my employment contract.”
“And you want the gift card, too?” Andrea asked.
“Better make it a big one,” I said, shelling the bills out of my wallet onto the counter.
Because I’d dragged Cal into my mess, I owed him something a little special, too. Jane had a rare edition of The Iliad in the original Greek that she’d set aside for me. The final cost of buying back my family’s affection was going to be about three hundred dollars, the sum total of my summer-salary savings account.
It was worth it. I chatted with Andrea while Jane gift-wrapped the books. Andrea made me one of her famous coffee concoctions involving chocolate and caramel. I sipped it gratefully and fortified myself for the drive home. A few moments later, Jane handed me a purple gift box with an extravagant silver bow.
“Wow, that is surprisingly crafty,” I told Jane. She smiled, all pleased and bashful.
“It turns out Jane is a bit of a gift-wrapping savant now that she has vampire reflexes.”
“My mother could not be prouder,” Jane said. “She thinks maybe I can get a real job wrapping at a department store.”
I giggled. “I’m sorry.”
“No, no, it’s funny,” Jane conceded. “She just worries about me having job security and health benefits, that’s all.”
Jane’s imitation of her mother’s voice was so accurate it gave me shivers. “She does realize you don’t get sick, right? And that you own your own successful business?”
“I’ve told her so, many times,” Jane said, nodding. “And she wonders why I don’t brave daylight to attend the family Christmas lunch.”
“It’s a mystery,” I said, taking Cal’s wrapped book from her hands. “And on that note, I bid you good night. I’m supposed to meet Ben at the house for a Home Alone movie marathon with Cal and Iris.”
“And you sound super thrilled about it,” Andrea noted. “Is it because the Home Alone sequels got weird after the second one?”
“Yes,” I told her, even when Jane gave me one of her patented “I can see inside your head, you big liar who lies” looks.
“Oh, that reminds me!” Andrea exclaimed, dashing toward the fridge behind the coffee bar. “Iris asked me to mix this up for her. It’s a super-concentrated espresso and blood potion to help her stay up to watch Mary’s Wish List .”
I winced as Andrea pressed the thermos into my hands. Even though Iris was mad at me, she’d still taken measures to make sure we could continue our Christmas movie tradition. “Thank you for driving that sisterly-guilt stake just a little bit deeper.”
Jane helped me carry the heavy box of books out the front door. “We do what we can.”
With my gift packages secured in the trunk, Jane gave me a quick hug and dashed back into the store. “Good night, you two,” I called. They waved at me through the window, and I turned back to my car. I’d almost opened the driver’s-side door when I noticed a flash of something sparkly on the other side of the street. I changed directions immediately to investigate.
Shiny objects. I was a simple girl.
A new jewelry shop had opened across the street and three doors down from Specialty Books as part of the revitalization efforts on Paxton. It had only taken Jane a few years of steady business and knocking down the porn store next door to convince local merchants that the area was worth investment. This sparkly shop in question was called Beautiful Things, a name that was sort of lovely in its simplicity.
The proprietor knew how to stock a display window, creating multiple levels of snowy “hills” from fluffy cotton and tucking jewelry into little hollows so it looked like flowers blooming in the snow. I hovered close by the window, admiring a pair of well-lit moonstone earrings shaped to look like apple blossoms with silver petals. They were the closest to the glass, and I couldn’t help but lay my hand over the window as if I could reach through and touch them. I smiled at them
“And you want the gift card, too?” Andrea asked.
“Better make it a big one,” I said, shelling the bills out of my wallet onto the counter.
Because I’d dragged Cal into my mess, I owed him something a little special, too. Jane had a rare edition of The Iliad in the original Greek that she’d set aside for me. The final cost of buying back my family’s affection was going to be about three hundred dollars, the sum total of my summer-salary savings account.
It was worth it. I chatted with Andrea while Jane gift-wrapped the books. Andrea made me one of her famous coffee concoctions involving chocolate and caramel. I sipped it gratefully and fortified myself for the drive home. A few moments later, Jane handed me a purple gift box with an extravagant silver bow.
“Wow, that is surprisingly crafty,” I told Jane. She smiled, all pleased and bashful.
“It turns out Jane is a bit of a gift-wrapping savant now that she has vampire reflexes.”
“My mother could not be prouder,” Jane said. “She thinks maybe I can get a real job wrapping at a department store.”
I giggled. “I’m sorry.”
“No, no, it’s funny,” Jane conceded. “She just worries about me having job security and health benefits, that’s all.”
Jane’s imitation of her mother’s voice was so accurate it gave me shivers. “She does realize you don’t get sick, right? And that you own your own successful business?”
“I’ve told her so, many times,” Jane said, nodding. “And she wonders why I don’t brave daylight to attend the family Christmas lunch.”
“It’s a mystery,” I said, taking Cal’s wrapped book from her hands. “And on that note, I bid you good night. I’m supposed to meet Ben at the house for a Home Alone movie marathon with Cal and Iris.”
“And you sound super thrilled about it,” Andrea noted. “Is it because the Home Alone sequels got weird after the second one?”
“Yes,” I told her, even when Jane gave me one of her patented “I can see inside your head, you big liar who lies” looks.
“Oh, that reminds me!” Andrea exclaimed, dashing toward the fridge behind the coffee bar. “Iris asked me to mix this up for her. It’s a super-concentrated espresso and blood potion to help her stay up to watch Mary’s Wish List .”
I winced as Andrea pressed the thermos into my hands. Even though Iris was mad at me, she’d still taken measures to make sure we could continue our Christmas movie tradition. “Thank you for driving that sisterly-guilt stake just a little bit deeper.”
Jane helped me carry the heavy box of books out the front door. “We do what we can.”
With my gift packages secured in the trunk, Jane gave me a quick hug and dashed back into the store. “Good night, you two,” I called. They waved at me through the window, and I turned back to my car. I’d almost opened the driver’s-side door when I noticed a flash of something sparkly on the other side of the street. I changed directions immediately to investigate.
Shiny objects. I was a simple girl.
A new jewelry shop had opened across the street and three doors down from Specialty Books as part of the revitalization efforts on Paxton. It had only taken Jane a few years of steady business and knocking down the porn store next door to convince local merchants that the area was worth investment. This sparkly shop in question was called Beautiful Things, a name that was sort of lovely in its simplicity.
The proprietor knew how to stock a display window, creating multiple levels of snowy “hills” from fluffy cotton and tucking jewelry into little hollows so it looked like flowers blooming in the snow. I hovered close by the window, admiring a pair of well-lit moonstone earrings shaped to look like apple blossoms with silver petals. They were the closest to the glass, and I couldn’t help but lay my hand over the window as if I could reach through and touch them. I smiled at them
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