“I know, but this is part of the mall experience,” he replied as he picked up a bottle of cologne shaped like a robot. One spray had him wincing and setting it back down.
“I guess I’m along for the ride,” I said, picking up a different bottle of cologne and examining the design. “Who should we shop for?”
“We should get something for our neighbor. Mr. Kilgore.”
I raised my eyebrows, “But he’s so grumpy. Do you remember the face he made when he found out I’m a romance author?”
“That’s exactly the point,” Jonas said as he tugged me toward the crowded discount section. “That’s why we’re shopping when all the good gifts are gone.”
I had to laugh. “Okay, let's go see.”
We spent the next half hour wandering through the store and wondering what the best bad gift could be. A bread maker? Noone made bread anymore when you could get a loaf at the store for a few dollars.
A loud chew toy for his dog? Maybe.
We finally settled on a giant popcorn machine, and I was giggling all the way as we wheeled the thing through the parking lot and back to the car. “Okay, maybe the mall is not so bad at Christmastime.” In fact, I’d had such a good time, I only realized we’d been there for four hours when we were back in the car.
“How were we in there so long?” I asked him. “I should probably get back to writing.”
But he shook his head. “You said you’d give me a day, not half a day.”
Even though I was still nervous about my deadline, I gave in. “I guess you’re right. Where to next?”
He put the car in gear and didn’t stop driving until we reached a maker's market happening downtown. Most of the surrounding roads had been blocked off, giving way to hundreds of sellers operating out of white tents.
People selling handmade pottery, food, chocolates, ceramics–pretty much anything you could stick a price tag on. We held hands as we wandered up and down the rows, sampling, tasting, and buying more than we should have. We even got souvenir mugs shaped like a boot and filled with apple cider. By the time we were done exploring, the sun was already behind the horizon, giving way to muted shades of pink and orange.
I smiled over at Jonas. “Okay, that was a good idea. Have you been to this event before?”
His cheeks gained a bit of color as he admitted, “Birdie sent me her spreadsheet of Christmas activities. It’s titled and color-coded and everything.”
The look on his face had me letting out a hearty laugh. “Of course she has an entire spreadsheet of Christmas activities in town… Well, what’s next on the list?”
“No hustling back home to write?” He gave me an impressed look, and I bumped his shoulder. He chuckled and said, “I saved the best for last. Christmas lights in the park.”
I smiled. “That sounds fun.”
“There's even an ice skating rink there.”
I raised my eyebrows. “You want me to ice skate? We both know SoCal girls and ice do not mix well.”
“But you’re married to a Canadian now,” he countered. “You have to try it. Whether it goes good or bad, you’ll have something to write about.”
He knew me too well. And the smile on his face told me he knew that he had won. So when we pulled up to a beautiful park near Emerson Trails, I was already bracing myself to fall down a million times.
Jonas walked around to my side of the car and opened the door for me. “Don’t worry,” he said as he helped me down. “We’ll check out the lights first.”
I laughed. “Thank you.”
He linked his fingers through mine as we walked through the park, taking in all the different art displays made purely of Christmas lights. I could feel the ridges of my mind tracing the patterns and forming words to describe them. Stringing moments and emotions together the way I’d been doing most my life.
Jonas was so good with me, never getting annoyed when I was lost in my own little world. When I came out of my creative trance, he said, “Y’know planner season is coming up.”
That got a smile out of me. I loved an excuse for a fresh start and fresh stationary supplies.
“What do you think you'll write next?” he asked. “After this Christmas book.”
I tilted my head. “Not a hundred percent sure.” But an idea had been teasing at the corners of my mind for a while. “I thinkI want to write a series about friends who all get their happily-ever-afters with the men of their dreams. Just like I did with you.”
