Page 38 of Saber's Surrender

“He’s not. Since it’s the best of the best, I thought we’d get one for each of the living spaces. Let me take care of my guys, Weston.”

“Fine,” I say, waving her toward the counter since the woman that was ahead of us in line is finally checked out.

I glance around and can’t begin to comprehend why an entire building needs to be dedicated to electronics and all the tidbits that are needed for them to run and be hooked up. Of course, I suspect Hawg and Beast, and probably even Selah would be in hog heaven the second they stepped through the fucking doors. I mean, I do the same when I walk into a Harley-Davidson store or find a small shop that caters to bikers with unique items, so I understand the feeling to an extent. A camera off to the side catches my attention and I leave Foxy’s side long enough to go and examine it.

Back in the day, Foxy used to dream about hiking through the woods and taking photos of nature. We never had the funds to buy anything more expensive than a Polaroid, but from what I remember, anytime she pressed that button and the film would shoot out from it, she’d have a luminous smile on her face. I silently promised her back then that when the day came when I could afford a better one, I’d grab it for her. Now seems as good of a time as any to do that.

While she’s occupied with the salesman as he walks her through HDMI cords and other bullshit, stuff I feel like he’s going to end up selling her even though I halfway doubt we’ll need it all seeing as it’s labeled as a smart TV, I grab a woman who's walking the floor, wearing one of their uniformed shirts, and tell her what I’m wanting.

She goes through an entire speech about the pros of this one and the cons of others. When I tell her that I’m in a hurry and it’s a surprise for the woman I’m shopping with, she gets the hint and grabs the Canon EOS Rebel and hightails it to a different register on the other side of the warehouse so my Foxy Roxy can’t see us.

By the time she’s done with me, I have a carrying case, an extra lens that will allow Roxy to get different panoramic effects, and a tripod stand. I think I’m the one who got taken by buying more things than what was necessary, but the thought of seeing her smile has me almost cheerfully handing the clerk my card

I rush the things out to the car after coming up with the excuse that I had to hit the head again, rubbing my belly to make her think it’s upset, and hide the items in the tirewell section of the SUV. I plan on giving it to her as a wedding gift. I hope she’ll love it as much as I think she will.

My goal in life is to make all of her dreams come true. I don’t give a fuck if they’re ones she used to dream of and gave up on, or new ones she finds along the way.

CHAPTER

TWENTY-TWO

Roxy

“I think you made an enemy today,”Harper giggles as she nods her head in Weston’s direction. He has a scowl on his face, and anytime he looks my way he squints his eyes into narrowed slits.

“Neither one of us has ever been a fan of shopping trips. It just so happened that every store we hit was sold out of what Canyon wanted. On top of that, he had an upset stomach and spent more time in the restrooms than in the stores themselves,” I snicker, remembering how green he looked whenever I wanted to stop at a different retailer and check out what they had. “But we got everything on our list so we won’t have to go back out.”

Laney chortles when Weston releases a disgruntled snarl, tossing the piece of shit tool they package along with all of the bolts and washers to the side, before wrinkling the directions in his hand with a grunt. He’s been trying to put the entertainment center together for the last past hour without any success.

“It’d be nice if the instructions they provide were written in English,” he complains.

“They are,” I apprise him. “Turn the manual over, they're on the other side.”

“Motherfucker!” he barks, his face contorting into a malign sneer. “How long have you known that? Have you been sitting over there watching me scramble, all the while, knowing it’s because I needed to turn the damn booklet over?”

“Yes,” I tell him without shame, sending him an impish wink. “I thought you’d be all manly and beat your chest if I told you.”

“Asshole,” he mutters, his timbre lighthearted. “I wouldn’t have beat my chest, just so you know.”

“I thought men didn’t like using directions,” Selah antagonizes. “Doesn’t that go against the man code or something?”

“Or something,” he returns, wheeling the directions around, slapping them on the ground, and facing them upward so he can see them. “Okay, now that makes sense.”

I duck my head so he can’t see how funny I find this entire thing. Out of the corner of my eye, I watch him find the right part, piece it together, and bob his head in satisfaction.

“Now you’re cooking with oil,” Harper says, praising him in the same tone I’ve heard her use on Selah’s daughters. “Good job, Saber.”

I lean over and whisper in Harper’s ear, “The phrase is now you’re cooking with gas, not oil.” She looks at me wide-eyed as I nod, before she bursts into laughter at her faux pas.

“Thank you. Thank you very much,” he replies, using the worst Elvis imitation I’ve ever heard in my life.

“I wouldn’t advise you to quit your day job and take up impersonations,” Laney giggles. “That was horrible!”

“It wasn’t that bad,” Weston argues. “I thought you ladies were going to hang the kids' clothes in their closets and put other shit away from their boxes. What are y’all doing in here instead of being in their bedrooms?”

“You’re more entertaining than emptying boxes is,” I reply, blowing him an air kiss. “Besides, the new clothes have to be washed first. Didn’t you know that? It has something to do with the dyes that’re used now. We got the first load started.” Even though new clothes weren’t on their list since they wanted their wardrobe from their parents' place, we decided to use what they did have as a template for what to buy and add to what they already had.

We wanted them to have some new clothes for their new beginning.

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