I enjoyed this vividly drawn and amusing holiday scene. The wealthy gentleman having to scramble to retrieve the correct present was made funnier by the reader knowing that whatever he had in the box was no sick joke and that point was driven home beautifully by an equally agitated Spike stomping around the wrapping station.

Seeing Spike through a stranger's eyes is always refreshing, and this moment of observation and commiseration was revealing and charming: Up close, the paint around the man's eyes and the scratches on his cheek made the hoodlum look even more thuggish. Until he ripped off the paper bag and looked in the box. Then his face softened, and he felt a twinge of sympathy, because even this thug lived in fear of disappointing his lady. Dru was obviously less than pleased with her present and in a much more violent manner than our narrator's wife. Here's hoping both ladies will be happier with the gifts that were originally intended.

There was an amusing typo in this: How he ended up at this gift wrapping counter, at the far coroner of the basement...I think we all type that word way too often!