Page 18 of Unruly Kris

“Perfect.” Kris grabbed a box above her head. “I know a couple of the older kids really like the complex sets. They have a club where they put them together when they can. Let’s get the one that looks like the T-Rex as well, they’ll love it.”

Cath grabbed a set that looked like a coral reef and held it up in surprise, “Oh look at this one!” She set it in the cart and began rooting through the shelves for the extra pieces that went with it while Kris began scouting for sets for the younger children further down the aisle.

In just a short while, their first car was full, and they returned to the front to grab another while the clerks began to ring things in, in advance. This was repeated several times over the next hour until they had left three full carts at the front and eventually returned with their fourth and last. The clerks had been busy putting through the toys ahead of time so by the time that they had finished with the last cart, all that had to be done was to tally the final bill and cash out.

“I still can’t believe you grabbed a chemistry set,” Kris shook his head in amusement. “If we hear about a kid blowing up the pediatric ward, it’s on you.”

“You grabbed action figures of yourself,” Cath pointed out. “At least I went with something educational.”

“And I went for something totally awesome, so I agree to disagree.” Kris leaned on the checkout counter and began to fill out a delivery sheet for the order.

“Who wraps these?” Cath asked, casually picking up a box of Walkie Talkies out of a cart and checking their distance range.

“Jennifer has a squad waiting and ready.” Kris assured her. “There is a load of volunteers who’ll spend the next few days wrapping gifts. I’d offer to help but these guys are professionals, the wrap job always looks awesome.”

“So, what now?” Cath asked. “Now that the shopping is done.”

“To start this,” Kris took out his wallet and passed the clerk his credit card casually.

Cath chanced to look at the cash register total and quickly looked away again; the number of zeros on the screen was more than she had made in the past three months. Kris reached out and squeezed her hand, seeing the stunned look on her face.

“Breathe, you’re turning blue.” he chuckled and bumped his shoulder off hers. “The most painful part is over, and this is arguably the best way I spend my money every year. The kids are going to be overjoyed, just keep that in mind.”

“I’m going to hang on to that thought,” Cath said as they stepped away.

“Hang on to me.” He said, tucking her arm around his securely and patting her hand. “I know this can be a lot to get used to, I’ll keep you steady.”

“What do we do now?” Cath asked as they walked away from the check out. “It’s well after midnight.”

“Now, we eat.” Kris began to steer her towards the elevator again. “I don’t know about you, but I’m starving.”

“You read my mind. I’d kill for some fries.” Cath agreed as her stomach rumbled.

“I’m sure we could find a place that’s open,” Kris said, taking out his phone to start looking.

“In LA, I don’t doubt it,” Cath’s tone was incredulous. “The real question is will what we find be edible?”

“In LA… debatable.” Kris cuddled her close. “Come on, it’ll be a great adventure to end our night.”

Cath made a face and then heaved a dramatic sigh. “If you say so. We may have to get Darren to take us to a 24-hour pharmacy on the way home though. Adventure is one thing; food poisoning is another.”

Kris leaned in close to her ear with a smile and a devilish grin. “One of us, one of us, one of us.”

“Oh, shut up.” She said with a laugh as the elevator doors closed behind them and they went on their way in pursuit of food to end their night.

After a quick search, they found an ancient diner a couple blocks away and made the short walk over on foot, huddled against the cold drizzle that had started to fall while they had been occupied inside.

Stepping into the restaurant they were met with the smell of burgers and fresh fries. They quickly settled into one of the red battle-scarred booths and spread the menus out in front of them. Given the hour, and the fact that they were one of a handful of people in the diner, they were able to order quickly and soon found themselves working their way through plates of burgers and fries with gusto.

“So, what did you think of tonight?” Kris asked as he waterfalled malt vinegar on his fries, making Cath wince in disgust.

“I think it’s awesome,” Cath said truthfully around a mouthful of burger. “Generous and very sweet.”

“Be honest, I won’t be offended.” Kris gestured to her with a fry and a wry chuckle. “At first you thought I had dropped you in a room with all of my illegitimate children.”

“The thought had occurred to me,” she joked back, trying to keep a straight face as he stuck his tongue out at her. “What I still don’t get is why you didn’t tell me about all of this today when I asked. I would have been on board in a heartbeat.”

“I guess I was just nervous,” Kris admitted, shrugging his shoulders and trying to seem nonchalant. His body language told another story. Cath set her burger aside and took his hand from across the table.

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