Page 47 of You Were Invited
“This looks warm.”
She squeezed the sleeves, holding them out like it was a doll and touching the fur in the hood. “I’m not a big fan of camo.”
He hadn’t even noticed the design. It looked like the coat also came in plain brown and black. “This?” He yanked the black one out.
Annie’s face lit up. She slipped out the hanger and tried it on. It looked like it fit snuggly when she zipped up the chest. There was a mirror nearby. She modeled for a moment, swinging from side to side. Her smile was bright until she found the price tag.
“Oh.”
She took the coat off like it had burst into flame and was about to engulf her in a ball of fire.
“What?”
Her eyes bugged out. “It’swaytoo much,” she rasped.
“But you like it, right?”
“It’s almost three hundred dollars!”
The price made him cringe, too, but the smile on her face was priceless. He could afford it. “Don’t worry about it.”
“But–”
“I don’t mind.”
“Let me pay half then.”
Julian smiled. He wanted to treat her, but he knew she was seconds away from calling him a hypocrite. Part of him wondered if they’d argue every time one of ‘em tried to show the other a kindness.
The other part wondered how many more opportunities they’d have to do so. His heart grew heavy.
“Half?”
“Yes. Or we put it back. And I cook for you.”
“Deal,” he said. “So long as you can swing that?”
Annie smiled and nodded.
At the checkout, there were few people were ahead of them. After a moment, Julian remembered something.
“Be right back.”
Annie gave him an odd look. “Okay...?”
He dashed off and found the hardware section.If she’s going to cook for me, then I’m going to fix that leaky sink.
He dug through some sink parts before he walked back to the checkouts. He found Annie.
Annie hugged the coat in her arms. When she saw him, she turned and beamed. It made everything feel set straight, like life wasn’t nearly so hard and lonely.
He smiled back, pushing mentally against the bittersweet feeling that this probably couldn’t last forever.
He just wanted her to be happy, and at the very least, he would enjoy every damn second of today.
Guilt-free.
eighteen
