Cindy’s face turned slightly as she looked at the delicate crystal tea set in her mother’s hands. The gift was much fancier than she had expected, but she tried to cover up her surprise.
“Well, it’s just one gift. Let’s open the next one before jumping to any conclusions. Right!?”
She leaned forward, quickly reaching for the next gift, a bit too eagerly. Julia raised an eyebrow, noticing her daughter’s embarrassment but didn't say anything.
The next gift was a buttery soft cashmere shawl in a rich, deep emerald green– which, coincidentally, was also Julia’s favorite color.
“Okay, fine, so she got lucky with the color! Anyone could guess green for you, Mom, you must have been wearing something green the last time you met, too. It's just a cheap trick to increase her brownie points, n
