Page 10 of A Christmas Spark
“That sounds like fun. Is Jackson going to come over to help you decorate?”
Vanessa nodded. “I was going to invite him over for dinner this weekend and do all the decorating then. I thought we could order takeout from the tavern, decorate, and then watch a movie.”
“He’s going to want to watch a Christmas movie,” Imogen said with a giggle, and Vanessa laughed.
“Well, I can live with that. ‘Tis the season, right? Plus, if we watch Christmas movies at Christmastime, then I have an argument for rom-coms around Valentine’s Day.”
“And horror movies at Halloween.” Imogen laughed. “I think there’s something there. Seasonal movie dates sound like a lot of fun.”
“You could have those too,” Vanessa pointed out, and saw Imogen quickly glance toward the counter.
“Look, there’s our coffees.” She jumped forward, snagging them, and held one out to Vanessa. “Ready to go shopping?”
Vanessa knew Imogen was avoiding the subject, but she let it go. She thought there was definitely something between Lincoln and Imogen, but it was clear that Imogen wasn’t ready to admit it. And she didn’t want to pushtoohard—just nudge her friend along a little.
She cherished the bond she had with Imogen more than she could possibly describe. For years, she hadn’t had any friends, and certainly no one as close as she and Imogen had become. She’d been so focused on work that it had been difficult to meet and get close to anyone, and even the few female friendships she’d formed at work hadn’t blossomed, because she hadn’tmade the time to keep them up outside of work. She’d been so focused on her job that she hadn’t prioritized anything else.
Now she realized what she’d been missing out on all that time. Her friendship with Imogen had become one of the most important relationships in her life over the past year, right up there with her grandmother and Jackson. She always had someone to talk to now, someone to lean on, and she knew that Imogen felt the same way. Having a close friendship was something she hadn’t realized how much she needed until she’d been lucky enough for Imogen to take the first steps in forming that with her.
She couldn’t imagine life without Imogen now.
“Katie needs some new outfits,” Imogen said, as they left the coffee shop and headed out toward the plaza of stores. “I’m sure that’s not at the top of her Christmas list, but she does love clothes, so I think if I can find some things that are cuteandpractical, she’ll be excited. Obviously I’ll get toys for Christmas too.”
“Of course.” Vanessa grinned, thinking of the toy that Jackson had helped her track down for Katie the year before. “Does she still love the unicorn?”
“I think she might be growing out of her unicorn phase,” Imogen said with a laugh. “But she still has it in her room. And she loved itsomuch. I have no idea what the big gift that she’ll want this year will be.”
“Probably something equally hard to find. But I’m sure Mabel can help. She looked everywhere she could last year for the unicorn.”
“Katie hasn’t given me her list for Santa yet,” Imogen said as they walked into the first children’s clothing store. “She wasveryserious about writing it when she was working on it the other day. We had a whole talk about how to ask Santa politely for things.”
“At least she was worried about being polite.” Vanessa glanced through a rack of jeans that ranged from toddler to little-kid sizes. “How do you pick? They’re all so cute.”
“Right?” Imogen picked up a black and white-checked flannel shirt with small Western-snap pockets and a tiny eyelet frill on the edges of the sleeves. “Like this. Cuteandpractical, right?”
“If she loves unicorns then she’s technically a horse girl,” Vanessa said with a laugh. “So I think it’s a great pick. What about these to go with it?” She held up a pair of jeans with daisies embroidered on the pockets. “A pair of little boots would really round out the outfit.”
“You’re great at this.” Imogen draped the shirt over her arm, continuing to browse. “Have you and Jackson talked about kids?”
Vanessa’s eyes widened. “I don’t think we’re there yet. We’re still deciding how we want to celebrate things like our anniversary, let alone big decisions like marriage or houses or kids.” She chuckled softly. “I don’t hate the idea of those kinds of commitments, but I didn’t think about them for so long. I’m still getting used to dating someone seriously. Jackson is the first boyfriend I’ve had since college. So I don’t want to rush anything.”
“That’s totally understandable,” Imogen agreed. “And smart. I love Katie to the ends of the earth, but raising her on my own isn’t easy. And nothing is ever guaranteed, of course, but if you can make sure your relationship is as solid as possible before having kids, that’s the best way to do it.” She picked up a t-shirt with wildflowers emblazoned across the front. “This would be cute with those jeans, don’t you think?”
“Absolutely. Oh my gosh, look at this.” Vanessa picked up a light pink denim skirt. “This is so cute. A little spring-like, but she could wear leggings or something with it, right?”
“She could.” Imogen added it to the pile. “I need to get her a new coat. Her old one is starting to wear out, and she wants a puffersobad. She keeps asking me for a ‘puffy’ coat.”
“I saw a rack of them over to the right when we walked in.” Vanessa glanced back toward the door. “There were some cute colors. We can go look, if you like?”
Imogen nodded, and the two women started to head over to the rack of puffers. Halfway, Imogen stopped abruptly, seeing a table and side-by-side racks full of Christmas-themed children’s clothing.
“Oh my gosh, look at this.” Imogen reached out to touch the frilly taffeta skirt of a red-and-green tartan party dress. It was absolutely gorgeous, with layers of taffeta and lace on the edges of the tiers, and silky green bows on the shoulder and neckline. “Katie would feel like an absolute princess in this. She’d love it.”
“She definitely would,” Vanessa agreed. “You should get it for her! Why not? It’s a perfect Christmas dress.”
Imogen bit her lip. “It is, but—” She chewed on her lower lip, considering. “It would be cute for Christmas pictures, and maybe Christmas morning. But she couldn’t really wear it other than that. It’s not like there’s anywhere fancy for us to go out, and it would just get ruined at the shop or around the house. I really need to get more practical things for her.”
“It’s just one item,” Vanessa suggested. “You could get that and a few practical things, and it would be fine, I think.”
