Man Waited Nearly 50 Years To Open Christmas Gift from Ex-Girlfriend
You might remember the story of a man named Adrian Pearce, who vowed nearly 50 years ago to never open the gift from his first love.
According to Inside Edition, Pearce was a 17-year-old senior at George S. Henry Secondary School in Toronto, Canada, when he began dating his first serious girlfriend Vicki Allen.
Pearce received a Christmas gift from Allen way back in 1971. Sadly, Allen broke up with Pearce the same day she gave him the gift.
“She gave me a present at the same time and I took the present home. I had a long walk home and I was all upset and angry, and all the things you feel when somebody breaks up with you,” Pearce told Time of News.
Pearce was rightly heartbroken and swore that he would never ever open the gift, thinking in the back in his mind that they would get back together and open it then.
The two never did get back together, though, and both Pearce and Allen ended up marrying different people and staring families of their own. But Allen never forgot Vicki and kept that Christmas wrapped for decades.
The gift always made its way to under the Christmas tree each year, but never did get opened. Allen’s children urged him to open it, but he refused.
“After my family opened their gifts at Christmas, there was still one Christmas gift left and it’s the gift this girl Vicki had given me. I told my family I’m never going to open that present,” Pearce told Time of News.
The tradition of putting the unopened gift from Vicki under the tree eventually died as Allen’s wife put an end to it, but Pearce kept the gift, looking at it every so often.
“I kept it initially because I guess I had hopes that we would get back together and open it together,” Pearce told Time of News. “Now it’s just become a habit after 47 years of looking at it and having the pleasure of not opening it.”
Pearce even posted a picture of the gift along with his story on Facebook, which has raised a surprising amount of interest from others that wonder what exactly the Christmas gift could be.
“Maybe I don’t want to know what’s inside it. It’s more exciting right now not opening the thing,” he added.
After posting his story last year, Pearce found Allen’s old phone number and decided to call her.
“I was almost shaking I was so nervous,” he told Time of News.
Pearce was able to finally track Allen down after dialing the numbers unsuccessfully and performing an internet search to locate her. He even called a woman with the same name as Allen in Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada, but she was 91 years old and obviously not his old flame.
While his first attempts were unsuccessful, Pearce kept trying, and finally, he was able to reach Allen. The two talked and ultimately hatched a plan that would allow the gift to be opened for a good cause.
Pearce arranged for Allen to open the gift after 48 years during a fundraiser for the Christmas Bureau of Edmonton, which raises money for needy families.
Allen tore apart the tattered blue paper to finally reveal the gift Pearce waited so long to get. What was inside, you ask?
Ironic considering the circumstances between the two, the gift was a book entitled “Love Is: New Ways to Spot That Certain Feeling.”
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