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“Since it’s morning, I’m going to go with no.”
I chuckled.
“I would like to go to one of the bookstores and check out the gift store. Is that okay with you?” Chloe asked.
“I’m down for anything. Let me just find a place to park.”
Thankfully, the main street in the town had most of the businesses, so we could get out and walk. We would have to drive to the winery though.
The first stop was a bookstore. Once we were inside, Chloe took off, as if she’d been there before. Meanwhile, I browsed the aisles.
I wasn’t a big reader even though I had tried many times in the past. My brother had liked to read, and my parents had made comments when I was growing up, asking why I couldn’t be a reader too.
I had tried sci-fi, fantasy, suspense, and horror. I had even tried a romance book after the urging from a girlfriend, but I could never get into it. It wasn’t that the books weren’t good; I would just rather be doing stuff than reading about doing stuff. I had been a very active kid, and I thought my parents had gotten overwhelmed by it sometimes.
I wandered over to the medical section since I didn’t know what else to look at, and that was where Chloe found me, thumbing through an anatomy book, when she was ready to leave.
Next, we went to a gift shop. I found this stuff much more interesting.
“Oh my God,” Chloe said. “Liam?”
“Coming,” I said from one aisle over and set down the item I had been looking at.
“No, stay there,” she said quickly.
“Okay.”
She peeked her head around the corner and smiled. “Close your eyes and hold out your arms.”
I was already wondering why she hadn’t wanted me to go over to her aisle, and now, I was quite curious.
“You’re not going to hurt me, are you?” I joked.
“Nope. Just the opposite.”
I had no idea what the opposite of hurting me would be in a store, but I wasn’t going to find out until I did what she’d said.
I closed my eyes and held out my hands.
“Move your arms out farther,” she said, closer to me now.
I did as she’d asked. “How’s that?”
“Good.” I could hear the smile in her voice. “You ready?”
“As I’ll ever be.”
She plopped something in my arms. It was large but not overly heavy for how big it was. I touched it with my hands. It was soft, and I was able to squeeze it.
“Open your eyes.”
When I did, I saw I was holding a huge kernel of popcorn, and I burst out laughing.
“It’s a pillow.” Chloe laid her head on it.
Now, I understood what she’d meant by the opposite of hurting me. She lifted her head, and I squished it to me. It would be comfortable to lay one’s head on.
“I can’t believe you found this.”
