Chapter 15 – Gifts are also love

Thursday, September 17 | 55 days until the conference | 243 registrations

The next day, Casper entered Victor’s office, with a large grin on his face and a stuffed guinea pig in his hand. Martine came chasing in after him and looked a great deal less cheerful.

           ‘He’s had an idea,’ she scorned.

           ‘But it’s a really good idea,’ said Casper, placing the guinea pig on Victor’s desk. ‘I noticed several people on social media are acting on our call: Share your Road to #Rodentia15. They often do so by taking a picture of the paper invitation. Apparently they like it.’

           ‘It’s nice,’ said Victor, and picked up the guinea pig. ‘So?’

           ‘So,’ said Casper, ignoring Martine’s sigh. ‘Apparently, people are tempted to react when they receive a physical item, which is not such an obvious thing anymore in this digital era, of course.’

           ‘Sadly not,’ said Victor, and he squeezed the soft plush toy.

           ‘This morning, in the shower, I suddenly thought: what if we were to send the stuffed animals we have left over from the Facebook competition to our two hundred and something registered conference participants?’

           Martine shook her head and looked up at the ceiling.

           ‘As a gift?’ asked Victor, putting the guinea pig down in front of him.

           ‘Yes!’ Casper laughed. ‘They’re definitely going to take pictures of it.’

           ‘So you hope,’ said Martine.

           ‘Seriously. It strengthens the bond, it’s a token of attention, remember, the L for Love? The recipient is constantly reminded of Rodentia, involving them even more. And…’ Casper picked up the guinea pig and let it skip across Victor’s desk, ‘it gets the attention from all people visiting that person’s office.’ He moved the fluffy animal close to Victor’s face, before triumphantly placing it onto the desk.

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Written by Gerrit Heijkoop & Paula Vos

 Narrated by Kevin Stillwell