It's The Thought That Counts

There was something about the coast that made Jade Thirlwall love mornings. Perhaps it was the way that the marine layer lazily stretched over the coast and her small cottage by the ocean, hiding the sun and the hear from them until mid-morning.

Jade was a professor at the local uni, teaching math to undergraduate students. As it is with teaching a subject you love to students you hate, work was both enjoyable but exhausting for her. Without any way to relax on the weekends, Jade would have gone insane.

She had been on the verge of a nervous breakdown when her girlfriend Leigh-Anne, had initially suggested that they go over to the Bayside Farmer's Market for a bit on Saturday morning. It was a smart idea for Leigh-Anne, who knew that one of the few things Jade loved almost as much as her was food.

After they went that day, Jade has fallen head over heels with the whole vibe of the outside marketplace, with the foods and the people and the dogs always meandering around the area, big smiles on their faces.

They made it a tradition to go every Saturday from thereon in.

On this particular Saturday morning, Leigh-Anne was particularly excited to go to the Farmer's Market. Why? Because Harry had come back from his vacation, and he had promised to make some macarons just for Leigh-Anne to give to Jade. He had been experimenting, at Leigh-Anne's request, with creating pomegranate macarons. As Jade chased down dogs to try and pet them, Harry and Leigh-Anne schemed. Harry would hand her whatever test result he had most recently baked (usually it was from the night before) and Leigh-Anne would tell him what she thought.

As weeks passed (they had been planning this for about two and a half months), the macaron critiques got better, and they started to plan out how Leigh-Anne would give the small but thoughtful gift to Jade.

"Just give them to her," Harry said after Leigh-Anne, out of pure nervousness, had suggested giving the gift to Jade after taking her skydiving, once she raised the money to do so.

"It's nothing big, Leigh."

"But that's the problem. She does such big things for me, because she has money. I'm just a freelance writer, working on a book that probably won't sell, and otherwise I just work a part-time clerk job at a grocery store."

"So?"

"So?? She's basically single handedly paying for the seaside home, she does the grand gestures because she can afford them. I can't afford these things for her. I can't do that, Harry."

"I don't think that matters to her, Leigh-Anne. It's something small, but it's the thought that counts. It's the love behind things that make them so special to the ones who recieve them. Just give it to her. She'll love whatever you do, as long as it comes from you."

"I don't know that for sure."

"No you don't. But I do. Come back after you're done looking at the rest of the market, and I'll hand you the box. There will be twelve inside. Just give them to her, there's nothing to worry about."

"Okay, Harry..." Leigh-Anne bit her lip nervously, then went to join Jade, who was over at a cheesecake booth, petting a pug.

When she saw Leigh-Anne approach, Jade couldn't help but smile. Even in the mornings, still sleepy eyed from waking up early, Leigh-Anne Pinnock was radiant. In a matter of seconds, Jade's attention drifted away from the pug to her girlfriend.

"Hey babygirl, there you are."

"Hi."

"Did you have a good time talking to Harry?"

"Yeah, I was asking him about specials he'll have for the holidays. We can invite him and his boyfriend to Thanksgiving."

"That sounds nice." Jade said contentedly. "Ready to continue looking around?"