“So,” Jeffrey stared at the girl expectantly, “what do you think?”

 

The girl chuckled and shook her head, “I mean it’s cute, but how are you going to sneak a big teddy bear into your house without your parents suspecting you?”

 

“You’re right. Oh my gosh what am I going to do?” The male groaned as he buried his hands into his hands.

 

His friend smiled at the sight in front of her. “How about, a care package?  You can’t go wrong with those. You can put in small things that she would like and top it off with a handwritten card.”

 

Suddenly the male’s face beamed as if the greatest idea hit him. “You’re right! Why didn’t I think of that beforehand? Let me go make a list of things to buy.” Jeffrey frantically took a sheet of paper from the notepad used for the cafe and started jotting down his ideas, leaving his friend alone in silence.  

 

She smiled at him. It warmed her heart to see him happy. But part of it pained her. Unrequited love, it’s nothing new at this point. The only difference being is that Jeffrey was different from the other guys. It felt as if she had known him her whole life, but in reality it had only been a few months. Who would have known, that in the few months she would have gotten the chance to uncover this little gem. He was sweet, humble, and kind which also meant that he was easily forgotten, taken advantage of, and even thrown away. But even then, Jeffrey held his head high and worked hard to prove his self worth. She just happened to be one of the few to have admire these traits the moment she met him. And when she had her chance to finally grasp onto every aspect of him, she realized that she had come too far to turn back.

 

He was in love with his childhood friend. Cliche, but the truth nonetheless. And now that he finally got a hold of her again, he vowed to never lose her. And while his newly founded friend was proud of his dedication, she wondered if things would be different had it been her who he had met first.

 

…

 

Jeffrey was perfect, but he thought he was never enough.

 

“I think she was playing me.” Jeffrey had came back from talking with his love’s best friend. From the looks of it, things didn’t go too well. “Why would she actually like this piece of trash? I was dumb to have thought that I could have had a chance.”

 

“Jeffrey,” his coworker glared at him, “stop that right now. If you’re trash, then what does that make the rest of the people in this world? It’s also very messed up of them to even think about messing with someone like you, I’m sure it’s a misunderstanding.”

 

“She doesn’t like me,” Jeffrey sighed, “I have been a fool this whole time.”

 

Her look softened as she saw him helplessly sit there. “Then that’s her lost Jeffrey.” Her words came off as a whisper. She wanted to tell him, how his crush should be honored, to have someone as wonderful and full as compassion as Jeffrey to even court her, how much she envied his crush for having a privilege she was not given, how the stars and the universe made her the luckiest girl on this planet to have Jeffrey love her. And right when she had the courage to even mutter an ounce of her thoughts, he got up.

 

Jeffrey’s eyes stared at the ground, filled with resentment for himself, “It’s whatever. I’m used to it.” And with that, he went to the door and left.

 

...

 

“You’re going to quit?” Wenjun looked at the youngest member of the team. “You just started working a few months ago, why are you suddenly quitting?”

 

“Shhh, Xiao Gui is right outside” she tried to hush her tall friend, “You’re the only person who knows so keep it on the low.” She put on her gloves and started washing the used utensils and cups, “Besides, you know about my situation with Jeffrey. It’s about time I give him some space to breathe.”

 

Wenjun smiled bitterly, “So are you still planning on giving him his Christmas gift?”

 

“Mmm,” she hummed, “maybe on my last day of work. We’re scheduled to work together that day.”

 

“You know, it might not be too late to confess to him.” Wenjun suggested as he made his latte.

 

She looked at him and slightly smiled, “It’s better for us to end things, without him having me as a burden. He deserves his happiness.”

 

“And so do you,” Wenjun sighed, “you’re always putting him first, but what about you?”

 

“Seeing him happy is enough for me Wenjun,” the girl went back to scrubbing whatever was in the sink, “I’ll be fine.”

 

…

“It’s finally time for closing! Any plans for Christmas?” Jeffrey asked his friend as they started cleaning up and getting ready for closing.

 

“Not quite,” she smiled, “how about you?”

“The usual dinner with family but other than that, nothing special.” Jeffrey flashed his dimples as he replied.

 

“Oh right,” the young female went to the breakroom to grab her present, “I have a gift for you.”

 

Jeffrey looked surprised, “You didn’t have to. I feel bad, I didn’t get you anything.”

 

She handed him the bag, “No need to feel bad Jeffrey. I just thought it would be nice to get you something. You’ve said that you don’t get gifts often, so I tried my best to make this something meaningful.”

 

Jeffrey flashed his signature sweet smile, “Thank you so much. You really did more than you needed to.”

 

She smiled back at him, maybe not as cheery but it was a smile nonetheless, “Merry Christmas Jeffrey.”

 

…

 

“Hmm, what’s this?” Jeffrey unravelled himself in his room, not forgetting to check the present. Inside the bag was a box of his favorite snacks and winter essentials, with a bouquet of flowers. Jeffrey smiled to himself. They were beautiful flowers indeed. Jeffrey noticed the card attached to the box and gently took it off.

 

Merry Christmas Jeffrey!

I hope that you enjoy the little gift. It may not be the most expensive nor the most extravagant gift, but it was a gift that took courage to give. I’m sure you noticed the bouquet of flowers by now. You know me, I love flowers and their symbolism.  This one is a little more simple than the other ones I would bring to the cafe. It only has three types flowers, each with their own unique meaning. Let me explain them to you.

The white ones are called alyssum, and they mean “worth beyond beauty.” The yellow flowers are daffodils. They are to represent “unrequited love.”  Finally, the baby pink flowers are sweet pea flowers. They are there to say on my behalf, “goodbye.”

I want to tell you, you are worth more than you would believe. You’re a man, filled with honesty, determination, and most importantly compassion. You’re beautiful, inside and out.  Anybody would be considered lucky to be able to stay by your side. It was wrong of me to fall for you, and even more wrong of me to chose to still love you even after knowing you clearly loved someone else. I wish you happiness Jeffrey, please promise me that you’ll be happy no matter how tough the road is ahead of you. Continue to chase for your dreams and never give up.

Goodbye.

 

…

“Hey,” Jeffrey greeted while holding the hands of his girlfriend, “it has been a while.”

 

She smile back at the old friend while holding her cup of coffee close to her face, “It really has. Glad to know that you’re doing well.”

 

Jeffrey’s girlfriend nudged him a bit, indicating that it was time to go. She nodded her head politely at the girl in front of her before getting back to him.
 

“Thank you, you seem to be doing well yourself. ” Jeffrey beamed, not only after reassuring his girlfriend. “We’ll get going first but take care.”

 

She looked at the sight in front of her. It was exactly what she had imagined, what she had heard Wenjun and Xiao Gui tell her. He was happy and that was enough for her. “You too Jeffrey, take care.”

 

And with that, they walked their own paths again.