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It was Russell’s ninth birthday. As last year, the celebration turned out to be somewhat of a disappointment. Once again he’d been forced to wait in the back of the party for the gift exchanging. (As if Russell Deschaine didn’t have enough chores to do as a kid.) Russell’s parents were both busy with other stuff, so they had put the elves to work. But these were no ordinary elves, they were special: They were drones with image recognition, and were fitted with small cameras. So when the celebration time had come, Russell found himself secluded in a corner, as he had been for the last eight years of his life, while oversized bouncy balls and inflated metal ships hung from the ceiling, and music blared, and the present opening began.
After twenty minutes, the other kids had been each given a doll or a pair of pants. When it was finally time for kids to receive their gifts, Russell’s dad had hurried over with the small package, yelling, “Hurry! Hurry!”
Russell frowned at the small package. It was a small, rectangular box, wrapped in a fancy gold paper, with a black bow on top.
“No,” he said. “I already got a toy.” He’d been saving up for it for two months. It was a little bit bigger than his hand. “You’re giving me something wrapped in that same paper.”
“Well,” said his dad, “this is a gift.”
“What if this was a big present?”
His dad grinned at his son. “I thought you wanted one of these,” he said.
Russell looked at the box again. A gift from Santa. He’d always wanted his Dad to believe in Santa Claus for him, but had never had much success, even after repeatedly telling his dad that Santa Claus was real. “What’s in the box?” he asked.
“It’s a little game,” said his dad.
Russell looked suspicious. “It’s just a silly game you got from your uncle Darryl.”
His father shook his head. “No, it’s a very sophisticated toy.”
Russell still wasn’t convinced. “There’s no video game like that.”
“It’s much more than that. You are going to love it. Besides, we need to give you something for your birthday.”
“But I already have a toy,” said Russell. “I also have a cat. I’m done getting gifts now.”
“No, you are getting this.” His dad shoved the package into the boy’s hands. “It’s just for you.”
Russell rolled his eyes. “Forget it.”
“Oh,” said his dad, “come on, just open it already.”
Russell knelt down on the floor, tore off the paper, and opened the box. Inside he found an electronic device—half present and half action figure.
“Huh?”
“Just look at it first,” said his dad, “and if you still don’t like it, then we can do something else.”
Russell’s parents had told him there was one gift that would be better than anything, but they’d never bothered to give it to him.
Russell paused. He shrugged. Eventually he turned back to the rest of the party, as the next kid was given a plastic car, the kind that had a very small microphone attached to it. It went perfectly with the doll he’d just received.
“I still don’t see the point,” said Russell’s dad. “It’s just a game. Simple, but entertaining.”
Russell snorted. “No,” he said. “I’m not playing that trash. Give me my present already.”
“No, open it.” His dad ended the argument by sitting beside his son, and opening the small box himself. Russell looked inside, and saw a plastic robotic dog, with a heart-shaped orb of a head.
“Your dog,” said his dad.
Conclusion: The cat (the one that he’d had for three years) was old, and the teddy bear (another gift from his dad) was far more valuable than the dog, but his dad wouldn’t let him return the dog. Russell wondered if his dad didn’t like him enough to still spend money on him.
“I want you to have this,” said his father.