Chapter 3: Taking Care Of Christmas

Katelyn and I took turns using the bathroom at the apartment, and then we headed to the mall in my rental car. As we drove, I asked her how she and Jessica usually handled Christmas presents for each other. She was quiet for a moment, and then she explained.

“Well, we do presents and stockings for each other. Mom always bought us stocking stuff, and she kept it going long after we knew Santa wasn’t real. And so after she died we agreed we’d each buy and wrap a few stocking stuffers for the other one. We set a spending limit for the stockings each year. Usually it’s like $50 each, but this year Jess said we could each only do $30. She gives me the money to buy stuff for hers, and she spends the same amount on me. I’ve got all her stocking stuff, but it doesn’t look like very much. It’s going to be a pretty empty stocking, I think.

“Then, we each buy a gift or gifts for the other one. I use my own money for that. Well, really it’s Jessie’s money, ultimately, because I have nothing other than what she gives me. But I save up some of my spending money and use it for a gift for her. That’s my problem today - I don’t have enough saved up for the gift I really want to get her, so I need to find something else. And now I’ve left it till the last minute.”

I filed that information away for later. Finding a parking space at the mall at noon on Christmas Eve wasn’t easy, but we pulled it off without any dented fenders or shopper rage. The space I found was about a mile from the mall door, but it would work. As we got out of the car, I asked, “Kate, would you show me the gift you wanted to buy Jessica? I’d like to see what you picked out, even if you can’t afford to get it.”

“Sure,” she said. And we made our way slowly through the throngs of people in the mall pushing and shoving in the corridors to a rather high-end leather store. She stood outside the window display and pointed to a pair of boots that were there.

“Those,” she said, simply. “The brown ones. I wanted to get her those. And they are on sale - but I still don’t have enough even to buy them at the sale price.”

I looked at the boots. They had just a bit of a heel, and seemed like they would come up almost to Jessica’s knees. They did look like nice boots. But what did I know about women’s footwear?

“Why do you want to buy her those in particular?”

“Because the boots she has now suck. Her feet are always cold and they get sore when she has to stand for long periods of time. Those ones are really warm and comfortable. One of my friends at school has a pair just like that and she wears them all day. Besides, don’t you think she’d look hot in them?”

I smiled.

“Kate, they are nice boots. And your sister would look hot in them. But then, your sister would look hot in anything.”

She glanced my way and grinned.

“She is pretty good looking, isn’t she?”

I nodded. Then I quickly changed the subject back to what I really wanted to talk about. “How much money are you short?”

“They’re on sale for just under $200. I have almost $150 saved up, and I have that with me. But with the tax and everything, that means I still would need almost another $100. I was hoping I’d come up with it somehow, but I need to give up now and find something else.”

“Katelyn, you really want to give those boots to your sister, don’t you?”

She nodded.

“I’d do anything to get the money I need to buy them for her.”

I smiled at the thought, briefly.

“You know, girls your age should not say things like that to men my age. But, seriously, how about if I loaned you the hundred bucks so you could buy the boots? You could pay me back in the new year when you manage to save it up.”

She eyed me, somewhat suspiciously. My poor attempt at humour had raised a possibility in her mind that hadn’t been there before, and I was sorry for that. I hadn’t meant to cause alarm.

“What would I have to do for this ‘loan’?”

I looked her in the eye. “My interest rates are pretty low. I could loan you a hundred dollars for, let’s see, maybe ... a hug?”

She threw herself into my arms, and I got the asked-for hug, plus a kiss on the cheek. “Consider it a bonus,” she giggled. I pulled out my wallet and handed her a $100 bill, and she ran inside the store. I made a mental note of the girl who helped her. A plan was forming in my mind.

A few minutes later, Katelyn came running back out with a bag in her hands. She was beaming. I got a second hug, and a second kiss on the cheek. I could used to this.

I knew that this was all the shopping Katelyn had left to do, so I suggested we go and have coffee. I bought her a latte, and one for myself, and we sat and sipped them together. While we sat, I asked her what she wanted to do next. She was ready to go home, and do some food prep for tomorrow. I still needed to do some shopping for the two girls. She said she was happy to take the bus home, and after making sure that she was fine with that, I sent her on her way, telling her I would get Jessica when she was done work and we’d both be home as soon as we could...

Then I looked at my watch. It was now almost 1:00, and I had promised to pick Jess up at 4:00. That left me less than three hours to do what had to be done. I would have to move.

The first stop was the leather store where Katelyn had purchased the boots. I went in and found the girl who had helped her.

“Hi! Is someone helping you?”

“No,” I said, “but I am hoping you can. Do you remember a girl who was in here a few minutes ago, and bought some boots from you?”

She nodded.

“Do you work on commission?”

“We get an hourly wage, plus a percentage of weekly sales over a certain limit. Why?”

“I need a coat that will match the boots you sold that girl. Money isn’t really an object - but it has to be warm and comfortable. She’s about the same size you are. But I don’t have a lot of time. What can you show me?”

And with that I reached out and took her hand. She jumped a bit in surprise, until she felt the plastic sliding into it. She glanced down, saw the colour of the bill, realized it was a fifty, and tucked it into her pocket.

“Thank you, sir. I am sure I can find what you want. Right this way, please!”

She led me to a rack of coats and took two of them off their hangers to show me. One was longer than the other, and she quickly ran down the features of each. I chose the shorter one, which would come down to just above the top of the new boots, I guessed. It was fur lined, and looked like it would be very warm indeed. But it was also very lightweight. It was just what I wanted. The salesgirl led me to a cash register, and quickly rang it in. It came to just under $1500 with the tax, but I was sure it was worth every cent.