Page 60 of The Company We Keep

“Still counts as Christmas,” the man insisted.

They hadn’t put up a tree before the rest of The Company left, but Carrow had found a tabletop tree made of tackysilver tinsel. He’d set it up on the kitchen counter, and both men had placed their presents in front of it: two boxes, both small, both neatly wrapped.

Carrow retrieved the boxes, passing the heavier one over to Dust and holding the lighter one, scrawled with an embellished “Boss” on the tag.

“At the risk of being rude,” Dust said, “I think I should go first. Your present is kind of…involved.”

Carrow gave him an odd look but agreed immediately.

Dust ripped into the paper, revealing a gold box with the initials “AP” on top. Inside of the box was another box: this one slick and wooden and also branded “AP.”

“It’s a watch,” Dust joked. Carrow’s face fell immediately.

“Dust!”

“Shit, I didn’t think it wasreallya watch,” Dust said, laughing hard.

“You’re a real asshole sometimes, kid. Way to take the wind out of my sails.”

“Oh, come on, shit — ”

“Justopenthe goddamn thing.”

He did, pressing in the little gold button on the front of the box. It popped open, and inside on a soft bed of suede sat themostridiculous watch Dust had ever seen in his life.

He didn’t even want to touch it. The thing was clearly a man’s watch with its heavy lines and thick band — but it was white gold anddrippingwith diamonds. Finally, he noticed the script behind it:Ademars Piguet.

“You got me a fuckingAdemars,” Dust said.

“I stole it,” Carrow said quickly. “From the Prince of Morocco.”

Dust was laughing so hard that he could barely breathe.

“Morocco has aprince?”

“A prince who’s probably been fairly late to official functions since I lifted this right off his wrist in October.”

“This is the gaudiest thing I’ve ever seen in mylife,” Dust said.

“Isn’t it terrible? Put it on,” Carrow said, lifting it out of the box. Together, they figured out how to work the clasp. The thing was impossibly heavy on his wrist.

“Where’d you get the box and everything else?”

Dust was expecting some story about the great heroics it had taken to infiltrate the prince’s hotel room and steal the box.

“Internet,” Carrow said, hitching a shoulder.

Dust laughed so hard he was hiccupping.

“It’s perfect,” Dust said, wiping a tear out of his eye from laughter. Carrow knew he was beaming and didn’t care. He’d been half afraid that Dust wouldn’t like it because of how ridiculous the gift was — a luxury watch crusted in diamonds that pushed the thing’s worth past a million dollars. But, of course, it wasn’t the watch that was the gift, and Dust could see that.

It was the effort, the crime behind the watch, the planning it had taken and the solo execution.

“I love it,” Dust insisted, catching him behind the neck and pulling Carrow into a kiss. “Wayles is going to laugh himself silly. Christ, I can’t wait to wear it on ajob.Can you imagine getting mugged by someone wearing a million-dollar goddamn watch?”

Dust was pleased. And so Carrow was pleased.

With the garishwatch still on his wrist, Dust gestured to the small box in Carrow’s lap.

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