Nicest Gift

[Arkanabar]

The one that brought me here.

 

I went to visit my wife's brother one day for an unrelated thing, and he pulls out this Sheaffer presentation box with the inlaid nib logo. He opens it up and shows me the pen inside. It is pretty thick, burgundy, with a silver inlaid nib and a brushed stainless cap. There are some chalk marks on the barrel:

 

PFM-II

FINE

$12.50

 

I fiddle with it, extend the snorkel, and tell him it's a snorkel-fill Sheaffer and a pretty nice pen. He tells me I have no clue how much he paid for it at auction. He asks me if I like it. "Yeah, I like it. Thick, light, fine nib, you bet."

"You want it?"

This guy is a terrible tease. If he wants to give me the pen, that's great. But if he wants to just wave it under my nose, I don't really want to strike at the bait. So he keeps asking me if I want it, and I keep saying I like it, about three different ways. So, eventually, "Yes, I'd like to have it."

"It's yours."

"You sure?"

"It's yours."

"You're sure you don't want it for yourself?"

"I bought it for you at the auction a few months ago."

 

Needless to say, it was a Sheaffer Pen For Men II, NOS or near-mint. It might have been inked once before it was given to me.

 

It was a truly extraordinary gift, showing remarkable insight and respect. I doubt he'd seen me go on about pens more than a couple of times, tops, and that some time back. And at auction, in the wild, I can believe he spent over $200. And he gave it to me for no other reason that I can imagine beyond his desire to show appreciation for how I treat his sister.

 

Then there was the one that this place inspired. There was a poll, "Where do you get your pens?" One of the choices was "I get them given to me." I recalled that my Dad used to use some sort of hooded-nib Parker. So I wrote my Mom a letter telling her about my brother-in-law's gift. In it, I asked if she had any fountain pens she wasn't using that she could send me, mentioning Dad's old pen in particular. She emailed me, saying she couldn't find it. I sighed and stopped thinking about it.

 

This year was the first in seven years that I spent Christmas with my family. My mom had gifts for each of us, legacies from Dad. My sister got two of his old architectural rulers, one brother got his briefcase, another got his old yacht club pennant, and my brother-in-law, who'd gotten Dad's .357 a couple of years back, got the manual and paperwork for it. And me? I got his black aero Mk1 "51" with lustraloy cap.

 

My mom had kept looking, and turned up all these other things of Dad's in the search. She was glad to unclutter her home, and we were all glad to gain these legacies from our Dad. And I was especially glad that I'd gotten the ball rolling on it.

[note2sb]

thanks everyone. it is amazing when people care enough to notice.