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Chapter 30
Nova wasn’t sure what was wrong with Gunner, and she feared that he might be regretting some of his recent decisions.
He’d looked to be on the verge of tears when she’d held up the turtle blanket.
It took Nova a moment to find the pillowcases, but once she did, she nearly yelped with joy. The thrift store had recently enjoyed a veritable bumper crop of pillowcases—and some of them were still in their packages. She grabbed two fistfuls and spun toward Gunner, holding them up for him to see. “We should sew a bunch of pillowcases together for a new blanket!”
Not so much as a hint of a smile.
She let her arms drop to her sides. “Come on, that was a little funny.”
“I wish we had time to sew.”
What? Did he really think she was serious? She turned and put them all back on the shelf before picking out the ones still wrapped in plastic. One of these had a sticker on it from its original store. It read seventy-nine cents. This pillowcase had been purchased during the Reagen administration.
They started the long trek to the checkout, and though they’d been reasonably successful in their mission, Nova felt defeated. This could have been a fun little adventure, but Gunner was acting depressed.
She challenged herself to make him laugh before they got out of the store. They passed by the shoe section, and she slowed,looking for fodder. She didn’t have much time, and she felt pressured to be funny quickly.
And then she found it.
Right there at eye level were the ugliest boots she’d ever seen.
Shiny black plastic that would reach the top of her calves. Chunky six-inch heels. When she stepped closer, they got even better. Orworse, depending on how one looked at the world.
“Gunner!” she cried with all the fabricated enthusiasm she could muster.
He turned and looked at her, alarm in his eyes.
She shoved her bedding collection into her armpit so she could hold up one of the boots. “Will you please buy me these?” As the boot unfurled to its full length, she realized that the boot wasn’t a boot at all so much as a collection of straps disguised to look like a boot.
She was pretty sure she was holding up part of a stripper costume, and she tried not to feel judgy.
Gunner’s mouth hung open. He was speechless again.
She tried to stay in character, but it was difficult. A smile was desperately trying to break out of holding. In an attempt to stave it off, she picked up the other boot and held it up as well, accidentally dropping the Reagan pillowcase as she did so. She bent to pick that up, and when she stood, Gunner had closed the gap between them.
“Do you want to try them on first?” he said, sounding nauseous.
She couldn’t do it to him any longer. She allowed the laugh to break free.
He narrowed his eyes. “That wasn’t funny.”
Now she had to fight to stop laughing. “Yes, it was.”
“Oh really?”
As she tried to return the plastic boots to the shelf, he grabbed them. “Oh, no you don’t!”
Wait,what?
“No, my new wife wants some glossy boots, I’m going to buy her some glossy boots. I mean, what else are you going to wear to church?”
Now she was laughing so hard now that her head hurt. “Glossy? Can boots even be glossy?”
The fact that he didn’t understand why that was funny made it even funnier. She needed to wipe her tears, but her hands were full.
“So? You want them, right?”
