“I low-key want to thrift it this year,” Lucy said.

“Thrift what?” Marty replied.

“My best friend Jane’s Christmas present, I always try to find her a vintage book but I always just order it online from eBay or something.” Lucy was determined to find the perfect book for her friend. She was going to go to Goodwill, and then the Salvation Army if that didn’t work out. Reading brought Jane more joy than anything in the world. Plus, seeing Jane’s face light up seeing the vintage book each year brought Lucy more happiness than anything in the world. Lucy and Marty continued walking together on the sidewalk, they were both bundled up in coats, boots, hats, mittens, and scarves. Lucy hated walking the streets of the city alone, so she brought along her best male friend to come get some coffee and go Christmas shopping. Lucy looked up to see that the sun had just begun descending from its zenith.

“C’mon! We’ve gotta hurry up if we want to be driving home in the daylight!” Lucy increased her pace to slightly faster than a speedwalk. The snow was crunching under her boots like leaves in the fall. Lucy had to park far away from the coffee shop because of how busy it was; the entire parking lot had been crammed with cars.

“Lucy, wait!” Marty shouted. He took off, attempting to catch up to Lucy. She eventually made it to her dark blue truck, and Marty was about thirty seconds behind her.

“Let’s go slowpoke!” She yelled.

“I’m… trying… so… out of… breath…” Marty seemed like he’d just ran an entire marathon by the time he made it to Lucy.

“Are you okay?” She questioned with concern.

“Yeah… I’ve just been sore lately from work. We get a lot of extra shipments at the warehouse cause of the holiday season.”

“Oh. I didn’t think about that.”

“It’s okay. Don’t worry about it. That’s not something that I would expect to cross your mind.” Just after Marty spoke, Lucy got an idea.

“To make it up to you, I’ll let you have the aux!” Lucy said with a smile. Marty’s face lit up. Lucy was picky about her music taste, and didn’t let people have the aux very often.

They both got in the truck and Marty grabbed the aux cord and plugged it into his phone. He started playing music by AC/DC, specifically the song “Back In Black”.

“Marty! You know I don’t like rock stuff!” Lucy protested.

“Hey, you’re the one who let me have the aux!” Marty argued in a lighthearted manner. The pair laughed at the situation. Marty played a variety of rock and hard rock songs as Lucy drove to the Goodwill. She was able to convince him to play a Christmas song, but he just played Sarajevo 12/24 to mess with her. Eventually, they arrived at the store. Lucy and Marty got out of the car, and they were careful to make sure they didn’t slip on the icy ground.

“Are there any specific books we’re looking for here?” Marty asked.

“Nope! Just look for anything that looks old. Jane reads any genre!” Lucy opened the door to the store and entered. The heat was blasting in the vestibule, but Lucy didn’t mind because she was quite cold most of the time. Lucy and Marty made their way to the book section. There seemed to be a lot more people inside the store than normal.

“I didn’t realize how many people did Christmas shopping at Goodwill,” Lucy said to Marty.

“Yeah, me too. Some of these people are probably just regular shoppers though,” Marty replied to Lucy.

“True,” she said. They both began looking for older books. None of them were sorted in any sort of manner, so it was a bit of a hassle. There were lots of random cook books, lifestyle books, and memoirs. Nothing seemed to catch Lucy’s eye when it came to anything fiction related, until she saw a green spine. It had the words “The Wizard of Oz” on the side, and a design of a lion head. Lucy frantically grabbed it and felt the cover. It was rough and uneven, but in a charming way. It featured depictions of the Tin Man and Scarecrow looking to the right. The spine and back cover had the same green color, but she realized the lion on the spine must’ve been the Cowardly Lion. These green parts of the book were still just as uneven, but also had a sort of grainy texture to them. The feeling was in between sand and sandpaper in its own right. The edges of the book were a bit worn, but Lucy nor Jane needed the book to be in pristine condition.

“Marty, I found something,” She whispered.

“What is… HOLY COW!” Marty roared in shock.

“Shhhhh!”

“Sorry! But, oh my gosh how old is that?” Marty adjusted to a whisper.

“I don’t know, let me open it up.” Lucy gently opened the cover of the book, almost like something was hidden inside that would jump out at her. To her amazement, the copyright date was 1903. Marty was peeking over her shoulder to get a better look.

“Wow, 1903. I think you hit the jackpot, Lucy,” Marty said. Lucy’s excitement was building up by the second.

“Yeah, I’m kinda jealous!” Lucy said in a joking manner. She gently closed the book back up and headed towards the checkout line. There were about ten people in line, some with full carts and most with a few small items or clothes.

“I can’t believe someone donated this. These copies sell for hundreds of dollars. I’m pretty sure this is a collectors edition too!” Lucy quietly said to Marty.

“I also can’t believe it, but we should probably be quiet about this. You don’t know if someone is gonna try and snatch that from you.”

“You’re right. Better to be safe than sorry.” Lucy unzipped her coat and carefully put the book inside. She held her arms crossed on her chest. She looked a bit silly, but Lucy didn’t care. The line moved slowly; the store seemed to be understaffed for the time of year. Eventually, Marty and Lucy made it to the register. She took the book out of her coat and placed it on the counter.

“Woah, I guess I better be careful with that one,” the cashier said.

“Yeah, I wouldn’t want to ruin a perfectly good book!” Lucy replied. She didn’t want to give the cashier the impression that the book was old or rare, so she kept her response as vague as possible. The cashier picked up the book and scanned it. It was only ten dollars; Lucy couldn’t believe her eyes. Lucy got out her debit card and paid for the book.

“Would you like a bag?” The cashier asked.

“Oh, sure!” Lucy replied. The cashier grabbed a bag and slid the book into the bag.

“There you go. Have a nice day!” The cashier said as she nodded and smiled.

“You too!” Lucy said back. Lucy and Marty exited the store and got back in the truck. She placed the book in its bag in the back seat.

“Christmas present hunt successful!” Marty said.