"Mother." Tia’s voice, sharper than either of them expected, had Alma bunking. "This
vase isn’t an appropriate gift for the daughter of an acquaintance."
"Ellen is a dear friend..."
"Whom you see perhaps six times a year at social functions," Tia finished briskly.
"Your taste, as always, is impeccable, but this isn’t the right gift."
Three Fates
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csss [CC BY-SA 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)]
Things To Consider
Ignore any "rules" telling you how much to spend
on a present,
wedding etiquette experts say.
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Carefully, she angled it, tipped it so she could check the tiny price tag. And breathed
a quiet sigh of relief. "What a wonderful gift this would be," she went on quickly as
she saw the sulk folding into her mother’s face. "You know, if you gave the other as a
gift, they wouldn’t know what they had, so they wouldn’t appreciate the gesture for
what it was worth. But something as gorgeous as this, at just the right price, will get
full marks."
"Well..."
"Why don’t I take care of having it boxed and wrapped for you? Then we’ll see if
Father has time to have some tea. It’s been a long time since we’ve been in Wyley’s
together."
"I suppose." Alma studied the vase more carefully. "It is very elegant."
"Gorgeous." And at less than four hundred, right in the ballpark.
Three Fates