and return the marbles to the people who’d lost them!”
Poppy said this would make dad very very popular. “People are always losing their marbles,” she pointed out. “Imagine how grateful they’re going to be when dad finds them.” Jack said, “He’s going to become famous, Poppy. Like, be on TV and all that.” “And YouTube,” Poppy added. “He’ll have so many followers by the time he’s through.” Jack thought it might make dad an influencer. Although he wasn’t entirely sure what one of those was.
Then Poppy paused. In a quiet voice she said, “Jack, what are we actually going to get dad?”
They both flopped back on the comfy, grassy Thinking Place. Jack said whatever present they got for dad it would need to be smaller than the marble business. Big ideas might be too big for them to carry home or to pay for at the shop.
Poppy thought for a while. Then she said, “I know. We could get pretty leaves from up here on the hill and put them in a picture frame. That would be ‘art’.” Jack said dad liked art. “He’d love that, actually, Poppy. Great suggestion. You’re a genius for present ideas!”
They stood up and began collecting. By the time they got home they’d gathered up a lot of very special leaves for their dad. There were crisp, crackly, orange-and-brown ones. Also yellow ones. Some were as big as Poppy’s hand, with pointy edges. Jack found a lot of tiny green ones. And mum loved them.
“My,” she said, “these are going to look so good in a frame. Dad will be delighted!” Then she paused. She said, “I wonder what Jesus thought when he got his presents.” Poppy looked at her. “Jesus got presents?” “Yes,” mum said. “Remember, the wise men? They brought him presents.” Poppy smiled. Of course. They’d heard about that at Christmas, and in their Bible stories at bedtime. “Gold,” Jack said. “And frankincense and the myrrh stuff.”
Mum smiled. “Well, as it happens, I’ve got a present for you both. It’s called ‘An Evening Meal’. Give me a hand to set the table. Dad will be here any minute and the meal is ready to take out of the oven!”