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A 60-year-old man from Toronto, Canada, who'd been keeping a Christmas present from his first love ever since she broke his heart 47 years ago, finally opened the gift recently.
Adrian Pearce, a married father of two, received the gift wrapped in shiny purple paper from his high-school sweetheart, Vicki Allen, just before Christmas in 1971, Daily Mail reports.
Vicki had apparently ended the relationship because she'd met someone else while shopping for Adrian's gift, The Sun reports.
After Vicki dumped him, an infuriated Adrian returned home and threw the gift under the Christmas tree, vowing never to open it.
He continued to place the unopened present under a Christmas tree every year, even after he got married and had children.
Last year, Adrian posted about the gift on Facebook and the media quickly picked up on the story. Vicki got in touch with him and they recently got together to open the gift. Adrian and his wife, Janet, travelled to British Colombia where Vicki was to open the gift at a charity event, News.au.com reports.
"I was surprised and shocked when I first heard about it. I was astounded that anybody would hold a grudge that long, or remembered me that long or have been able to withstand the temptation that long," Vicki says.
The gift – a small book titled Love Is: New Ways to Spot That Certain Feeling – was opened at a charity event that aims to provide Christmas meals to families in need.
But Adrian says he’d forgiven Vicki and moved on long ago as he’d gotten over the heartbreak of the breakup.
"Any ill feelings I have towards Victoria are long gone. I got over it – I've been married for 40 years," he says.
Sources: The Sun, Daily Mail , News.au.com
