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THE WEDDING PRESENT

After all the joys and the headaches of the wedding, after the ic of it all (not to mention the embarrassment of Belinda’s father’s after-dinner speech, complete with fah not yet metaphorically) over and before their new suntans had a chance to fade in the English autu the wedding presents and writing their thank you letters—thank yous enough for every towel and every toaster, for the juicer and the breadmaker, for the cutlery and the crockery and the teasmade and the curtains

“Right,” said Gordon “That’s the large objects thank-you’d What’ve we got left?”

“Things in envelopes,” said Belinda “Checks, I hope”

There were several checks, a nuift tokens, and even a £10 book token from Gordon’s Aunt Marie, as poor as a church mouse, Gordon told Belinda, but a dear, and who had sent hi as he could remember And then, at the very bottoe brown businesslike envelope

“What is it?” asked Belinda

Gordon opened the flap and pulled out a sheet of paper the color of two-day-old crea on one side The words had been typed with aGordon had not seen in soe slowly

“What is it?” asked Belinda “Who’s it from?”

“I don’t know,” said Gordon “Soned”

“Is it a letter?”

“Not exactly,” he said, and he scratched the side of his nose and read it again

“Well,” she said in an exasperated voice (but she was not really exasperated; she was happy She would wake in theand check to see if she were still as happy as she had been when she went to sleep the night before, or when Gordon had woken her in the night by brushing up against her, or when she had woken him And she was) “Well, what is it?”

“It appears to be a description of our wedding,” he said “It’s very nicely written Here,” and he passed it to her

She looked it over

It was a crisp day in early October when Gordon Robert Johnson and Belinda Karen Abingdon swore that they would love each other, would support and honor each other as long as they both should live The bride was radiant and lovely, the groom was nervous, but obviously proud and just as obviously pleased

That was how it began It went on to describe the service and the reception clearly, sily

“Hoeet,” she said “What does it say on the envelope?”

“‘Gordon and Belinda’s Wedding,’ ” he read

“No na to indicate who sent it?”

“Uh-uh”