Page 52 of Time to Shine

Landon would definitely never do that. “You are a good dresser,” he conceded.

“I know. It’s because I’m not afraid of color.”

“Like your pink skate laces.”

“Exactly.” Casey pointed a fry at him. “You know why I wear those?”

“No,” Landon said, though he’d been curious. “Why?”

“In college my team did one of those gift exchanges where you can, like, swap gifts if you see something you like better than what you got. You know what I mean?”

“I think I’ve heard of that.”

“Right, so one of the guys bought bright pink skate laces as the gift. Like, as a joke, right? Who wants to be stuck with the pink laces?”

Landon nodded.

“It felt wrong,” Casey continued. “Homophobic or sexist or both. I dunno. I didn’t like it. Anyway, I was the last one to open a gift. I got a poker set. Totally solid gift. But I traded it for the pink laces, and then I wore them for the next game. After that I just kept on wearing them.”

“That’s...” Landon didn’t know what to say. He’d assumed Casey just wore the laces because he was a showoff, or maybe to be obnoxious, but the real reason was almost heroic. “I like that,” he finally said. “I never would have been confident enough to wear them, but I would have felt the same way as you about it.”

Casey smiled. “I know, Stacks. That’s why I like you.”

After lunch Landon requested they go to a less-expensive store so he could shop for presents for his parents. He wasn’t being cheap; he just knew his parents weren’t really the designer yoga bag type.

He wanted to buy them the whole world. They deserved it, and he owed it to them.

Instead he ended up buying his dad some really nice-quality winter work gloves, along with a scarf and hat, and was now considering a bathrobe and slippers for his mom.

“Dude,” Casey said, “how old are your parents?”

“Like, early fifties?”

“Okay, because I thought they were maybe in their early hundreds based on this gift.”

Landon sighed. “Fine. What’s your idea?”

“I don’t know. What does she like?”

It was a simple question, but it made Landon burn with shame. The truth was he didn’t really know what his mom liked anymore.

“Gardening,” he said, because it popped into his head suddenly. “Or she used to like gardening. Our backyard wasn’t big, but it always looked nice. Lots of flowers.”

“Okay,” Casey said slowly. “I know less than nothing about gardening, but there are probably some dope gifts you could get her.”

“Like what? And besides, it’s winter. Not exactly gardening season.”

“Who cares? Come on. We’re going somewhere else.”

They ended up at a year-round garden center that Casey had googled. Casey immediately began charming the woman behind the counter, who looked to be about Landon’s mom’s age.

“So what would you say would be the ultimate gift for someone who loves gardening?” Casey asked. “Like, the very best thing.”

The woman, whose nametag said Lori, happily showed them a few high-quality items while Casey reacted with an absurd amount of excitement to each one.

“Stacks! Look at this thing. She can keep all her tools in here and sit on it. It’s, like, ergonomic. And you could get her new tools too! Oh, and that hat!”

So Landon walked out of the store with a fancy folding garden stool, a set of gardening tools, leather gardening gloves, a cheerful sun hat, and a rugged apron. He also felt lighter, like he’d maybe done something right by his parents for once.

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