KING'S BAY MALL
Sleighbells ring
Are ya listenin'?
In the lane,
Snow is glistenin' ...
Aretha Franklin's soulful voice dances
in the air, adding that extra little touch of holiday magic to the department
store. Sarah
hums along unconsciously as she sorts through the racks. She
is trying -- so far in vain -- to find that shirt she noticed last week
and bookmarked in her mind. She knew the instant she saw it that it would
look perfect on Matt,
and now she's kicking herself mentally for not picking
it up then and there.
Of course, after the other night,
she knows that she needs to give him something more significant than just
a shirt. But she has no idea where she might even begin searching for a
more meaningful gift.
With an annoyed huff she steps back
from the rack. It's not here, same as it wasn't here the last three times
she sorted through this set of shirts.
"Hey!" calls a voice from only a
few feet away. Sarah is surprised at the ease with which she recognizes
it.
"Hi," she says to
Diane as she turns
around.
"I thought I saw you in there," Diane
says as she pulls a stroller into view. "I've got someone with me you might
wanna see."
Sarah brightens at the
sight of Samantha
and kneels down to greet her niece. "Hey there, cutie! Having fun Christmas
shopping?"
"We're all done with that," Diane
says, as though the idea that she wouldn't be is absurd. "We just ventured
out for the sales." She shakes the two bags in her hands.
"You're shopping for yourself?"
"Yeah, why not? Nothing to say I
can't give myself a couple gifts, too, you know?"
"I guess not," Sarah chuckles. She
gives the same rack of shirts another halfhearted perusal. "I'm still trying
to get all my gifts taken care of."
"What a pain in the ass. There's
an upside to not having that many people to shop for, I'll tell you that."
"Yeah, I bet." Sarah is about to
continue the same line of conversation when another thought hits her out
of the blue. "Hey, what are you still doing here, anyway? I thought you'd
have gone back to L.A. for the holidays."
Diane shrugs. "Not a hell of a lot
left for me out there, to be honest."
"Aren't you working out there?"
"Not anymore." Diane shakes her head,
and loose strands of her short black hair jump accordingly. "I've got my
apartment out there 'til the end of this month, but I don't think I'm gonna
go back."
Now Sarah's interest is piqued, thanks
to both concern for Claire and Samantha and sheer curiosity. "So are you
planning on staying in King's Bay now? What happened in L.A.?"
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