Page 9 of A Christmas Spark
He’d just rounded one aisle and was heading into another when he nearly ran directly into Mabel.
“George!” she exclaimed, thoroughly startled. “What are you doing here?”
“Shopping, like everyone else,” he said bemusedly. “Had a string of lights go out and figured I could do with picking up a few other things while I was at it.” He glanced at her basket and raised his eyebrows as he saw the assortment of items there.
There were cans of tuna stacked on one side, and next to them a glass quart bottle of milk from the local farm—the kind that always had the clot of cream on top when it was opened—alongside a fluffy pillow and a tiny jingle bell. George cocked his head, trying to sort out what the odd assortment of items might be for, but as the seconds ticked by, he couldn’t puzzle it out.
“What’s all this?” he asked finally, gesturing at the basket. “The tuna and milk seem like you’re getting ready to make some kind of questionable casserole, but the rest of it—what on earth are you going to do with a single jingle bell, Mabel? Did one of the bells fall off the door on the shop?”
“Never you mind,” Mabel said, swatting him on the arm as she ambled past him in the aisle. “You worry about yourself, George Lowery.” Her tone was teasing as she said it, without any rancor, and he chuckled as he watched her walk past.
“I’m not the one buying a weird mishmash of stuff!” he called after her, and she waved a hand at him, playfully dismissing him as she headed toward the line for the checkout.
“What on earth is that woman up to?” he muttered as he continued on his way toward the stationery aisle. If he had to guess, the only reason he could think of for her to have such a strange collection of things that she was buying, was that she was working on yet another one of her pranks.
Their relationship had always been like that, for as long as he could remember. They bantered and teased one another, even playfully bickering at times, in a way that the rest of the town insisted was a flirtation. At one point, years ago, there’d even been a betting pool over at the pub on whether or not he and Mabel would get together. The drawback of small-town living, he thought ruefully, as he looked through an assortment of pens. Everyone had an opinion about everyone else’s life, and everyone was invested in the outcome. But as much as that could feel like an annoyance at times—like when he was tryingto ignore the fact that the whole town had an interest in his non-existent love-life—it came with good things too.
There was always someone in Fir Tree Grove to help. If a person was sick, or their spouse or child was, if they were in need of help, if a car broke down or they fell behind on a payment, if someone needed a babysitter or help with a party, there was always someone willing to help. Always someone to bring over meals after a birth or a marriage, or an illness or death. That closeness—like any family, he reflected—came with ups and downs, but overall, it was a warm familiarity that he never wanted to be without.
He and Mabel had settled the question of whether or not their relationship would ever be romantic a long time ago. She didn’t want a partner, she wanted a friend. Someone who could liven up her life a bit and amuse her, someone she could laugh with, someone who brightened her day. She’d already been married; she didn’t need a romance. At least that’s what she’d said.
Their pranks had become a part of that banter. He still recalled the one she’d pulled last Christmas, when she’d pre-decorated a tree that he’d grown especially for Cindy and Neil, the owners of the Holly and Ivy Market. She’d snuck onto his tree farm and decorated it with garlands of elves, which he hated with a passion, just to catch him off guard when he brought the couple out to see their tree.
To get her back, he’d left a garland of chickens in her doorway, and it had gotten her good. He grinned to himself as he remembered it; he was still proud of that one.
This was likely just another prank, and he wouldn’t be able to parse it together until whatever she had planned caught him completely off-guard. He might as well buckle up, he thought wryly, and get ready for what might be coming.
The thought surprisingly warmed him. He’d convinced himself long ago that Mabel’s antics were a bother, just something to clean up after and disrupt his day. But as he headed to go check out, wondering just what she might be up to, he couldn’t help hoping that he was right about her planning another prank.
After all, it would give him an excuse to see her.
CHAPTER SEVEN
For the first time she could remember in her entire life, Vanessa was out shopping on a weekday.
If she was being honest with herself, she still felt a little as if she were committing a crime. Having a weekday off, let alone Christmas shopping on that weekday, was something that she would have never done a year ago. She hadn’t even taken weekends off back then. But Imogen had wanted to go into the city to do some holiday shopping. Mabel had assured Vanessa that she could handle The Toy Chest on a midweek day without issue, and Imogen had some part-time help that came in on the weekends during the holidays to handle the customer rush, and had been more than willing to work on a Wednesday.
So Vanessa found herself in a bustling coffee shop with Imogen, ordering their drinks before they started off on a day of working their way through their gift lists.
“This is growth, right?” Vanessa asked with a laugh. “I used to work through every Saturday and Sunday at the coffee shop just down from my apartment in San Francisco. Now I’m getting a coffee with my best friend on a Wednesday afternoon, so we can spend a leisurely day out shopping.”
“Itisgrowth,” Imogen agreed. “And I’m so proud of you. Really, I am.”
“Thanks,” Vanessa said with a laugh. “Speaking of getting out of our comfort zones, have you heard anything from Lincoln?”
Imogen narrowed her eyes. “Other than him sending me the invoice for his weekly hot cocoa powder order? No. Why would I have?” she challenged, and Vanessa shrugged with a teasing glint in her eye.
“Oh, I don’t know. Just curious.”
Imogen shook her head, and Vanessa was interrupted from any further prying when the customer just in front of them finished her order and stepped aside.
“Two hot peppermint mochas, with whipped cream and chocolate shavings,” Imogen said, slipping her wallet out of her purse and waving Vanessa off when she tried to hand over her credit card. “I’ve got these. You drove us here, the least I can do is get us coffee.”
“That’s sweet of you.” Vanessa tucked her credit card back into the slim brown leather purse she was carrying, and followed Imogen to the counter to wait for their drinks. “Honestly, I feel so much more relaxed,” she said looking around the coffee shop. “I didn’t realize how tense I was all of the time until I made the decision to move back to Fir Tree Grove for good, and I could just… breathe. And now, this is the best holiday season I’ve ever had as an adult. Even last year, I was in the middle of quitting my job, and moving, and all of that. But this year I get to just enjoy it. I even bought a Christmas tree from George,” she added with a laugh.
“Have you decorated it yet?” Imogen asked, and Vanessa scrunched up her nose.
“Not yet. I need to get some more ornaments, and things like that. It’s not like I have very many of my own, other than the ones Jackson gave me last year when we decorated that smalltree out on my balcony at the bed and breakfast’s room. That’s not enough to fill up awholetree.” Vanessa smiled. “They’re all my favorite ornaments though. Maybe today I’ll get some more to fill it out.”
