After lunch, Kookie and Emmie offer to go shopping with me. It turns out that I was right. Janna does have plans with Lyric. I watch them drive off for his house to help his family decorate their Christmas tree. Talk about leaving the celebration to the last minute. Nearly a month has elapsed since we trimmed our own tree.
Kookie, Emmie, and I head for my van a few minutes later. Leaving my husband home to watch football with the four younger boys. Who am I kidding? They’re not going to watch football. Not if the Nintendo Switch is available. But if their daddy makes them take a break from it, Everett will be seated next to him on the sofa, a big bowl of popcorn in his lap. I assume Noel will be sitting next to his best friend. While he munches on his own bowl of popcorn. Abs and Alastair will probably head downstairs to create new Lego worlds.
I head to Wal-Mart. Kookie and Emmie sit silent as they both stare out their windows at the snow-covered ground. The temperature has remained cold enough to discourage the snow from melting. Once we arrive at the store, we head for the skateboard section. We’re saving the video game for last. Just so Kookie can savor the anticipation. And the skateboards are closer to the door. Within no time at all, Kookie has found the perfect skateboard for his friend. And tried it out. In the long aisle that runs perpendicular to the sports aisles.
I’m still ruminating on what to buy for a woman whom I’ve never met.
“I wonder what size she wears,” I murmur.
Emmie glances at me. “Jimmy’s mom?”
I nod.
“I saw her at school once. I’d say she’s about your size.”
“Perfect. Thanks, Emmie. In that case, I’d like to buy her a nice sweater or hoodie. Maybe a good book too. Something that’s just been released. And maybe a nice pair of gloves and a matching hat. You can never have too many warm pairs of gloves in our climate,” I mutter.
I offer to leave the kids in the toy department while I browse the women’s section. Emmie and Kookie seem to be having a great time perusing the toy selection. I wander off and take my time shopping. It’s rare that I’m not dragging someone with me while shopping. Most of the time, it seems that I’m in a rush. Just trying to accomplish my task so we can go home. But today I’m at my leisure. And it’s a pleasure to shop for someone else. So I decide to enjoy myself.
Nearly a half hour passes before I’ve found enough items to satisfy myself. I head back to the toy department. I find Kookie watching Emmie closely. She’s staring at a dollhouse. She seems lost in thought.
“What is it, Em?” I hear him murmur.
She fails to meet his gaze. She’s still turned towards the house, her eyes riveted to it. “It looks exactly like one I had as a kid. I haven’t seen that dollhouse in years.”
“Oh, yeah. I remember that house,” Kookie chimes in. “You and Nana used to spend hours playing with it. You had those two little dolls. They kinda looked like the two of you. Remember?”
She nods. “I do.”
But there’s something melancholy in her demeanor.
“Em?”
“Hmm?”
“What’s wrong?”
“What?”
“You seem sad.”
Finally, she drags her eyes away from the dollhouse to meet his gaze. She shrugs. “Sometimes I miss those days.” She smiles sadly. “Back when Nana and I spent all our free time together.”
He frowns down at her. “You miss Nana?”
She shrugs her shoulders again. “A little.”
“Since she started dating Lyric?”
Emmie nods. “Sometimes she seems distant now. Usually, she’s hanging out with him. When she’s not…she thinks about him all the time. She talks about him all the time. I mean, I like Lyric. I just…”
“…miss your best friend.”
“Yeah,” her eyes delve the depths of his.
His lips quirk upward. “I get it. That’s why I stopped hanging out with Donovan last summer. He started dating Lucy, and I never saw him anymore anyway. I’m not sure he even noticed that I disappeared from his life.”
Emmie reaches out and slips her fingers around Kookie’s. “I’m sorry, Kookie. It feels lousy, doesn’t it?”
He nods. My eyes are drawn back towards those kissing fingers. I see him squeeze her hand a moment later.
“Em?”
“Hmm?”
“Anytime Nana’s ignoring you, feel free to come find me. We can hang out. Watch a movie or play a game or anything you wanna do.”
“Anything?” There’s an odd note to her voice.
I glance sharply at her. She’s staring up at him. I wonder if she’s thinking about kissing my eldest son. That “anything” better be happening in the living room or at the dining room table, I think.
But a few seconds later, her lips lift in a tiny – and completely innocent – smile. “Thanks, Kookie.”
I decide now is a good time to interrupt them. “Hey, guys. Ready to go?”
Kookie glances at me. “I need to pick up the video game. Oh! And we need to grab some ingredients for our Christmas meals, right?”
“Oh, yeah. Thanks for reminding me, Kookie. What would I do without you?” I grin at him before leading the way towards the food section. We still have a lot of planning to do before Tuesday.
But for just a moment, I have a flashback to life before Kookie. I have to admit that it wasn’t nearly as wonderful as life with him.
