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“Hey, guys,” she greeted both of us, but her eyes were focused on her youngest nephew. “Hello, little fella. How is my favorite ducky?” She picked him up from the counter as he squealed in excitement, then she stepped away to show him the ornaments.
After exploring the place, the duo approached us, and Ben fished his phone out of his pocket to see the time. “I better get going. I need to leave Teddy with Rosie and Jackson, then I’ll meet Zach so we can look for the trees.”
“I just left Haley, Gabe, and Hugo there before coming here,” Mia said before giving butterfly kisses on Teddy’s cheek. “You’re gonna have so much fun at Gamma, Ducky.”
“Shoot. Zach said he’s gonna be late,” Ben uttered, looking at the text he got. “He wants to grab the boxes of decorations he stored at the company.”
“Why did he leave them there?”
“To hide them from Gabe,” Mia explained to me. “We store the ornaments and the presents at the company, so he doesn’t get to them before it’s time. Tell him not to worry. You pick up the trees. Izzie and I can grab the boxes.”
“Don’t you mind? Would you do it for us?”
“I’m doing it for Gabe.” She exhaled, and we could feel the weight she was under. “I’m getting tired of all this.”
Filled with sorrow and regret, Ben lifted Teddy from her arms and squeezed her shoulder. “Can we talk about it? Let’s try to clear the air.”
“Go meet Zach. We’ll talk later.”
Ben seemed relieved at her response and gave her a small smile, promising they could solve it all later.
If only that was possible.
One thing I learned from life is that sometimes “later” means it’s already too late.
He grabbed Teddy’s stuff and kissed me goodbye. I loved on my boy and hugged my man, giving him a peck on his lips. “Love you.”
“Love you, too, Forest. Call me if you need anything.” Then he walked out of the store.
Mia leaned over the counter. “What do you plan on doing now that you’re kid-free?”
“If you don’t mind, I’d like to just meander through the stores. You know? Walk around without a care in the world, not worrying about schedules or routines. Just enjoy this moment and maybe eat something unhealthy.”
She tapped the counter. “Then it’s settled.”
“Do you wanna go grab the boxes first? That way, we don’t have to worry about it later.”
“Today you’re the boss. Just call the shots, and I’m game.”
“Let’s get this out of the way so we can lazy up the rest of the day.”
I settled things down with April, checking if she needed something before we left. We got into Mia’s new car—the crashed one was unsalvageable—and headed to Bryants & Walker.
I was so excited about the holidays and all the activities until Christmas. I talked non-stop as Mia laughed, indulging me in my zest.
Soon enough, we arrived at the company, and our conversation was cut short. She parked closer to the entrance and climbed out of the car. We braced ourselves against the wind until she punched the security code so we could get inside.
“Brrr. That was cold.” I shivered. “I’m actually rethinking the whole walking around thing.”
She chuckled. “Don’t worry. Here’s normally colder. Since the building is kind of isolated, nothing breaks the wind, and the trees outside just make it all windier. I do believe we’ll get some odd rain today, though. But we can always walk while drinking something hot.”
“Let’s get those boxes fast and head out. I need to feel my hands again.”
“They’re somewhere in the storage. We just need to find them.”
“When you say in the storage, you mean...”
“The huge space full of shelves behind the conference room,” she answered in a laughing tone.
