REGINA – It was a Rockwell-esque scene Friday morning as Edgar Nyfors surrounded by his family, carefully unwrapped the sole present under the tree with his name. Inside, a Craftsman V20 cordless two-speed saw in cherry red.
“Oh my goodness girls! How did you know?” gushed the 65-year-old, pressing both hands to his face to make a show of how impressed he was. “This is the second best thing you girls have ever given me,” continued the senior, kissing the tops of Nicole and Melanie’s heads, his two adult daughters. “Why, this must have taken you forever to find!”
In truth, the moderately-priced item was the only one on his Christmas wish list and came with manufacturer product number and driving directions to a local hardware store where the tool had been placed on hold.
However, initial delight quickly transformed into pushback, when after a moment Edgar remarked that his children should return his sole gift, to buy themselves something instead. Claiming the gift was “absolutely gorgeous” but that he would never use it, he pointed out the hand-saw he owned “still worked fine” for the senior citizen whose arthritis had necessitated his retirement in 2018.
“Just enjoy the gift, Dad! You’re allowed to have nice things,” responded the two sisters as they played their role in the yearly choreographed mock argument.
Determined still, the Nyfors patriarch began insisting the gift be returned on the grounds that the present’s $89 price tag was far too expensive for Nicole and Melanie to split, who work as an obstetrician and legal secretary respectively.
“He does this every year,” said eldest daughter Nicole. “[Melanie and I] had to leave our purses in our cars because last year he snuck the cash values of our gifts into them.”
Finally giving in, he safely stowed away the receipt and put down the box without opening it, in case either child accepted his plea when he tried twice again later in the day.
At press time, the elder Nyfors was quietly waiting for the family members to finish their Christmas toasts to mention his left side had gone numb so as not to make a fuss.
