A man in Edmonton who made international headlines for holding onto a wrapped Christmas gift from a high-school girlfriend who dumped him nearly 50 years ago finally learned what it was on Thursday when she travelled to the city and opened it for him.

Adrian Pearce, now a married father of two, received the small present wrapped in shiny, purple paper shortly before Christmas 1971 from Vicki Allen, who was his very first sweetheart at George S. Henry Secondary School in Toronto.

But when she handed it to him, she broke up with him. Dejected, Pearce returned to his familyB次元官网网址檚 home, threw it under the Christmas tree and vowed never to open it.

The story last December about the unopened gift appeared on TV, newspapers and websites around the world. And as Allen stood on a stage in a packed cafe northwest of the city and peeled away the paper with Pearce standing beside her and his wife, Janet, in the audience, she herself didnB次元官网网址檛 know what sheB次元官网网址檇 see because it was so long ago and sheB次元官网网址檇 forgotten.

B次元官网网址淥h no!B次元官网网址� Allen exclaimed when she finally saw. B次元官网网址淚 canB次元官网网址檛 give that to him!B次元官网网址�

It was a small book called B次元官网网址淟ove Is: New Ways To Spot That Certain FeelingB次元官网网址� with cartoons and sayings about love.

B次元官网网址淭he irony is extreme,B次元官网网址� Allen cried.

The event was a fundraiser for the Christmas Bureau of Edmonton, a local charity that provides Christmas meals to families in need.

B次元官网网址淟ove is all of us, all of you, here tonight for the Christmas Bureau of Edmonton,B次元官网网址� Pearce responded.

Days after PearceB次元官网网址檚 story appeared last Christmas, a friend who knew them both in high school sent Allen a link to one of the many articles written about it. Allen responded by clicking B次元官网网址渓ikeB次元官网网址� on some of PearceB次元官网网址檚 Facebook posts, and Peace figured out who it was. They got in touch, and eventually Pearce and his wife were invited to meet her where she now lives in British Columbia.

They learned that they all got along. They also learned the reason Allen dumped Pearce all those years ago.

It turned out that while Allen was shopping for PearceB次元官网网址檚 gift at the mall, she met another boy and he kissed her on the spot.

B次元官网网址淚t wouldnB次元官网网址檛 have been so bad, but I kissed him back,B次元官网网址� Allen said.

She said she knew Pearce would find out she had betrayed him. She knew it was over between them.

B次元官网网址淚t was a very innocent relationship. We were in high school,B次元官网网址� Allen explained about her relationship with Pearce.

B次元官网网址淚 didnB次元官网网址檛 know he felt as intensely as he did.B次元官网网址�

For years, even after heB次元官网网址檇 married, Pearce still placed the dog-eared gift under the tree every Christmas. He enjoyed the mystery of it, but eventually his wife put her foot down when their daughter, then five, wanted to open it.

B次元官网网址淪he said, B次元官网网址楧addy, when you die, IB次元官网网址檒l be able to open it then, right?B次元官网网址� I told him he could keep it, but we just didnB次元官网网址檛 want (the gift) out in public,B次元官网网址� she explained.

B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 pretty secure in our relationship. IB次元官网网址檝e never been jealous.B次元官网网址�

Allen admitted some trepidation about meeting Pearce and his wife. Was he a stalker? He was a nice boy in 1971, but maybe, she thought, B次元官网网址漢eB次元官网网址檚 probably become an expert axe murder.B次元官网网址�

Some people had accused Allen of being a terrible person for giving Pearce a Christmas present and then breaking up with him. Pearce has also been called everything from B次元官网网址淗eartbroke BlokeB次元官网网址� in the British press to B次元官网网址渕oronB次元官网网址� in one New York newspaper.

HeB次元官网网址檚 since written a book about the whole experience, and his wife and Allen contributed chapters.

B次元官网网址淚 think itB次元官网网址檚 absolutely fantastic that weB次元官网网址檙e friends. My wife is friends with (Vicki),B次元官网网址� Pearce told the crowd.

B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檙e in a fantastic place where all you can feel is love.B次元官网网址�

Rob Drinkwater, The Canadian Press

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