fifty-shades-of-grey

“Ana, there’s a package for you.” Kate is standing on the steps up to the front doorholding a brown paper parcel. Odd. I haven’t ordered anything from Amazon recently.Kate gives me the parcel and takes my keys to open the front door. It’s addressed to MissAnastasia Steele. There’s no sender’s address or name. Perhaps it’s from my mom or Ray.“It’s probably from my folks.”“Open it!” Kate is excited as she heads into the kitchen for our ‘Exams are finishedhurrah Champagne’.I open the parcel, and inside I find a half leather box containing three seemingly identicalold cloth-covered books in mint condition and a plain white card. Written on one side,in black ink in neat cursive handwriting, is:I recognize the quote from Tess. I am stunned by the irony as I’ve just spent threehours writing about the novels of Thomas Hardy in my final examination. Perhaps thereis no irony… perhaps it’s deliberate. I inspect the books closely, three volumes of Tess ofthe D’Urbervilles. I open the front cover. Written in an old typeface on the front plate is:‘London: Jack R. Osgood, McIlvaine and Co., 1891.’Holy shit - they are first editions. They must be worth a fortune, and I know immediatelywho’s sent them. Kate is at my shoulder gazing at the books. She picks up the card.“First Editions,” I whisper.“No.” Kate’s eyes are wide with disbelief. “Grey?”I nod.“Can’t think of anyone else.”“What does this card mean?”“I have no idea. I think it’s a warning – honestly he keeps warning me off. I have noidea why. It’s not like I’m beating his door down.” I frown.“I know you don’t want to talk about him, Ana, but he’s seriously into you. Warningsor no.”I have not let myself dwell on Christian Grey for the past week. Okay… so his grayeyes are still haunting my dreams, and I know it will take an eternity to expunge the feel ofhis arms around me and his wonderful fragrance from my brain. Why has he sent me this?He told me that I wasn’t for him.