“Do whatever you want. I’m not your dad. Contrary to popular belief”, I texted back abruptly.

Fred was a smart guy. He knew what he wanted, most of the time. It was his birthday recently. Fred was not what you would call “materialistic”. He had what he had and he liked what he liked. We had similar interests but the anxiety of what to get him for his birthday this year was just as stressful.

What do you get the guy who has everything? As my mother would say. Living far away from each other didn’t help. I could have arranged to meet him for lunch in the big smoke and offered to pay for it. But Fred doesn’t like crowds. I could buy him tickets to a show but what would he want to go see? Even he wouldn’t know.

Then it hit me: Amazon. They have everything! Well, nearly everything. I hate to support Jeff and his friends but what else can I do?

I splashed out and bought him a voucher. He wasn’t expecting my sheer generosity.

“What do I even buy though?” He texted me desperately/

“Buy whatever you want. I’m not your dad. Contrary to popular belief” I replied cheekily. I still don’t know what he bought himself. No doubt he will put it to good use.